Facets of a Rectangle

The ‘Stitching Innovative Xplorations’ group will exhibit a unique display of their craftsmanship and design abilities. Each limited to 30 pieces of fabric art, 15cm x 30cm, using any style and method of fabric design and construction, the members of the ‘SIX’ group have created an ‘installation’ work based on their quilting and fabric art knowledge. The small format was a good chance for each quilter to experiment with styles and techniques to see what one can achieve. The ‘SIX’ group, comprising Dianne Southey, Erilyn McMillan, Sue Hayward, Cheryl Shirriffs, Barbara Pritchard and Rhonda Ellery was formed in 2008.

‘Facets of a Rectangle’ began as an idea that each ‘SIX’ group member would create one piece per day over a month, but as usual good intentions don’t always work out. Some of the group were able to make three pieces or more each day; others took longer as on some days they failed to produce any work at all due to running a household, working, family holidays and similar reasons. Eventually all triumphed!

Barbara Pritchard writes: “I have always enjoyed exploring ‘shape’ in my quilts and am experimenting with abstract forms and how they can portray different aspects of life.” Starting with organic shapes and landscapes, Barbara’s quilting patterns led her to incorporate shapes that portrayed the general ‘busyness’ of life. She lists the late Austrian artist Frederick Hundertwasser as a starting point for her designs.

Rhonda Ellery has created textural pieces by altering white cloth with colour using paint, dyes, ink and stitchery. She says: “My quilts are the result of play days with my children, where I have enjoyed trying out fun techniques like gelatine prints, flour resist painted fabric, painting Tyvek (non-woven polyethylene barrier paper made by Dupont) and making silk paper.”

Cheryl Shirriffs’s inspiration for her quilt series was the saying: ‘Wearing your heart on your sleeve.’ “Everyone at some time in their life wears their heart on their sleeve in some way or form. I am also into ‘re-lifeing’ objects; as the base material for each of my small quilts I have used old jerseys. In making the hearts I have tried to use a wide variety of textures and materials.”

A photograph taken through the window of an abandoned barn gave Susan Hayward the idea for her project. “The photograph was manipulated in a computer programme to the size required and divided into 30 pieces. These were then printed onto ready to dye white cotton and embellished with a pure cotton thread as I liked the flat colours against the cloth. I wanted the pieces to have either a simply held edge or left raw to allow the eye to follow the rafter and sky patterns. It has been an interesting learning project, not the least has been the instability of the inks with this type of preparation!”

Erilyn McMillan found Alice’s Wonderland in her garden. “The size mandated for the project inspired me to take my camera out into the garden. It’s amazing looking at everyday things/plants through the lens of the camera. Sometimes it’s the colour, often the shape, but more than likely the texture, that becomes more interesting and poses the question: ‘I wonder how I can make that?’ Some of my work has been printed onto fabric and worked from there. I have also played with Photoshop looking at contrast and light. As my experience has grown my work has progressed from just stitching on fabric to include metal, paper, wool and other objects. After working on the first six or so pieces I made a decision to have fun and play. There was going to be nothing ‘wrong’ – it was all a learning curve, a ‘what if I do that’ experience.”

“My vision for this challenge,” writes Dianne Southey, “was to create a set of quilts that had organic curves, free flowing lines and colour. I have played mostly with freeform circles for these pieces but using them in different ways from the small circles randomly appliquéd over some pieces to the bigger circles created with buttons.”

Event listed by Stuart Schwartz

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