Fabric Art

Pink Buttons, 1997

The silk taffeta remnants were given to me by an artist friend after she saw the other fabric pieces I was working on. I bought the pink flower buttons at the McMichael Park Flea Market in East Falls in 1996. My sister gave me the gray beads and silver roses for Christmas.

Charms, 1996

Charms, Fabric, Plastic Toys, Beads, and Metal Pieces,1996

This is another remnant of the silk taffeta my friend gave me for the Pink Flowers fabric piece. I saved all the charms I got from bubblegum machines as a child, and this piece features most of them. I got the beads from the Munkewicz Recreation Center in Port Richmond.

Twinkle, 1996

A friend gave me the slipper satin fabric remnants; my sister gave me the seed beads for Christmas; I bought the buttons at a flea market.

Bellbottoms, Fabric and Found Objects, 1990

Bellbottoms, Fabric, Pins, Beads and Found Objects, 1990

I wore day-glo chartreuse bellbottoms to high school and after I grew out of them, I saved the fabric and used it for this piece. I sewed on other objects I'd saved, mostly metal pieces I found on the street or little pieces of je ne sais quoi laying around the house that would have otherwise been thrown out. My sister gave me the tiniest pins in my stocking for Christmas one year and I use those to decorate this piece. The miniature license plates were issued by Transports Quebec for the keychains of the license plate owners.

Diamond Nets, 1996

Diamond Nets, Fabric, Beads, Plastic Netting, 1996

Blue cotton fabric that I saved from a shirt of mine that had worn out. Handsewn with beads and netting. The red netting is from a bag of onions. The yellow netting I kept since a child, from my mother's fabric stash.

Patchwork Pincushions, 2004

I made these out of fabric cut from old shirts of mine. I stuffed them with packaging peanuts. I like the idea of using things I have on hand and might otherwise throw away to make art.

Compass, Charms and Found Objects on Fabric, 1989

The fabric is a remnant of stretchy pants I wore when I was six years old. A friend gave me the charms. As a young adult I wore analog Timex watches and when they broke, I took them apart and kept the pieces. For this art, I turned the clock face containers into picture frames (faces blurred to shield identity). The metal pieces are all found objects. I repurposed the hangers from my old worn out knapsack.