tapestries

sum parts

when i started working in felt, a dear friend - kb - generously commissioned a piece from me. after some discussion about what she wanted - a little of this and a little of that - this series was born. in the original piece i used scraps from old pieces that had already been stitched. this gave each cell its own personality. when it all came together, the tapestry felt eclectic, playful and balanced.

when kb saw the final product, her therapist's mind saw the myriad parts of a self, stitched together to create a whole being. this concept continues to inspire me to create more wholes that are made up of unique parts.

remnants

about 90% of the felt i buy is either remnant or end-of-bolt. i am worried about waste, so making my pieces out of someone else's dregs appeals to me.

as i create and experiment, i end up with a lot of scraps which i collect to use in future projects. as i said, i worry about waste.

the remnants series was born of this concern. i found myself with lots of same-colored circles in my scrap bin. as i pieced them together, i found the the products to be both elegant and quirky. the elegance in their monochromatic and clean nature and quirky in the shapes that came out of the fitted circles.

i felt that my successful attempts occurred when the pieces achieved a sense of balance.

pods

i stole the pod from quilter sherri lynn wood. (my daughter tells me i should say i was inspired by wood, but who would i be kidding?) i found it in a book of modern quilts and knew i needed to make it.

for woods, it's a petal, for me, it's a seed pod.

i have a thing for pods. i still remember a shiny dark brown pod shaped like a dollar size pancake that i found and pocketed on a west african beach in the beginning of the end of the last millennium.

when i started to put these pods together, i imagined the seed being my truth, my authenticity. i imagined all the layers of the pod protecting my truth from the outside world.

then i started to wonder why the truth needs so much protection.

one offs

each one off has its own story. they don't belong to series (at least not yet). their meaning is up to you.