Booth 501
(See map below)
About the Artist
An heirloom rocking chair in need of restoration was my inspiration to learn to cane, which evolved into an ongoing series of paintings and mixed media works investigating the forms and textures of chairs and interior spaces. Drawers and boxes in my studio overflow with scraps collected for the past twenty years – treasured family photos, heirloom embroidery, pieces of chair upholstery, vintage drawer liners, richly colored and textured textiles, stacks of my child’s drawings – bits and pieces of stories and nostalgia, a collection of a past lifetime. This body of work combines found and discarded materials with traditional art media. Thrift store quilt squares, chair upholstery, fabric flowers, balsa wood, and bits of cut paper left behind by my children are layered with paint, marker and oil pastel to create contemporary narratives from past stories. The chair and floral pieces have evolved into a complex narrative ¬– one both deeply personal and widely shared – stories of loss, renewal, remembrance, expectancy, surprise, and change.
My creative process starts with either a combination of materials that create the illusion of space, a room (fabric to cover a wall, elements for a pieced rug, a wash of color for the creation of depth) or the elements necessary for a floral composition or chair (usually comprised of fabric pieces). My process is intuitive and although I generally begin with somewhat of a blueprint, an idea of the composition of a piece, many of the other elements come together organically. Floral No. 38 is a piece that incorporates various found textiles and acrylic paint. Layers of acrylic color created a basic structure and background for this piece and various cut flower pieces were positioned in the space, covered with additional layers of paint until the composition felt complete. Lives and works in Harrisonburg, VA.
