TEXTILE COLLAGES
Autumn Grove. Overpainted and commercial fabric on canvas panel (30" x 15" )
River Clouds. Hand-painted, overpainted, and commercial fabric on canvas panel (30" x 15")
By the Banks. Mosaicked fabric, fibers on canvas panel (30" x 15" )
Pond Rhythms. New and repurposed fabric, fiber, and scrim on canvas panel (10" x 20")
Meadow Grasses. New and repurposed fabric and fibers on canvas panel (10" x 20")
Conservatory. Handpainted, overpainted, and commercial fabric and fibers on canvas panel (19" x 20")
Aspiring to Glory (Bindweed I). Mostly cotton fabric with yarn embellishment on canvas panel (18" sq.)
Bamboo. Cotton fabric and scrim on canvas panel (18" square)
Small Works
Summer Garden #5. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock (SOLD)
Summer Garden #3. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock
Summer Garden #1. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock. (SOLD)
White Berries. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Cotton fabric on heavy stock.
Arboretum #3. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock.
Wandering. 8"x8". Hand-painted fabric and fiber on cradled wood panel.
Summer Garden #6. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock (SOLD)
Summer Garden #4. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock (SOLD)
Summer Garden #2. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock
Arboretum #2. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock.
Arboretum #4. 4.25"x4.25"; 10"x10" framed. Mixed-media on heavy stock. (SOLD)
Buoyancy. 8"x8". Mosaicked fabric, embossed copper and lace on muslin-wrapped, cradled wood panel.
January. 10"x10". Mixed fabrics with antique lace and yarn embellishment on canvas panel.
Against the Tide. 6"x8". Fabric and beads on canvas panel.
DreamScape Day. 20"x10". Fabric, fiber, and beads on canvas panel.
Wet Pane. 6"x8". Fabric and beads on canvas panel.
DreamScape Night. 20"x10". Fabric, fiber, and beads on canvas panel.
"What exactly are these collages? Are they quilts? Are they sewn? How do you get your ideas?"
Despite the fact that the primary medium is fabric, this is collage on a firm substrate, using archival glue, much like a cut paper collage. Some collages may be assembled with any combination of metal elements, fibers, acrylic medium and acrylic paint. There is no stitching involved.
What there is, is a huge amount of love and labor in each piece. Each collage is carefully cut and laid out before it is photographed, disassembled, and then slowly reassembled, gluing from the back layer, forward.
That is just the method. The inspiration comes from botanical life everywhere in nature and even indoors. And it also comes from the fabric itself.
A particularly blue batik fabric may inspire water and reflections, while a light green leafy pattern may become the surprise backdrop for an underwater pond scene, and burlap can become potting moss.
In these textile collages I try to capture the movement, color, beauty and joy of the natural world.
"Two whimsical pieces, 'Against the Tide' and "'River Clouds,' by another textile artist, Julia Berkley, are captivating, initially because the designs and colors used are so fanciful. A closer look reveals hundreds of tiny snippets of fabric assembled to create rich, dense, imaginative compositions."
—Flavia Cigliano, ArtScope Magazine, Mar/Apr 2017, reviewing Artists Corner & Gallery