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| On the Verge |
It's time to share another new work! This is
On the Verge. It's one of the quilts making its debut at the
Virginia Quilt Museum in my solo show,
Beyond the Blue: Contemporary Narrative Quilts by Sue Reno. The exhibit runs from August 16 - October 23, with a reception on September 23.
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| On the Verge, detail 1 |
I chose the title "Beyond the Blue" because the work I am showing is representative of my ongoing experiments with the cyanotype process. I began decades ago with traditional prints, albeit on cloth rather than paper, and mastered making very crisp, clean images. In 2017 I dove headfirst into the wet cyanotype process, which involves moisture and long exposures and produces unpredictable but beautiful results. Lately I've been selectively adding Solarfast solar dye chemicals into the mix to add colors beyond the basic Prussian blue, and this large fox grape print is a good example of this.
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| On the Verge, detail 2 |
But on its own, the breakdown of chemicals in the wet cyanotype process produces hints of a wide array of blue, turquoise, green, and purple hues, and occasionally these lovely solar flare-like flashes of golden yellow.
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| On the Verge, detail 4 |
The printmaking process, which is both demanding and exciting, is just one step in the process. The prints are transformed by selective stitching that adds movement and dimension. The next step is to set them into patchwork, which has its own set of challenges and rewards. I like to use a variety of fabrics--cotton, silk, and wool--from my deep stash of cloth going back many decades. Prints and colors in fabric come and go in trends and cycles, just like any consumer good, and a deep stash adds richness and variety that pull the viewer into the work. In this particular quilt, the patchwork contains scraps from my mother's dressmaking efforts in the 40's and 50's, along with silks I brough back from India in the 70's.
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| On the Verge, detail 5 |
The impetus for this quilt came from a chapter in my personal story.
After decades in the same spot I
moved, and resumed my art practice from a new perspective. I began by grounding
myself, printing with the plants at the edges of my new yard. I found myself on
the verge of something interesting and complex. As I worked on this quilt during the worst of the pandemic, it came to symbolize the challenges of living in a time of change and upheaval. We need to maintain a certain level of vigilance, because we feel ourselves to be always on the verge of more disruptive change. I do hold out hope that change can also be transformative in a positive, progressive way.That leads us to the "Narrative Quilts" part of the exhibit title. These quilts arose out of my deep observation of my surroundings, and my response to the zeitgeist. But I am leaving the story open-ended enough that everyone can find common ground with their own unique narratives.
On the Verge features prints of fox grapes (the wild native grape here in Pennsylvania), Virginia creeper, and my perennial favorite native plant, pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). It measures 54" h x 49"w.
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