Color! Texture! Movement! Using Repurposed Materials!
Category: Mexican inspired
Mexican inspired art quilts spring forth from my love and respect for the Mexican culture. My love of dance and ballet folklorico add Color! Texture! and Movement! to this portfolio of art quilts.
About the Quilt Artist
My art quilts are all about the quilt artist creating abstract, whimsical or impressionistic pieces. Inspiration comes from the natural world as well as from Mexican and Native American influences. My materials of choice are often redirected fabrics from the San Francisco Design Center and found objects. Art quilts free me to play with color and texture. My technique, Scribble Quilting allows me to create movement on many of my pieces.
TWO INSPIRATIONAL ARTISTS
I owe some of my inspiration to two artists from Santa Cruz County, California. Meri Vahl, an award winning art quilter has been recognized nationally for her work. Teacher of the fabric layering technique, she was patient. Understanding that each student brought individual strengths, weaknesses and abilities. Ellen edith;friend, art quilter, fabric designer and artist extraordinaire made whimsical, personal quilts. Her influence lives on well beyond her life. I have great appreciation for these two local leaders of the art quilt world.
SAQA (STUDIO ART QUILT ASSOCIATES)
I am proud to be part of an evergrowing group of art quilters. SAQA started by Yvonne Porcella in Northern California in 1989. It has grown to an international organization. Art quilters have transformed the quilt into a 21st Century art form. I continue to explore new forms and ways of working with unusual materials on this journey.
ABOUT THE ARTIST,BIO
I was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. In high school I studied sewing and clothing construction for two years. I continued to sew much of my wardrobe. In 1974,I took my first quilting class at a neighborhood fabric store. Over the years, I continued to sew clothes and make quilts for my family. I stopped counting bed quilts at 300. After teaching 30 years in Watsonville as a bilingual teacher, I retired to spend more time on creating art quilts.
MY FIRST ART QUILT
Homage to a Dancer,45″ x 56″
In 2008, I made my first art quilt, Homage to a Dancer. It reflects my participation in Los Méxicas,the University of California,Santa Cruz ballet folklórico group.
A STUDIO IN THE ART CENTER
In May of 2016, I opened a studio in the Santa Cruz Art Center, 1001 Center St. Downtown Santa Cruz. I have space to work and display my work. For First Fridays and Open Studios, I fill the lobby with art. In June, 2019 New York Art Center accepted my work into their gallery. 7 Franklin Place, TRIBECA, New York City.
AWARD WINNING ARTIST
Great Blue Heron at Dusk,31″ x 25″
Great Blue Heron at Dusk entered into an art show in 2010. The following year it won a merit award at the Olive Hyde Art Gallery in Fremont,California.
In 2013, Visions of New Mexico won third place in the Neo Membreno Vessels 2013 Show at the Western New Mexico University Museum in Silver City, New Mexico.
These Mexican Dance Fabric Art quilts represent the meshing together of two major passions in my life,quilting and Mexican folk dance. Naturally I wanted to express my love of both of them. Can you just hear the Mariachi music now?
My First Mexican Art Quilt
Homage to a Dancer was my first art quilt. Furthermore,the 2 1/2″ inch blocks in the background come from the traditional quilt world. I added the braids and ribbon detail from my actual Jalisco region outfit. The ribbons on the skirt, shawl(rebozo) and garter mimic the actual costumes.
Homage to a Dancer 56″h x 45″ w 2009
Above all,the Jalisco region of Mexico dominates the world’s view of Mexico with mariachi music, Mexican Hat Dance and charros(Mexican cowboys).
Michoacan Regional Dance
However, each of the other 29 states have varied and unique traditions and dances. Michoacan is the Mexican Land of the Lakes. So, I included a net with fish to highlight that part of the culture. Furthermore,Day of the Dead traditions are especially vibrant there.
This Mexican Dance Fabric Art quilt,El Danzante de los Viejitos(The Dance of the Little Old Men) represents a traditional dance from Michoacan, Mexico. Young men with old men masks and canes wobble on to the stage. A competition of lively steps takes place. The dancers knock down other dancers with the canes. At the end, the dancers wobble off stage again.
More Fabric Art from Mexico
Market Day 51″ x 40″ 129 cm x 101 cm 2009
This Mexican Dance Fabric Art,Market Day is a 3 D representation of a typical dance outfit. I brought the plastic shopping bag back from Mexico. I made the braid to use when I performed Mexican folk dancing. Overall, the 2 1/2″ (6cm) blocks of blue fabric background connects me to the traditional quilt world. Many 3D items adorn and add texture. Yet, the piece remains culturally accurate.
The wisdom of the art world says that an artist should develop one identifiable portfolio of work. The audience should be able to recognize the work as work from the artist. At a later date, the artist may move in a different direction.Yet, isn’t following your heart why artists make art?
Following your Heart
My soul directs me to do something different. I must listen. So I have three portfolios that I take turns making; Mexican Inspired Fabric Collages, Nature Art Quilts and Abstract Art Quilts. Usually I make five or more pieces before moving on to another portfolio. The work remains fresh and new to me in this way.
Mexican Inspired Fabric Collages
De La Sierra, fabric collage
Mexican inspired fabric collages drew me to begin my art career. I gather fabric, details and found objects that I identify with the Mexican experience to use. The art pieces are mostly machine pieced together. Some embellishments require hand sewing. Whimsical, unusual effects are fun to include. To not make them would prevent me from following my heart. I draw on my knowledge of Spanish. I learned so much from my experiences dancing with Los Méxicas, the University of California at Santa Cruz’s Mexican folk dance group. Other influences include my travels to Mexico and my thirty six year elementary school teaching career working mainly with children of immigrants from Mexico. Following your heart takes many forms.
Abstract Art Quilts
Sandy Shore, an abstract art quilt
“Ann Baldwin May’s quilts are like abstract paintings.” Dave de Give “Oh, I didn’t realize that the art was a quilt.” I thought it was a painting. A visitor commented during Open Studios art tour. She had only seen a small photo of the abstract work in a catalogue.
No fabric squares or blocks. No patterns. I create color, texture and movement using tucks, decorative threads and fibers with undulating quilting stitches. I use pieces of mostly redirected fabric to create my abstract art quilts. Art quilts free me to use a wide range of colors. Art quilts free me to experiment with unusual fabrics.
Nature Quilts
Tree Along Creek,art quilt,32″ x 27″ 2019
My third portfolio is my nature quilts. I make trees, landscapes, seascapes and underwater fantasies. These fabric landscape and seascape collage art quilts use the fabric layering technique. I cover them with tulle and free motion quilted together. The tulle remains to hold the pieces in place but it is often invisible. Sheer fabrics and synthetics add a watery effect to the scenes. The art quilts are often colorful and whimsical. Some pieces I call underwater fantasies .
You may be interested in reading more about the techniques I use to create these art quilts.
Myself, the Artist.I am an artist. The tools I use are fabric, threads, batting and a sewing machine. If you look in my studio, you would see a sewing machine, cutting boards, rotary cutter, scissors and tools generally found in a sewing room or fabric studio. However, the items on the walls are quite foreign to a sewing room. Underwater fantasies, abstract art and maybe a Mexican inspired collage adorn the walls of my studio.
Myself, the Artist
Art Quilt Studio in the Santa Cruz Art Center, This is where I work.
How do you do that?
Sometimes it is hard for people to understand what they are seeing. Perhaps they recognize a fish swimming though kelp. “How did you get it to look like the light is reflecting off of the water? What? It is covered with what? I don’t see it. ” Myself, the artist explains the fabric layering technique. I lay the backing down on a table.Then I lay down the batting (soft center of a quilt). Next, create the scene. Finally, I cover the whole piece with tulle netting. After free motion quilting the layers together the tulle netting disappears. The tulle netting remains on top but it can’t readily be seen. Some nettings have extra sparkles on it that reflects the light like water.This answers the question,what do I do?
Traditional Blocks
Quilt blocks (squares) sewn together to create tradional bed quilts. Those blocks are made from patterns. The patterns may be new or a hundred years old. Myself, the artist comes from that world. I love the charming bed quilts that I have made. I just don’t do that anymore.
No more Patterns
I no longer use commercial patterns. When I buy a pattern, my expectation is that it will be correct. If if is a pattern for clothing, I pay attention to the measurements on the back. I expect the pattern to fit. Since I have been sewing clothes since high school, I have used many patterns for myself and my children. Sadly, more often than not, the clothing made from following these patterns carefully did not always fit.
The last straw for me was when my daughters were 3 and 4 years old. I was working full time. Yet, I wanted to make them each a dress with a pinafore. The pinafores were the same size as the dresses. The pattern had not adjusted them to be bigger to allow them to fit over the dresses. I was so disappointed. The dresses and pinafores were wore separately and loved to death by my daughters. I never bought another pattern after that.
Who created the Fabric Layering Technique?
Laura Fogg created the fabric layering technique. Meri Vahl learned it from her. I learned it from Meri Vahl. We are all art quilters located in Northern California. I create my own landscapes and underwater fantasy scenes from fabric. While the techniques are similar, each art quilt is unique.
Swimming With Sea Dragons, an art quilt,This is what I make.
Abstract Art Quilts
Abstract art quilts are also visible in my studio. The abstract pieces I make are designed on a design wall. My design wall is a large wall covered with white flannel. The fabric pieces stick to the flannel. I can move the pieces around until they find their spot. High end redirected fabrics from interior designers add a unique quality to my art. I choose solid colors but also fabrics with texture and movement that appeals to me. This answers the question,what do I do?
Gridlock II, art quilt This answers the question,what do I make?
Mexican inspired Fabric Collages
Mexican inspired fabric collages add whimsy to my studio. They reflect my love and respect for the Mexican culture. I love playing with the bright colors. Three dimensional found objects may also be hand sewn to the finished top.
