Ileana Soto

Gestation 2022 32” x 31” Art Quilt NFS laniluisa@comcast.net www.ileanasoto.com

Creatures that live in the sea and on the land are in relationship with one another and their environments. From gestation to birth to death, their cellular layers interact.

The three-year gestation period from 2019 to 2022 has included pandemic fear alongside political and climate distress. My original 2019 piece formed a foundation for development and future layering. Recently, I folded sections under and stripped pieces away, focusing and simplifying. Areas were given thick, complex layers of paint and color. A more stable, womb-like form emerged.

Throughout the forming and re-forming of this piece, the archetype of the Mother called to me. Mothering myself, I call attention to the inter-relatedness of our environments. Nurturing one nurtures the other.