large emptiness, small marks: a portfolio of sketches

 Large Emptiness Small Marks  2016  silk, cotton, rayon, linen damask fabrics stitched with cotton, silk and metallic threads.  36 pages within a hand stitched taffeta folder, each page is 33 cm x 33 cm.

A portfolio of sketches for large-scale (2.5 m or 90" ) square quilts.  Each 33 cm square cloth page is an idea for a larger cloth construction that will be filled with hand stitched marks.  A large square grid is formed when all thirty-six sketches are displayed at one time that measures 200 cm x 200 cm.

The squares are each filled with horizontal lines or large circles and are made from layers of lush, calm fabrics.  Each page is a complete idea and can be displayed singly or within a larger group.  This artwork encourages close physical engagement and considered viewing over time.  The slow actions of undoing buttonholes, opening the folder, and lifting each page encourages contemplation.   Unconscious memories are unlocked by the sense of touch.

three moons

Three Moons  15" wide, 40" long, 2015,  silk charmeuse, indigo dye,  hand stitch resist and hand stitch with silk thread.(detail above)

Three Moons, 40" x 15", 2015   silk, indigo, stitch resist

Three Moons detail, 2015

Cross My Heart

Cross My Heart (detail),  2010
     33 inches h x 35 inches  w
     Materials: silk, linen, velvet, silk thread, dye, paint;
    Technique: layered, pieced, hand embroidered, hand quilted     Photo:Judy Martin

Time is taken to make the work.   Time is a material.

Cross My Heart,  2010
     33 inches h x 35 inches  w
     Materials: silk, linen, velvet, silk thread, dye, paint;
    Technique: layered, pieced, hand embroidered, hand quilted   
     In private collection, it sold on opening day.      Photo: Judy Martin

 Exhibition and Publication

May-September 2011:  Quilt National, 2011, The Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athen's Ohio,
                                      toured USA and Europe through 2013

Quilt National 2011: The Best of Contemporary Quilts by Lark Crafts,   page 58