Tag: mixed media textiles

Unravelling:  The Case for Reparations

Unravelling: The Case for Reparations

This piece was completed just in time for the call for submissions to the We Are the Story exhibition at the Textile Center in Minneapolis, MN.  I was thrilled that Unravelling is part of the Racism: In the Face of Hate, We Resist portion of the show.  The exhibit is curated by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi and is getting a lot of buzz.

The quote is by William Faulkner, one of our greatest writers, and one of the first sons of the American South to feature relationships between black and white characters in his fiction. As flawed as Faulkner was on issues of race, his words very succinctly describe why we must work today to make amends for the systemic racism in our country today.    For an ‘antiracist reading list,’ click here. 

Materials:  flags, woven and whitewashed, fusible web, hand-painted non-woven, felt, cotton backing, thread.

Unravelling: The Case for Reparations, by Mary Vaneecke, 2020, 41” x 37”

UnRavelling is a sister quilt to (White) Silence is Violence), which is also in the show.  This piece was made in 2018 and is now in a private collection.

(White) Silence is Violence, by Mary Vaneecke 2018
Haiku II

Haiku II

 Haiku II is a visual interpretation of its namesake Japanese literary artform .  Translucent silk fabrics were dyed using the Japanese shibori technique itajime, then layered with synthetic fabrics and machine stitched. Photography by Jack Kulawik.

But I could hardly name an art quilt Haiku and not write a poem for it, now could I?  So here goes:

Haiku II

Take two images.

Separate and relate them.

It’s not so simple.

Winner of an Honorable Mention at the Studio Art Quilt Associates – Arizona Chapter 2017 exhibition, Exposures.

Haiku II, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke. 54.5'' x 41''
Haiku II, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke. 54.5” x 41”
Haiku II by Mary Vaneecke, detail
Haiku II by Mary Vaneecke, detail

 

 

 

Haiku III

Haiku III

 

Haiku III

The silk remembers

The loom, the folds, the needle,

The thread, and the flame.

Shibori is a Japanese word for creating pattern on fabric.  In the shibori process, many items can be used–folds, clamps, string, needle and thread.  Haiku III  is a visual interpretation of the poetic literary art form.  Translucent silk fabrics were dyed using the itajime and machine-stitched Katano shibori.  They were layered and machine stitched with burned raw edges. While the four complexly dyed fabrics relate to one another, each is beautiful in its own right.  Photo by Jack Kulawik.

Haiku III, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke, 38'' x 46''
Haiku III, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke, 38” x 46”
Haiku III by Mary Vaneecke (detail)
Haiku III by Mary Vaneecke (detail)
Elegy for the Beautiful Son

Elegy for the Beautiful Son

The Beautiful Son, hand-dyed, hand-worked liturgical linen (maker unknown), layered and quilted with the names of African American boys and men killed at the hands of police, and burned.
Elegy for the Beautiful Son, hand-dyed, hand-worked liturgical linen (maker unknown), layered and quilted with the names of African American boys and men killed at the hands of police, then burned. 36” x 33”.  It is part of the Sacred Threads 2017 exhibition.  
Elegy for the Beautiful Son by Mary Vaneecke.
Elegy for the Beautiful Son by Mary Vaneecke, detail.

Abuela Reads the Headlines

Abuela Reads the Headlines , 2015

Abuela is Spanish for grandmother.  I imagine her in her barrio (neighborhood) garden in my hometown, Tucson, surrounded by an ocotillo (a living, cactus-type) fence.  She has her handwork and the blessed Virgin of Guadalupe nearby, with a grandchild at her knee.  Abuela scans the headlines about America’s current immigration policy, and weeps.

Materials:  vintage handworked textiles (makers unknown), felted wool, embellishing (480 jewelry spikes), cotton and cotton-silk fabric, dyeing, discharging, silk sari ‘yarn,’ window screen, acrylic felt, embellishments (milagros and crystal rosary), synthetic organza.

Techniques:  dyeing, heat and chemical burning, wet felting, hand stitching, couching, machine stitch, discharging, devore, dyeing, cutting.

Abuela Reads the Headlines, 55''h x 84''
Abuela Reads the Headlines, 55”h x 84”
Abuela Reads the Headlines, detai
Abuela Reads the Headlines, detail
A Wild Winter Whirlwind

A Wild Winter Whirlwind

Wild and WonderfulIt has been a busy winter in the studio and a lot has happened since Wild and Wonderful 3-D Quilts debuted at Houston Quilt Festival last fall.

  • For starters, Brewer Sewing is now distributing the book to quilt shops.  Ask for it at your local quilt shop.
  • Individuals can buy the book from me at Amazon.com for the full $14.99 sticker price. (click here for more information)  I want to support local quilt shops and won’t undercut their prices online.
  • The National Quilting Association’s Quilting Quarterly will publish its book review this spring.
  • I hope to bring my 3-D quilting classes online later this summer. Stay tuned for details.
  • My friend Lea McComas and I are making plans to promote our books  at Houston Quilt Festival again this year.  It’s a Jungle Out There will be touring with the Studio Art Quilt Associates Wild Fabrications show, and Houston will be the first stop on the tour.
  • The National Quilting Association’s Quilting Quarterly will review my book in its next issue.  How cool is that?

Last but not least, I am going to the Chicago Quilt Festival this month to demonstrate my techniques at the free Open Studios booths on Thursday, March 26, and Saturday, March 28. Superior Threads will be selling Wild and Wonderful 3-D Quilts at the show, along with all their gorgeous threads.

Will I see you there?

The Big Reveal….

Those of you who saw my post last month ‘Just a Peek’  know that I showed detail shots of 2 recent works from my Samaras series–the full photos were embargoed until now.  The first is called ‘Off the Wall’ and is in a blue/green and red/orange color scheme.  You can see it in the Tucson Quilters’ Guild show in January.  The second is ‘Free Radical IV’ in  blue/violet and yellow/orange.   They both continue the 3-Dimensional vein of work that I am exploring.  Both will be on exhibit at the Jewish Community Center in December (details to follow).

Off the Wall, 39.5” x 26” x 6”, 2012

 

Free Radical IV, 39” x 39” x 6”