PUBLIC WORKS

ARTIST STATEMENT

Moving to the city to study fine art at university was a huge shift in perception: rural to urban, quiet to noisy, isolated to crowded, nature to technology. Now, as a mature artist who has lived in cities since that time, I still have a fascination with these dichotomies and a love/hate relationship with cities. Textures and details tell me stories of aging and decay. How does man’s labour withstand time, hard use and weather? What change of light or my own mood and perception will allow me to see beauty in a place that I may have passed many times, oblivious to the subtleties of line and composition and colour?

With modern technology, I can use my iPhone X to take instant pictures wherever I see something magical. The result has been the birth of a series that I have called Public Works, since I focus on construction details.

My process begins when I edit on my camera or computer, usually doing very little to change the carefully thought-out composition and natural colour. Digital images are emailed to a fabric printing company. After I approve the clarity and accuracy of the images, the yardage is mailed to me. I can then cut up and arrange the images in any number of ways.

Spray glue holds layers of printed cotton, cotton batting and muslin. The next step is a quiet study to determine what the piece requires for machine quilting. This is my opportunity to enhance the design, direct the eye to certain areas and add actual texture. Thread colour is important. My domestic machine is set for free-motion quilting and I begin a dance with each image that may take, on average, six hours. The quilted piece is fused to a stabilizer with the edges folded to the back, ready to hand stitch to another piece of stabilizer around all four sides.

With this amount of machine quilting and stability, these pieces are made for durability. They resemble tapestry and satisfy my need for tactile complexity. Mounting each finished piece on a prepared canvas gives them greater presence, while allowing a purchaser to remove and remount them in other ways if desired.

New pieces are divided into quarters, resulting in 4 six inch squares. My digital photographs are divided carefully by graphic designer Tim Cyr prior to printing to allow for folding the edges and still maintaining the full image.

It is very satisfying to combine my skills in art, craft and photography.