artists to watch
Denise Labadie Lafayette, Colorado Denise Labadie takes us on a journey to ancient Ireland with multilayered images that vibrate a timeless energy in her interpretive contemporary art quilts. Spend a few moments with them and you will be tempted to step back in time. The stone circles, portals, forgotten cemeteries, and the landscapes in which they reside are forged mysteries and discoveries. Denise brings these elements together through the approachability of cloth. Her careful composition and her process for creating her works make her an artist to watch.
20 | SAQA Art Quilt Collector
Journey’s first step Many years ago, I was inspired to recreate these sites after my husband, Allan, gave me a book entitled A Moment in Ireland. When I first opened it to a photo of the Piper Stones in County Wicklow, chills went through me. I had to see that stone circle in person. I started planning a trip to Ireland shortly thereafter. Knowing that I wanted to start making art quilts, Allan strongly suggested I come back with an idea for a quilt, and that was it: my first Piper Stones-inspired “stone quilt.” I was addicted to the stones, and still am. As I work on my quilts, I feel as though I’m communicating with the stones, or at least their history. My portals, in particular, are designed to make people want to actually go through them, to see what’s on the other side, to revisit times past, to appreciate and remember the people who built the stones, the worshipers and their ceremonies, the generations of families and clans that revered them.
