Erin Wilson's Quilted Short Stories

Illustration: Erin Wilson. Short Story #4, 2009.

The textile artwork of Erin Wilson at first seems effortlessly simple. Small boxes are repeated in a composition that includes regular rows and columns. However, when you consider that each small frame has been individually and consciously designed as a unique composition, and that some of Wilson's finished pieces can incorporate a large number of individual small framed art pieces, then the task set by the artist becomes much more one of quiet construction, with each individual square being seen as a world in itself.

All the fabrics are hand dyed by Wilson and so therefore, each compositional piece of artwork takes that hand dying into consideration, bringing a harmony and balance to the many individual works that go into making Wilson's textile pieces.

Illustration: Erin Wilson. Short Story #5, 2009.

In some respects, the artist has taken the idea of the mechanics of quilting and the production of pattern work into the realms of personal exploration and identity. Each one of the squares shown in these examples of Wilson's work is a window to a creative story. What is impressive is the number of unique creative stories that the artist has incorporated into some of her finished pieces of work. There are textile compositions where the artist has incorporated up to 168 individual squares, each one personally produced with the optimum in balance, proportion and harmony.

Wilson's work is one of both dedication and a unique awareness of the many individual aspects of creativity that layer each piece of textile artwork. She works hard to harness the compatability of all strands of her compositions. Her work can be seen and appreciated in both close detail and as a larger whole. There is an accord between each individual frame and its neighbour. All can then become part of a much larger and more dynamic framework. 

Illustration: Erin Wilson. Short Story #3, 2009.

In many respects, Wilson's compositions can be seen as representations of tenements or housing blocks. Overall, housing blocks are standardised and constructed from mass produced elements with no room for personal flare or individuality. However, within these externally standardised communities each window bares a slightly different vista to the world, despite the regular repetition of each frame. This gives us an analogy whereby we become aware that even though all windows are the same, the people looking through them are all uniquely individual with a life story of achievements and dreams that are unique to them and shared by no one else. However, all the unique windows go on to make a larger whole, so while we are all relatively isolated in our uniqueness, we are still all part of the human community and the ongoing story of that community. In fact, as the titles suggest, these can all be seen as varied and universally distinct short stories.

 Illustration: Erin Wilson. Short Story #1, 2008.

Perhaps Wilson is giving us a glimpse of our own potential to be creative within the framework of our lives. We may all be made from the human template, but we also have the ability to create the parameters of our own distinctiveness.

Erin Wilson is a full time textile artist and has shown her work across the US. She has a comprehensive website where much of her unique work can be seen. The link to her website can be found below, as always in the reference links section.

Illustration: Erin Wilson. Short Story #2, 2009.

All images were reproduced with the kind permission of the artist.

Reference links:

Erin Wilson website

Terry Jarrard-Dimond and the Art of Spatial Awareness

Illustration: Terry Jarrard-Dimond. Crush.

The work of textile artist Terry Jarrard-Dimond is one of precision both in colour and in line. It is not surprising to learn that the artist worked 3-dimensionally as a sculptor for many years before coming to textiles, as these five pieces by the artist shows. Each composition has a level of understanding and consideration for real penetration of the surface level, giving a natural feeling of depth rather than that of a superficial and stylised interpretation of 3-dimensions. It is fair to say that a creative artist with sculptural experience has a better understanding of spatial awareness and an intrinsic feel for dimensions and planes.

Illustration: Terry Jarrard-Dimond. Little King.

Jarrard-Dimond does not clutter her compositions with any unnecessary creative 'furniture', but keeps the work simple with shapes, colours and textures all adding their own significant contribution towards the overall composition. Rather than fill the space with a number of small elements in order to catch the eye, the artist has led with a series of large and simple incursions, many often sliding into the composition from an area outside of view.

In a number of pieces, colours and shapes have been dramatically reduced to a minimum and are often limited to two or three. However, instead of giving the compositions a near monochromatic appearance, or producing little for the eye and imagination to grasp hold of, she instead produces a highly powerful focus, creating a genuine feeling towards the macro, rather than the micro. Everything appears to be on a large and open scale, leading to a composition that is intriguing to both eye and imagination.

Illustration: Terry Jarrard-Dimond. Behind the Veil.

Jarrard-Dimond is open-ended within her own personal interpretation of the origins of her work. She states that each composition could be triggered by an initial response to a creative colour, song, or word, but equally the trigger could be something that catches her eye through everyday living. This open-ended approach also encompasses the viewer who the artist invites to make a personal interpretive contribution.

This invitation to personally explore Jarrard-Dimond's work cannot fail to produce suggestions and interpretations that are unique to the individual. However, the work can also be enjoyed on a number of levels from the enjoyment of surface qualities of abstract colour, form and texture, to that of a much more emotional level, where shapes, planes and dimensional depths can be explored. The choice as far as the artist is concerned, is with the individual.

Illustration: Terry Jarrard-Dimond. Quietly Red.

Terry Jarrard-Dimond has a comprehensive website where much more of her work is available to view. She also has a number of exhibitions and workshops available for both 2010 and 2011. To follow the creative pathways of the artist it would be wise to take a look at her regularly updated blog where links can also be found to a number of interesting and related sites. Both links to website and blog can be found below in the reference links section.

Illustration: Terry Jarrard-Dimond. The Encounter.

All images are reproduced with the kind permission of the artist.

Reference links:

Terry Jarrard-Dimond website 

Terry Jarrard-Dimond blog

Textile Artist Deborah Gregory and the Cycle of Decay and Renewal

Illustration: Deborah Gregory. Choices and Pathways II.

An interesting phrase that could perhaps be used towards an explanation of one of the main themes of Deborah Gregory's work is that of the natural cycle of decay and renewal. Across her portfolios of textile work is the recurring theme of decomposition and the aging process that is so much an integral part of the lifecycle of nature. However, tempering this inevitable death and decay that affects every living organism, is the eventual rebirth through the raw materials produced from that death.

The great aspect of this universal and sobering theme is the fact that Gregory can choose to interpret the cycle in any number of ways, from the birth, death, and rebirth of an individual, to that of the continuing cycle of the seasons as seen from a shoreline, a group of trees, or a range of animate or seemingly inanimate objects.

Illustration: Deborah Gregory. Genesis.

Gregory's work should not be seen as morbid, dwelling on the inevitable corruption and destruction of life, but should be seen instead as a celebration of the endless possibilities that the natural world entails. Gregory informs us through her work, that what can be alive and vital at one moment, can inevitably decay at the next. However, the basic ingredients of life remain; inevitably become the building blocks of the next life and a whole succession after that.

This cycle is clearly shown in a number of Gregory's pieces; no more so than that in Choices and Pathways IV where it appears as if the old meshed framework is giving way to strong new vertical shoots that have germinated within the old system. This inevitably creates a new cycle that reproduces endlessly as it has done before this frozen moment that Gregory has seemingly captured.

Illustration: Deborah Gregory. Choices and Pathways IV.

Gregory's work has stepped away from the portrayal of colour and texture, as she deals more intimately with the much deeper and problematic ideas concerning the levels and structure of the natural world. This is at a level that we are not always aware of and are often unable to explore freely. Ultimately it depends on the individual whether they wish to interpret Gregory's work as reflecting that of the continual changing of seasons from the birth of spring to the decay of autumn, or whether to delve deeper and try to understand the much more complex movement and reasoning of the natural world, through that of the cycles of life and death, decay and rebirth.

Illustration: Deborah Gregory. Particle and Wave.

Whichever you choose, Gregory's work has a defining and obvious spiritual content. Her work has the capacity to make us stop and think. We are often encouraged to see ourselves as individuals outside of the realms of much of the natural world. However, it is sobering, but also refreshing for an artist to show us schemes on a much grander scale of which we are an integral part. We live in the cycle of life, but we are also of the cycle of life. We are wheels within wheels.

Illustration: Deborah Gregory. Passage.

Deborah Gregory has shown her work in various exhibitions across the US as well as in various other parts of the planet. Her work is included in numerous private collections, but unfortunately not mine. Gregory also has a comprehensive website where much more of her work can be found, including explanations as to the meaning and inspiration of her work. A link to her website can be found below in the reference links section.

All images were supplied with the kind permission of the artist.

Reference links:
Deborah Gregory website

Deborah Lacativa's Dreamscapes

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Clubbin, 2007.

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Clubbin (close up), 2007.

I was actually looking for work by another artist altogether today, when I came across the intriguing work of Deborah Lacativa. I have become an instant fan and therefore decided to write a post dedicated to her instead of the original artist that I had been looking for.

Lacativa is an American artist from Georgia (the state not the country). She deals very much in the genre of textile art, using dye discharge techniques, along with free form stitching, to produce pieces of art work that are really not meant for anything but display purposes. This is not a criticism, as I personally believe that textile art deserves a place in the fine art pantheon. Unfortunately, it is very often either dismissed altogether by those with a vested interest in the narrow confines of the fine art definition, or placed within the large undefined world of craft.

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Kodamas I, 2006.

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Kodamas I (close up), 2006.

Lacativa's work uses an extraordinary use of colour, shape and texture with much of her work appearing more like a primal dreamscape than that of an exercise in colour and texture. It would not be hard to draw certain comparisons and analogies to the imagined mythical and magical spirit journeys of early humans, though Lacativa has definitely been able to create her own vibrant coloured world in which to inhabit.

I have only given a small sample of this extraordinary woman's work. The examples shown are my favourites, though it is quite difficult to choose between them. I am particularly fond of the richness of colour and deep primal qualities of these compositions. They are also intriguing when seen from a distance or in close up, which is definitely not an easy feat.

These art pieces are so much more than what I have always expected from quilting, even in its loosest description and designation. There are many more examples of her work that are available for sale on her comprehensive website, which can be found here. She also has a number of blogs highlighting various new works and directions. These can all be found at the reference section at the end of this post and are well worth a visit, if not bookmarked.

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Exubera I, 2008.

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Exubera I (close up), 2008.

Although very loosely based on traditional quilting techniques, Lacativa's work goes well beyond the confines of that discipline. However, having its roots in the quilting genre her work has been able to give that discipline an artistic outlook, stretching the genre of quilting to its very limits. Perhaps some traditional quilters would not see her work as sitting comfortably within their genre, but I think this unlikely as quilters tend to be a fairly flexible bunch of people who allow all sorts of directions and innovations within their discipline.

Lacativa has shown her distinctive style of work in various exhibitions and venues across the US. It can only be hoped that it is only a matter of time until, at some point in the future, her work can be seen in Europe.

Reference links:
Deborah Lacativa website
More whiffs, Glimmers & Left Oeuvres blog
Random Acts of Dyeness blog
Like Hotcakes

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Window I, 2008.

Illustration: Deborah Lacativa. Window I (close up), 2008.