Houston,
Texas
1. Did the change in dimensions present any specific challenges for you? Yes, it did. I was so completely in love with the strong vertical that it took me quite a while to start visualizing things in a square format.
2. Describe your design area, specifically your work table: what
is the best thing about it? I
have a very small studio and it is definitely a multi-tasking space. My
design table is also my sewing table and my painting table. I love that
everything is within reach. If the work gets too large for that space, I commandeer
the dining room table and use it for the duration. I try not to schedule
any formal dinners while the project is all splayed out in my dining room!
3. What set this quilt apart from other recent projects you have been
working on? The bar for
this show is constantly being raised higher and I rely on the quilt to tell me
what it wants and needs. This quilt never spoke to me and it was a very
lonely project riddled with a lot of anxiety because I had to do it “solo”.
4. When you get “stuck” how do you deal with a
“design block”? How do you overcome it? I will usually
turn my attention to another project until I have resolved the issues that got
me stuck. My brain is still churning over the issue(s), but it is on a
semi-conscious level and my conscious brain is focused on something else.
Kind of like switching channels for a while.
5. Do you work on single or multiple projects at the same time? I
will try and rotate through a number of projects. As one speaks to me
with the loudest voice, it becomes the one I must work on. When that
voice is quiet, another project speaks up and I turn my attention to it.
Sometimes I may work on multiple projects as they all are calling for my
attention.
6. What do you hope people take away from your work? I am always gratified when people have
that light bulb moment and really see that a quilt doesn’t have to be on
the bed.
7. What are the best parts of working on an art quilt: The best parts
of working are when the design in my mind actually matches what I have physically
created. The other best part if I get an auditory response to my work
like a gasp or exclamation. What
are your least favorite parts? What
I call “wardrobe malfunctions” – specifically when some
process doesn’t go the way I had hoped or anticipated and I have to
figure out a new solution – usually very quickly!
8. What art/quilt-related organizations do you belong to? I am a member of SAQA, the Quilt
Guild of Greater Houston and also two small fiber groups also in Houston.
9. Do you have a preferred color palette? My initial go to is always on the blue and violet side
of the spectrum. Why? I was born that way???
10. What do you regard as
your most interesting milestones along your art journey? Recognizing that
a condition which I have called Synesthesia is actually important in my
art. More and more, I am trying to incorporate that valuable “extra
perception” in my work.
It is amazing to me that even though Susan says this quilt didn't "speak to her" in the beginning, it turned out so spectacularly!
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