The compositions that are planned ahead are inspired from the natural world and the people in it. Curiously, when I start without a plan, I instinctively flesh out shapes that convey a sense of natural place and life. In the final phases of the stitched work I am compelled to add small details--inhabitants or words--that invite the viewer to closer inspection and to engage with the piece in a hunt for secrets. I am successful if I have remained interactive with the materials (fiber has such inherent qualities of expression), stepping back to study and respond to the evolution I am coaxing. Ultimately it is the fiber which determines the outcome.

 

I believe it is important to re-use whenever possible. The Folks Art, and the scrunched, stripped, and scrapped fabric pieces are made almost entirely from re-purposed materials, but nearly all the fiber work is made with pieces of fabric that had previous lives. 

Transitioning between the painted fabric work and other fiber manipulations renews my energy. My art continues to evolve, there are no rules and I exercise the right to try anything new. All doors are open, I can go through.  

 

The choice of cloth as medium sometimes sets me in the midst of the never ending argument about what is art, and what is craft. So many opinions. I am clear that my work is art, but I can resolve to say that if the viewer also decides my work is “Art”, it is well-crafted. If chosen to be seen as “Craft” pieces, they are artful, designed and executed by me to provoke an aesthetic or emotional response. If an original work has integrity and can touch someone's sensibilities - is the distinction critical?

 

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way -- things I had no words for".  - Georgia O'Keefe

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The artist is in and of the world - we reflect what we see, champion what we must. Everything that is pretty isn't necessarily art, and everything that is art is not necessarily pretty.

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