Summing up my art career... so far

Next Monday, I will send off my application for an artist's fellowship from the Kansas Arts Commission. As part of the paperwork, I need to provide a one-page artist's statement "connecting the artist's work with process and career path". My usual artist's statement is much shorter, so I wrote a new one and later realized this is the perfect wrap up to the blog entries which documented my art career. Here is what I wrote.

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Artist's Statement
In 1993, I took some classes in traditional quilting and quickly became obsessed. My progress as a quilter was so rapid that I was soon teaching and winning major awards, but after a few years, I was making so many beginner samples that I was being dragged backwards artistically. In the summer of 1999, I made the conscious decision to stop teaching and leave traditional quilting so I could concentrate on creating art, using quilting as my medium.

After taking workshops and experimenting with materials and processes for a year or two, I created Discombobulated, which became the seminal work for my current style. It was the first time I had used quilting to create a three dimensional work and the first time I treated the quilt as if it were raw material rather than a surface to be decorated. This was a major turning point for me. In the years since, I’ve used quilted forms as lines, planes, structures and even metaphors in my work. I credit the artist Eva Hesse and the architect Frank Gehry for showing me, with their own work, how to effectively move through and embrace physical space with an object.

My past professions, particularly my time as a technical writer, have influenced my artistic voice the most. As a writer, I always wondered how a person could convey complex concepts without using words. As an artist, the answer has been to create my own version of a visual dictionary. Some of the words in my Definitions series reflect my technical background, but lately I have been adding even more layers of meaning to my work, including social commentary. I plan to continue doing this even more.

My work isn’t easy to categorize, but I usually call myself a conceptual artist because the idea is the most important part. The finished works can take many forms, but I am best known for my freestanding work, so I also consider myself a sculptor. I may incorporate several different materials to get the effect that I want, but one or more quilted elements always appears in each piece. I love bold, bright colors and use them liberally to give excitement and energy to everything I make.

In the future, I hope to create several large wall-mounted installation works based on the concept of graphs and charts, as well as continuing to expand my Definitions series. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of my ideas.

Comments

[Jeri Riggs]

That is a wonderful summary of your artistic path and the whys and wheretofores. If I were in charge of grants, you'd be at the top of my list.I hope the KAC gives you the fellowship, so you can create even more conceptual/sculptural pieces without worrying about the costs. I enjoyed reading this, and I think the comittee will, too. I look forward to seeing what you will make next!

[sonji]

I hope that you are successful in securing your grant. Your statement is in line with the development of your work as showcased on your lovely website.

[Jill Rumoshosky Werner]

Sonji and Jeri, thank you for your kind comments about my statement!