Queen Joker
Victim
Prostitute Gambler
Saboteur
King Guide Servant Judge Mother Child Susan Buckingham Vampire
Sharon WI
M
e, Myself and My Creative "I" is a digitally-composed piece that merges photos of “me” as an adult, “myself” as a child (the Happy Child) and the “I” of the Dilettante, as characterized by the Magpie. The Happy Child and Dilettante are constant companions. I remain happy in my creative pursuits and the Dilettante (sitting on my shoulder) calls for experimentation and trying new things.This piece is printed on cotton fabric with hand-dyed cotton borders, it has been free-hand quilted on my domestic machine, enhancing the images and adding a geometric border of stitching. Art has always played an important role in my self-expression. Supported by my mother, I was allowed to display my 'artwork' in a hallway in our home and that was the beginning of a life filled with creativity. Submerged in fabrics, toying with their colors and shapes, I was an addict before it was a “thing”. Garment sewing, machine and hand stitching, needlepoint, crewel work, macrame,
14
filled many years. After a few years of laying fallow, in 1991 I decided to take a quilting class and have never looked back. After taking many workshops and classes, reading countless books, watching videos and trying numerous techniques, my quilting life is in constant flux – wanting to try different techniques. Every new project sends me off in another direction. I often work on many pieces simultaneously, but each project sends me 'down the rabbit hole’ – deeply absorbed in the creation until it tells me it's finished. Currently, I am intrigued by digital manipulation of photographs using various iPad apps that I print out on fabric and how to incorporate these images into my work. Art quilts fascinates me, with specialized construction like a puzzle I need to solve. The idea appears and then the concept of creation develops. The colors of nature pull me in, but my secret wish is for more colors to be discovered. Imagine!