Terri Stegmiller

"Shades of Red" by Terri Stegmiller
http://terristegmiller.com

I am a mixed-media textile artist.  My main focus is art quilting and I usually create with a representational style, although I sometimes will play with abstract styles as well.

Although I didn't always enjoy all steps of quilting, I now find I enjoy each step of the process--the first sketches, the fabric choices, the textural stitching, and the glorious color.  I will even look forward to sitting down and hand stitching on a binding.

I have no formal art degree.  All of my experience comes from my own experimentation, practice, and a few online classes.  Some of my favorite subjects in my art are female faces, flowers, birds, and cats.

I live in Mandan, North Dakota, and am married to a wonderful and supporting husband, have one grown son, and am "mom" to several cats.  My other interests include painting, reading, bird watching, and flower gardening.

I am author of the book Creative Paper Quilts: Applique, Embellishment, Patchwork, Piecework; co-author of Creative Ways with Fibre & Stitch, and co-Author of Creative Ways with Books and Journals.  I teach online through Three Creative Studios.

Artist's Statement:  Time honored traditional quilting processes have crashed head on with new and innovative mixed-media techniques.  Art quilting is in full swing and I’m embracing it whole-heartedly.  I am enraptured with each step of the process--the first sketches, the fabric choices, the textural stitching, and the glorious color.

The visual texture of commercially printed fabrics along with the additional quilted texture is a springboard for my work.   I have a love affair with color and enjoy using many fabrics to portray a single color thought.  

Location:  Mandan, North Dakota, USA
Online stores: Etsy, Three Creative Studios 
Blog: StegArt

Memberships:

   SAQA - Studio Art Quilt Associates
   SDA - Surface Design Association
   Bismarck Art and Gallery Association

Social Media:  Twitter, Facebook

Language spoken: English

"Waiting" by Terri Stegmiller

Books by Terri:

Tags:  fabric, quilt, art, texture, stitch, mixed media, color, design, art quilts, textile art

Laura Quilligan - Improv Cloth

www.improvcloth.com

I'm a surface designer hand painting silk and velvet garments and scarves. I have been working in this wonderful medium for 10 years and sell my work in galleries and stores. I also do craft fairs, primarily in my town, Taos, New Mexico. I offer my work as a contribution to enhance the well being of each woman who wears an Improv Cloth scarf or garment.  The pieces work well for women who enjoy bold color and seek a timeless, ageless and sizeless look.

I enjoy connecting to other fiber artists, galleries or stores interested in carrying art to wear.  My work is available at Handwoven Originals, Santa Fe, NM; Ammann Gallery, Taos, NM; Artemisia Art to Wear, Taos, NM; Pursuits, Pennsylvania PA.

Artist's Statement:  The artist's job is to help people develop an awareness of our connected reality.  I create wearable art as a contribution to our connection to one another.  When we examine how cloth is made, we see a connection "unfolding"...  Plant or silkworm is connected to weaver and mill. Weaver and mill is connected to seamstress.  Seamstress, weaver and mill are connected to marketplace, and so forth; until cloth finds it's home with someone...  Using juxtapositions of color, line, texture and shape; the artist reveals an alternative viewpoint..  Like an open window letting in fresh air, we breathe in our connection to the beauty in the world. While realizing beauty, people transform their attitude in a positive way.  Thinking positively, each person then contributes to a collective civilized mindstream.  In this way, art is an urgent necessity.

Location:  Taos, New Mexico, USA

Blog:  Improv Cloth
Memberships:  Slow Cloth
Languages spoken: English

  

Hand Painted Top by Laura Quilligan

Improv Cloth Art to Wear on Facebook

Tags:  Hand painted, related editions, hand dyed, accessories, art to wear, clothing

Deborah Grayson Studios

"Bird Woman" by Deborah Grayson

www.graysonstudios.com

Grayson Studios is the dreamworld created by Deborah R. Grayson.  An artist, author and scholar, Grayson has made art in one form or another for as long as she can remember.  Deborah became involved in making one-of-a-kind  art quilts and dolls in 1993 when her work evolved from simply painting on canvas to dyeing, painting, and printing on all types of fabric and paper.  In her work, Deborah hand paints, dyes and prints both fabric yardage and paper.  She uses Procion fiber-reactive dyes, acrylic paints and ink to produce exquisite handmade dolls, prints and painted and quilted images.

Deborah has taught quilt-making and doll-making for numerous organizations and community centers throughout the southeastern United States.  She regularly participates in both juried and invitational shows.

Artist's Statement:  I have long been interested in how individuals create, use and process visual images.  A central focus of my work is about the spiritual and metaphysical links between human beings and their surroundings.  What causes me to develop a particular image is never on thing but a confluence of activities and events.  The images in my quilts and prints have evolved from a life time of looking, listening, touching and daydreaming.  Because I am inspired by the natural beauty of the human figure, a great deal of my work features people.  I also enjoy the design aesthetics of geometric patterning and shapes. I attempt to portray the the complexities of all of these elements and their influences by layering the historical, political and cultural experiences of everyday life in my work.  My hope is that when you look at my work that you learn and feel something about life, love and spirit.


Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Online store: Grayson Studios
Blog: Grayson Studios
Memberships:
   Studio Art Quilt Associates
   Professional Art Quilt Alliance -- South
   Women's Caucus for Art/Women's Caucus for Art Georgia
Languages spoken: English and limited Spanish

 "There is Hope" by Deborah Grayson

Tags: Studio Art Quilts, Design, hand dyed textiles, printmaking, textile painting, handcrafted, art dolls, dollmaking, surface design, color, abstract, figurative art

Kantara Crafts

www.kantaracrafts.com

Kantara Crafts is a fair trade business specializing in Moroccan rugs and textiles imported directly from women's weaving cooperatives. I began the business in 2008 after working in Morocco for a year and a half on a project that fought against child labor. While living in Morocco, I met several artisans and immediately fell in love with the carpets, which is the only craft performed solely by women. At the same time, I was shocked at how the artisan's lack of mobility and access to the business world kept them subjugated to urban middlemen's pricing whims. I noticed that at the prices offered by these intermediaries the women barely had enough money to pay for their materials, let alone for their time and creativity. At that point, I decided to start Kantara Crafts as a means to directly support the artisans while reinvesting  a portion of the proceeds into education and business development initiatives within these very cooperatives. And the rest is history.

While there is no Kantara storefront, I do private consultations, trunk shows, presentations, and rug parties for those interested in seeing the rugs in person.

-Alia Kate

Mission:  Kantara Crafts is the premiere source for fair trade, handwoven Moroccan carpets in the United States. Kantara Crafts hand selects each carpet from women's weaving cooperatives in Morocco. As a result of its relationship with the artisans, Kantara ensure that its products are of the highest quality and with the most captivating designs.

Meaning “bridge” in Arabic, Kantara seeks to establish local and long-lasting relationships by bridging the gap between women artisans in Morocco and socially-conscious communities in the United States.

Location: New York City, New York, USA

Online store: Kantara Crafts

Blog: Kantara Crafts

Memberships:

   Fair Trade Federation, 

   Moroccan Rug Society,
   Weave a Real Peace,
   New York Guild of Handweavers,
   Textile Art Alliance
Social Media: Facebook Group  (Moroccan Rug Society),
   Youtube, Picasa 
Languages spoken: English, Spanish, French, Arabic

 Moroccan Weaver, Kantara Crafts

Kantara Crafts: Moroccan Rugs on Facebook

Tags: morocco, rugs, fair trade, high end carpets, handwoven, kilims, social responsibility

Sharon White

"Weaver's Flock" by Sharon White
http://threebagsfull.biz

Three Bags Full is my sheep ranch and fiber artist’s studio located at Mora, New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, between Las Vegas and Taos. I am very committed to living in tune with nature and causing as little damage to the environment as possible.  My processes are environmentally friendly, I catch rain water and use a biodegradable washing products. I use only natural dyes and when I collect native dyestuffs I am careful to leave enough to keep the stand going.

I have been raising sheep, spinning with a wheel and weaving for over 30 years.
My Mt. d' Oro sheep are basically a closed flock with many generations of carefully selected crosses of Churro, Cotswold and a bit of Corriedale with the goal of producing the ideal wool for rug weaving. They offer the best of the three breeds, and are a medium size sheep with a  double coated fleece.

Artist's Statement:  My weaving has evolved into doing “bound weave” rugs, and I am now concentrating on that process. My aim is to produce a beautiful, durable rug by having control of the entire process, from the sheep to the finished product. I would be pleased to work with you to create an original custom rug. See all my rugs on my website threebagsfull.biz.

Location:  Mora, New Mexico, USA

Online stores:

  Three Bags Full

  Etsy

  Chimayo Weavers

Membership:  Mountain and Valley Wool Association (sponsors the Taos Wool Festival)

  Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center

Language spoken: English

"Celtic Comets" by Sharon White

Tags:  wool, handspun, handwoven, hand dyed, natural dyes,  dyed fibers, custom designs, fiber art, fiber artist, double weave, wool wash

Quilted Fiber Art by Gwen

www.quiltedfiberartbygwen.com

I like making quilted artwork pieces from postcards to wall hangings. Included in the variety, I make traditional hand-quilted bed quilts, hand bags and whatever else I take a notion to try making, as long as it's sewing and or quilted related.

Artist Statement:  I get a lot of inspiration in my own backyard; from the flower gardens, the kids playing and romping in the yard, hubby tilling the garden, when the fields are plowed, or nature having her way in any season of the year...

There's always an eye-opener when one learns to see the way an artist sees, something I am continually learning.

-Gwen Gwinner

Location: Willard, Ohio, USA
Online store: Quilt Studio Ohio
Social Media: Connecting Threads
Languages spoken: English

"He Loves the Land" by Gwen Gwinner

Tags: artworks, quilted artworks, fabric artist, fiber artist, hand-quilting, portraits, people, religious, nature, floral

Day Style Designs

"Release Your Light" by Leah Day

www.daystyledesigns.com

My name is Leah Day and I'm a quilter and online quilt store business owner.

I'm looking to connect with other professional artists who make money not by selling art pieces, but information (patterns, tutorials, videos, etc) on how to make art.

I'm also thirsty for knowledge about how to balance it all: business, creativity, family, without going insane!

Artist Statement: I love quilting because with fabric and thread you can create 3 dimensions of design using color, shape, and texture.  I experiment with texture on a daily basis on my blog, where I'm working my way through 365 different textures to create with thread on fabric.

Although I'm now working through a series of quilts featuring goddesses, I don't currently make quilts for sale. Instead, I create patterns and videos on techniques to offer for other quilters and fiber artists.

Location: Shelby, North Carolina, USA
Online store: Day Style Designs Quilt Shop
Blog: Free Motion Quilting
Languages spoken: English

"Torn Tree" by Leah Day

Tags:  daystyledesigns, quilting, free motion quilting, quilting demos, goddesses, female imagery, nature

Heidi Zielinski - Fiber Into Art by Heidi

"Twist of Lime" by Heidi Zielinski
www.heidizielinski.com

I am a fiber artist creating original wall quilts that are mostly abstract with elements and images reflective of nature.  This is greatly inspired by the beautiful Rocky Mountain environment that I live in here in Montana.  I use quilting and beading to compliment and enhance the fabric base of my quilts, building them in layers into a work of art.  My use of stone, glass and other types of beads is somewhat unique, and they are a wonderful compliment to the fabric/fiber.   Many of my pieces incorporate images of leaves and/or trees in various styles and types.  I also love to use textural fabrics in my work which help to create depth and interest.  When I create a piece of fiber art it is meant to enhance the walls of a home or business, and add beauty to an environment.

Artist Statement: My current interest is to share my art as much as possible and become recognized as a serious fiber artist.  I hope to create art that a viewer could envision hanging in their home---something they could live with and enjoy.  My work is inspired by nature and often by the beautiful commercial fabrics we have available, as well as my own painted/dyed fabric.  I try to combine these elements in interesting and original ways.  Color and texture continue to be strong influences in my work, and I hope to continue exploring, learning, and creating art that uses them in a visually pleasing way. 
   
Location: Stevensville, Montana, USA
Blog: Fiber Into Art by Heidi
Memberships:
   Studio Art Quilt Associates
   Stevensville Art and Sculpture Society
   Bitterroot Quilter's Guild
Languages spoken: English

"Blue Marble and Stones" by Heidi Zielinski

Tags: beads, nature art, abstract, art quilts, landscape quilts, original designs, machine quilting, free motion, leaves, trees

Ruth O'Leary Textile Art

 http://www.rutholearytextileart.co.uk/

I'm an embroiderer and textile artist based in Sunderland, North East England. I mostly use traditional techniques, but in a contemporary way, and particularly love goldwork, appliqué, and split stitch.

I specialise in hand-embroidered pieces, from large, bold panels and hangings to small, detailed pictures, though I also produce free machine embroidered panels and vessels.

I am particularly known for 3D pieces, especially in goldwork embroidery, but also including hand-made slip cases for books, each one uniquely tailored to the book it contains.

Artist Statement:   I am a largely self-taught embroiderer and textile artist based in the North East of England. I am particularly interested in the ways in which centuries-old hand embroidery skills can be used in the modern day, especially the use of medieval Opus Anglicanum techniques. As such, I use its principle techniques – goldwork and finely shaded split stitch – in my own contemporary designs. This requires considerable craft skill, an eye for detail, and a good deal of patience! I also enjoy the challenges of hand-finished machine embroidery for larger-scale pieces, but the beauty and versatility of metal thread embroidery will always be my first love.


Location:  Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, UK
Blog: Ruth O'Leary Textile Art
Membership: Embroiderers' Guild
Social Media: Hand Embroidery Network
Language spoken: English

"Kate's Crow" by Ruth O'Leary

Tags:  Gold work, metal thread embroidery, surface embroidery, dimensional work, sculptural

Studio Art Quilts by Valerie S. Goodwin

www.quiltsbyvalerie.com

I am an architect and an artist who creates fiber art inspired by realistic and abstract imagery of maps.

I am interested in making connections with other fiber artists and people involved in fine arts & crafts. I would love to procure commissions in public and corporate settings. In addition, I do workshops and lectures on various topics related to quilting, architecture, maps and design.   I have a studio at Railroad Square, an art park in Tallahassee, Fl.

Artist's statement:  I am fascinated by the language of lines, shapes and pattern. I am drawn to what I perceive to be the symbols and language found in maps and architectural drawings. Many works of art such as the paintings of Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell inspire me.

Maps use symbols such as points, lines, patterns, and color to convey information. As a child I was fascinated by maps, spending hours poring over them, sometimes being intrigued by their beauty. Later on, I noted how architects and other design professional use "maps" to communicate information to contractors, clients, the public and many other audiences.  When I began to make art quilts I was intrigued by aerial views of places. Then I began to refer to my books on urban planning and site plans of places that interested me. Gradually, I narrowed my focus to maps of real and imagined places.

My work is noted for its use of color, emphasis on line and density. My quilts are part of a continuing investigation of ideas that focus on geometrical relationships, patterns and ordering principles found in architecture. I try to convey these ideas abstractly, through the use of collage, layering, transparency, density and improvisation.

Currently, I teach architectural design classes at Florida A&M University's School of Architecture.  I received a Masters degree in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis after receiving an undergraduate degree from Yale University. My work has been widely published and exhibited. I have also lectured and given workshops across the country.

Location:  Tallahassee, Florida, USA

Online store: Quilts by Valerie

Blog: Cartoghraphic Constructions

Memberships: 

  Fiber Artists Collective
  Studio Art Quilts Association
  Studio Fiber Artists
Languages spoken: English

 "African Burial Ground" by Valerie S. Goodwin

Studio Art Quilts by Valerie S. Goodwin on Facebook

Tags: art quilts, map quilts, cartography, architecture, design, art, workshops, commissions

YellowViolet

www.yellowviolet.etsy.com

Growing up, my three sisters and I had to learn two things - how to sew and how to play the piano.  The sewing part stuck with me but I’m still not much of a musician.  I love working with fabric, love to watch it take shape and take on a personality.  By day, I work in the corporate world as an IT analyst where things are basically black and white but at night, YellowViolet allows me to create things and work with beautiful colors and textures.  It keeps me (somewhat) balanced.

My goal is to provide something for everyone and have fun while doing it.  I find I create according to my mood…sometimes elegant things, sometimes funky things and other times things that have a soft, soothing presence.  Each piece has a little of me reflected in it and my hope is that it brings a smile to someone's face.

-Shelley Cassky

Artist's statement: There are times when I am working that I feel as if the inspiration is not coming from me but coming through me.  That feeling of being in the flow is what I aspire to.  Being happy or surprised or totally blown away by the finished product is just so satisfying.  Having other people appreciate it, too, is priceless.

Location: Beautiful East Hartland, Connecticut, USA
Online store: YellowViolet
Languages spoken: English

Coiled fabric baskets by YellowViolet

YellowViolet on Facebook

Tags: Coiled baskets, coiled bowls, novelty boxers, cotton kimono, wearable art belts, colorful, home decor, quirky

Vintage Renewal

 

www.vintagerenewal.etsy.com

Jeanne Connolly is the Indie Furniture Re-designer for Vintage Renewal. Vintagerenewal.com is an online green furniture boutique specializing in blending both classic and modern pieces to create one-of-a-kind usable art for your home or studio office.

The furniture and art objects created for Vintage Renewal are inspired by past decades, fashion styles, different cultures, antique furniture, and vintage craft books. The frames covered are found or existing objects that are given a new lease on life. The redesigns are commonly covered in vintage fabrics and upcycled fabrics. We are a green boutique and practice green furniture redesign. We sell fully redesigned vintage furniture online, in boutiques and in galleries and do not accept commission orders.

Mission:  Be Green, Buy Vintage, Buy Handmade.  Saving the earth, one chair at a time.

Location:   Denver, Colorado, United States

Online stores:  Vintage Renewal, Vintage Renewal on Etsy,

     Go Green with Jeanne, Go Green with Jeanne on Etsy 

Brick and Mortar: By appointment only, email first.

Memberships: Team Eco Etsy, Denver Handmade Alliance, Design Style Guide
Languages spoken:  English

Indie furniture re-design by Vintage Renewal

Vintage Renewal on Facebook

Tags:  Vintage Furniture, Vintage Fabric, Vintage Furniture Redesigner, Indie Redesigner, Jeanne Connolly, Vintage Renewal, Texture, Vibrant Color, Retro, Green, Upcycled, Recycled, Revamped, Redesigned

Jacque Davis Textile Arts

Fugitive Dust by Jacque Davis

21 x 20

www.jacquedavis.com

What can I say?  ...I love cloth! Whether it is painting, stitching or rusting it to create my own cloth to be used in art quilts made to hang on the wall.

My one of a kind art to wear designs are created using discharge pastes and objects found in nature,  thrift stores, or parking lots (a great source for lost earrings and funky shaped rusty metal).  Dyeing silk scarves is my hot weather treat . I am passionate about the bright vivid colors created in dye baths in my outdoor studio.

Teaching surface design and dyeing is a love.  Students teach me so much and I love to see them light up when they try something new.

Artist's statement:  Every person’s mind builds images while asleep or day dreaming. This language helps us to process and communicate our thoughts and feelings. Even as our dreams are uniquely ours, they have a thread of the everyday world in them. It is this thread that allows us to recognize the common language spoken in dreams.

Cloth, paint, and thread provide the perfect tools to capture the evocative nature of the dream world. Cloth, soft and familiar to us all, provides the foundation. Thread connects the layers and lies visible on the surface, and paint can highlight or shadow an image adding another layer of interest.

My art work is a celebration of our connection to one another. When the separateness created by culture, society, and life disappears for a time, together we can rest in a quiet familiar place.

Location:  Freeburg, Illinois, USA

Online store: website

Blogs: Jacque Lynn Davis, Gallery Threads 

     and Fiber Artists Coalition (group blog)  

Other social media: Facebook (personal page)

Memberships: Fiber Artists Coalition. SAQA,  

     Surface Design Association 

Languages spoken: igPay atinLay  HA!

 

Summer Unraveled by Jacque Davis

20.5 x 26

Tags:  surface design, dyeing, color, cloth, stitch, paint , discharge dyeing, dancing, textiles, rust

Carol LeBaron Fine Art Textiles

Holston Cat Tail by Carol LeBaron
88 inches h x 57 inches w
www.carollebaron.com

I am a fine art textile maker.  I create one of a kind resist dyed wool and jacquard pieces, suitable for interiors.  I am open to working with interior designers and consultants.

Artist's statement: My work is a combination of modern technology and ancient techniques.  All of the work that I do is sustainable practice.  The wool pieces are clamp resist and acid dye, with hand stitch.  The jacquard pieces are woven at the Oriole Mill in Hendersonville, North Carolina, an artisan mill.

The inspiration for my fine art textiles comes from forms and colors found in nature.  I use these elements to create pieces that guide the atmosphere of interior spaces through color and the inherent sound absorbing qualities of fiber.  The materials I use allow a full range color palette, from brilliant tomes to muted shades.

Because the themes in my work center around the beauty of the natural environment, my working process incorporates green practices of water conservation and natural energy to produce long lasting, beautiful works of art.  The imagery and materials combine contemporary aesthetics, modern technology, and ancient processes. 

Location: Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA

Memberships: TACA, SDA, Complex Weavers
Languages spoken: English

"Dry Pitcher" by Carol LeBaron

cotton jacquard tapestry, 72 inches h x 55 inches w

Tags: Textile design, commission, fiber art, acid dye, textile art, collage, fine art, workshop, jacquard, green art work, RISD

Urbanknit

www.urbanknit.com

Urbanknit is my on-going love affair with colours and patterns. I love to make stuff! I love bright and bold colours and shapes that are also simple and functional. My main focus is on creating handmade accessories for those with a taste for something different.

Each hand-made piece is created to give the wearer the satisfaction of uniqueness and also to provide everyday accessories to complement various styles and reinforce the spirit of individuality.

I enjoy what I do and hope you do, too.

-Dolapo James

Artist's Statement:   Urbanknit is a design collective started by me,  Dolapo James, with the aim of providing fresh and interesting handmade fashion accessories; bags and scarves, that are unique and offer the wearer a sense of individuality.

From handbags and purses in bright African prints and batiks, to handknitted, there is something for everyone who'd like something a little bit different.

New designs, shapes and styles are added regularly and I am constantly exploring and experimenting with new ideas.

Each piece is carefully and lovingly put together by hand and one of my most important goals is ensuring that no two items are the same.

Location:  London, United Kingdom

Online Stores:   

     Urbanknit, Etsy,  Big Cartel, Not On The High Street  
Blog:  Urbanknit
Other Social Media:  Twitter, MySpace
Memberships: UK Handmade Network. Indiepublic

Languages spoken: English, Yoruba

Accessories by Urbanknit

Urbanknit on Facebook

Tags:  knit, chunky, wool, batik, clutch, tote, tie dye, woven, colourful, print

Cindy Grisdela Art Quilts

"Playing with Colors" by Cindy Grisdela

www.cindygrisdela.com

I'm a fiber artist specializing in abstract contemporary quilts for the wall. I'm particularly interested in color and the way colors interact with each other to enhance our experience of the world. Many of my designs draw on the traditions of the past, but reinterpret them in a contemporary way, reflecting the fact that I started out many years ago with traditional patterns and techniques.

In the last decade, I  began to feel the need to create my own designs so the fiber art I made would be truly mine. Since then, my work has been shown in local and regional shows in the Washington, DC area, as well as nationally in venues from New York to California. I'm thrilled when one of my pieces speaks to someone else so they want to live with it in their home or office. My work is represented in a number of private collections, including a recent work commissioned by a collector for a contemporary home in Hollywood Hills, CA. I sell my work through my website, as well as at the Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA and The Artisans shop in McLean, VA.

Artist's Statement: Creating art quilts is thrilling because I never know exactly what the design is going to look like until the piece is finished. Because there’s no pattern to follow, seeing the interplay of color and design on the design wall in my studio is integral to my creative process. Often the initial design idea is only faintly recognizable at the end because the choices of fabric, color and design interact in unexpected ways as the piece emerges. I like to use fabric the way a painter might use paint to create a mood, develop a contrast, or explore an idea. Once the top design is pieced, I add dimension to my work by quilting the layers together with whimsical free motion quilting—a process similar to drawing with a needle and thread.

Location: Great Falls, Virginia, USA
Online store: website
Blog: Cindy Grisdela
Memberships: Studio Art Quilt Associates
     Potomac Fiber Art Gallery
     Great Falls Studios
Languages spoken: English

"Color My World" by Cindy Grisdela

Cindy Grisdela Art Quilts on Facebook

Tags:  art quilts, contemporary quilts, abstract, color study, fiber art, textile art, improvisation, handstitching

Ray Materson

"Joan of Arc" by Ray Materson

www.raymaterson.com

I embroider. I embroider miniature images using the thread I glean from socks...Yes! Socks. I have collected a great many socks over the years and as long as they are there I'm going to use them...call me a recycler if you will.

The work I create, the images, run the gamut from edgy, personal life images to portraits and sports - mainly baseball - art. I like to think of my embroideries as my job; strange though it may seem.
But my job is really more than a means to put bread and butter on the table. It is through the artwork, through the creative process, that I continue to heal and reconstruct myself. There is always reconstructing that needs to be done. The art is my therapy in a manner of speaking. It keeps me centered and if I am away from it for too long I get uncomfortable. I stress.

I pull apart menial socks and create something new and beautiful out of them. I like to think of this as a metaphor for my own life experience.

I am represented by a gallery in New York City, the American Primitive Gallery. But I am also available through my websites to create personal portrait work for individuals
or to create specific theme images and commissions. 

Artist's Statement:  I create art from socks. The works are very small, 2.5 inches x 3 inches roughly. But I have heard they attract people, like jewels in a velvet case. Artwork, moving from the lowly and menial to the sublime.   I am honored that people enjoy my work.

Location: Montpelier, Vermont, USA

Web stores: Ray Materson, American Primitive

Languages spoken: English

 "Industrial Land" by Ray Materson

TAGS: needlework, embroidery, commissions, historical, society, self-taught, folk art, primitives, urban landscape, portraits, people, outsider art