90" X 90"

2010

This is the 3rd piece In the American Context series where I am working with American Art icons on traditional american patchwork patterns. I have constructed the quilt base out of used and recycled clothes, linens, etc. The subjects are life size and reflect a contemporary demographic in the style of the one depicted on the original painting from which the title and pose are taken.  

Detail of hand 

90" X 110"

2012

Andrew Wyeth Painted his neighbor Christina Olson after seeing her drag herself home through the field. This painting speaks to the concept of relative distance and what we take for granted. 

This works well in concert with the themes of this show where I am doing my best to change the pre-conceptions of functional objects and challenge the paradigms of ‘Craft’. 

This quilt follows the lights and darks of the painting giving a dialog between the traditional motif in the quilting and the visual motif in the painting.  

Detail of Hair

90" X 90"

2012

This is my Quilt adaptation of the John Singer Sargent Painting of Madame X. 

I have used the posture but not the subject. I have taken a friend and asked her to stand for the portrait. The background is made of recycled clothing in a traditional quilt pattern. 

Detail of face

105" X 105" 

This pieces is made to display on a bed. In order to see the image it has to be placed on a bed and viewed as one would a quilt in use. The pattern on the background however is designed to be seen displayed on the wall to reference the way art quilts are displayed. 

105" X 105" 

This pieces is made to display on a bed. In order to see the image it has to be placed on a bed and viewed as one would a quilt in use. The pattern on the background however is designed to be seen displayed on the wall to reference the way art quilts are displayed. 

Here is a picture from a show in Washington. 

Edward Hopper paints a couple of seeming teenagers on the porch during a summer night. There is a lot of interaction alluded to in this posture but true to Hopper’s style not directly stated. Hopper is one of the Great American painters. His best known works are landscapes and partial body images, but for this project I needed full body postures and this one fit and gave me a lot to work with. 

The people pictured in the reproduction are in the posture which speaks to their true interactions in life. The background in mine is a red rather than a white on black to allude to the tention in the real-life scenario. 

Detail of leg

Getting help from a friend. 

108" X 198"

The Flag is one of the greatest icons of our country. I went to find the fabric to construct a flag from discarded clothing instead i found a garrison flag ripped and stained from long use. I took it and used the material to reconstruct a flag allowing the material to dictate the star placement and show the wear the flag had taken on by its use.

I think a great metaphor for democracy and adaptive reuse. Take a discarded thing no longer usable in its current form and transform it back into a better stronger version of its self.  

I made the flag in a traditional quilt pattern turned 45 degrees to allow the stripes to run horizontal. The simplicity of the quilt allows the materials and the concept to be forefront in the design and affect. 

Detail of stars

Detail of stripe

Detail of stitching