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Fabric is something I have been working with for quite some time. My mother taught me how to sew when I was a teenager and after that I started making some of my own clothes. I tried crochet, knitting, and cross stitching but I am not able to make the stitches in similar sizes. They are all over the place so the final product never looks good. Fabric, however, is a different story.
The link between fabric and art came to me many years ago when I was at an “Open Studio” event. I saw this incredibly interesting painting and I remember wondering how hard it would be to create something similar with fabric? I told myself I would do that one day when I had the time.
The time arrived towards the end of 2018 when I realized I wanted a more creative outlet and started looking at the paintings in my house. I knew that painting was out of the question as I have no talent for that. Time to go back to my old friend: fabric!
My first attempt at “painting with fabric” looked like something done by a kindergartner. I was not about to give up that easily, so I decided to make a second and a third attempt. I knew what I wanted to do and kind of what I needed. I went to a local quilt store hoping I would find the material I wanted. I found what I was looking for but most importantly, I met this wonderful lady who shared with me her world of fabric collage. She also invited me to attend her Fabrication Imagination class.
Attending her class was the turning point in my journey. I learned how to look at fabric in a completely different way. Now I see what fabric can be, what parts I can use for the artwork I am working on, how I can transform it into what I want, how I can create what I do not have. Much to her disappointment, I was not sold on the stitching part of the fabric collage process. In my point of view, the stitches sometimes become the focal point, stealing the show from the whole picture. I decided to incorporate some of my own ideas into the fabric collage process. Rather than using several small pieces of fabric to create the picture, I use as much of the same fabric as needed for each part of the image.
My creative process usually starts with visualizing the piece in my mind followed by research on the subject. Learning about the subject of the artwork is a big part of my creative process because it gives me insight and inspiration and the freedom to decide how to I want to portray them: realistically or imaginatively.
The art pieces belong to me while I am creating them. Once complete, they belong to someone who one day will own them and appreciate as much as I did while I was creating them.
