Artist Statement
I have enjoyed a long relationship with sewing and fabric. At 24 I started and then managed a clothing manufacturing business for 30 years, started quilting as a way to study colour relationships, successfully trained to teach sewing in the elementary school system and still sew almost every day. The Kingston Fibre Artists group has been an inspiration, a huge learning opportunity and has pushed me to expand my knowledge and skills.
The technique featured in this show is called Faux Chenille. The process involves layering fabrics on a base, sewing them all together and then slashing all but the base. A trip through the washing machine causes the layers to blend together, revealing a new and often dramatic colour story. In every piece there is an element of surprise as fibre content, thread count, and dye stability are all variables that are only guessed at.