The Short Answer

I am not one that generally looks “deep” into why I make the art that I make. I’m not sure if this comes from the ever present little voice (I call her Aural) that is constantly telling me “that’s not good”, “why are you doing that”, etc. or the fear of sounding like a complete idiot. A friend recently asked me several questions – one being “Do you find that the medium (fabric) adds a dimension to expression that you may not get with paint on canvas?” This made me stop and think – why DO I work on fabric? I have painted with acrylics and oils, worked with pastels, graphite pencil, ceramics and many other mediums so why am I drawn to fabric? I thought I was going to give a short answer but it turned out I had a lot more to say than I thought I did! I'll be short here.  The short answer is Yes, I feel that fabric adds a great deal of emotion to a piece. I once explained what I do as "an abstract painting that has been released from the constraints of its frame". Yes, to me the fabric becomes alive, it has soul and movement, it is not static. I love when a viewer is looking at the work and the piece gently reaches out to them. The work follows the viewer as if to say come back, talk to me. I find that the flowing of the fabric is very difficult to resist, viewers instinctly reach out to touch it. There is a peaceful dance that happens between the viewer and  the art work.