Cycles of Time and Space in process

I am so excited to announce that my art quilt, Cycles of Time and Space, is in the Crocker Art Museum’s 2021 Silent Auction and is available to bid on right now!

This post is to show what happens behind the scenes - the creative process, if you will. This piece was a tricky one, to say the least. I finished it during a very difficult time in my life, and though I wasn't happy with the (first) result, I didn't have the energy to break through the invisible barrier that was preventing me from realizing the full potential of this piece. I put it away in storage, thinking that I would never let anyone see it, I was so dissatisfied with it. Then, maybe 9 months later, after I had developed new techniques with new materials, I decided to pull out this artwork and give it a new life.

It is not recommended to "finish" a work and then decide that it's not finished. I had to remove/undo a lot of the finishing work in order to continue, such as the label, the velcro for hanging and the binding. Sometimes making textile art involves a lot of hassle.

On the left, the original figures and background created with hand embroidery. On the right, a photo which shows the more or less original idea for the work, before I began making a lot of changes.

It was difficult for me to realize what was lacking and therefore what was needed. I dyed the bottom half a darker color. I started playing around with adding fibers to the surface, and debated whether or not to add a "veil" of silk organza (which I ended up doing).

I played around with different orientations and decided to flip the piece 180 degrees. Below you can see this change and the beginning of the stitching over the organza. In the middle picture, the stitching is completed. To me, the artwork was definitely improved, and had a soft, atmospheric presence, which I really liked. But I still thought it needed something. Using photo editing software, I tested out a few more ideas and decided to subtly add some 4th dimensional geometric shapes, using hand embroidery.

Finally, this piece became something which I'm happy to show the world, and offer for purchase to lovers of art!

This year’s Art Auction Season taking place online using the Bidsquare platform and is open for everyone to participate! Please visit: www.crockerart.org/artauction to learn about the Crocker’s Art Auction Season. If you’re already a Bidsquare pro, you can view the works at

www.bidsquare.com/auction-house/crocker-art-museum. Registration is free for everyone, and

bidding is now open!

Support raised from this year’s Art Auction Season is critical for the Crocker and for the

thousands of children, families, and adults the Museum serves every year. Your generous

support is needed now more than ever.

Thank you for your support!

Shea