In this new showcase I’m featuring four Modern Quilters that you will love!
Mary Pal
Texture is something that has always fascinated me, and I find that natural textiles – like linen, cotton, silk organza, and even cheesecloth – create incredibly compelling artworks when layered and stitched with thread. Combining these simple materials with paint and dye, I can play with the effects of transparency, line, luminosity and opacity to create an endless array of imagery.
Subject matter is another important part of my process. I might be drawn to a weathered face for the unspoken story behind their fascinating facial lines or to a public figure I admire. And occasionally my subjects are the four-legged or winged variety because the texture in their coats and feathers is irresistible.
My early works were portraits, not only because facial expressions hold endless fascination for me, but because cheesecloth can be sculpted to portray the impact of light and shadow and overlaid on painted textiles with dramatic results. And then over time, I discovered that many other subjects also lend themselves to an interpretation with these textiles to create artworks filled with texture.
Creating art with such a delicate medium does take time – it takes about a month to complete one, from initial sketch through decisions about composition, sculpting, painting, stitching – but I find the process very contemplative and enjoyable. Often while working, I listen to audiobooks about, or read by, the subject I am sculpting, which makes the process all the more intimate.
Shannon Knowlton
My name is Shannon, and I am a mixed media and fiber artist living in the San Francisco Bay Area. My creative journey with textiles began when I was a child. I spent summers in Missouri with my grandmother, digging through drawers of old textiles, sewing scraps, and embroidering old quilt blocks. I have many happy memories bonding with my grandmother over these heirloom textiles, learning the history (or “HER-story”) behind these pieces that the women in my family had created. I have worked with textiles for most of her life, quilting, knitting, crocheting, and embroidering.
Twenty years ago, my friend bought me quilting lessons as a birthday gift, which was probably the best gift I have ever gotten! That led to a very productive quilting season of my life. I quilted in every spare minute, even getting up before my baby to get that time to myself. As I look back on that, I have been using creativity as a place to find and keep myself for a long time.
During a particularly difficult time in my life a few years back, I lost interest in creating. When I finally shuffled back into my studio, I found I was able to process my emotions in a healthy way through creativity. What a gift! This shifted the direction of my work. I discovered that I had some things to say, and that art was a great conduit.
From my little garden studio, I currently work in mixed media with thread, beads, and found materials such as old book paper and ephemera. I weave my background in textiles into my mixed media pieces with my use of cross-stitch and embroidery. I choose needlework to express myself to pay homage to the women who have been mending, sewing, and stitching for centuries. They are all artists whose craft was often overlooked. I celebrate their traditional needlework in my pieces.
It has been said before, but I love the process of stitching, slowing down and showing my stitches. In this activity, where I can truly be mindful. I love to see the human in a work, the imperfections. Some stitches in parts of my work I make perfect, and in others I let my hands flow. I trust the journey.
Substainability is important to me, and I enjoy the challenge of limiting myself to working with mostly discarded objects or supplies I find in my studio. I am inspired by a reverence for nature, self-love, and the female experience. I am very excited about my latest project, an ongoing series of mixed media works exploring the collective struggles of women with confidence and self-identity. Through these works, I hope to inspire women and girls to love and embrace their authentic selves.
Sophie Giller
I grew up in a rented farmhouse with piles of old farming machinery, with my dad restoring pianos in one of the outbuildings. Finding beauty & treasure in readymade old things came from these surroundings: I hoarded vintage clothes, textiles & homewares from charity shops as a young teen. I studied Fine Art Painting for my BA & I used many secondhand objects ‘found’ colours to form compositions.
I read Judy Chicago’s autobiography & was exposed to her work in textiles & quilts in vintage shops in New York when I was 20. When I came back from that trip, I started sewing with all the piles & scraps of vintage fabric that had built up over the years. My relationship with textiles has deepened as I’ve researched & connected with women’s history, craft & fine art hierarchies, therapeutic & repetitive labour, emotions, colour, textures & histories of the processes. Studying a masters in Sculpture allowed me to experiment with the power & scale of craft and textiles, & to take up three-dimensional space. I’m self-taught at sewing & quilting. I love dyeing & working with secondhand fabrics, especially linen, & using rich earthy colours, making freeform/improv patchwork & hand-quilting. Quilting is one of the many textile processes I work with in the studio to explore the relationship between fine art & craft.
