Edge of Information: A Cityscape of Paper & Cloth, 48 x 36 inches, ©2009 Leslie Tucker Jenison

Last summer, when I was in Ohio for the taping of Quilting Arts TV, I had the pleasure of meeting several artists who were also there to tape various segments on their own work. One of these was Leslie Tucker Jenison, a lovely and talented artist from San Antonio, Texas. I didn’t realize it when I met her, but after I got home, it hit me that she was the creator of  Edge of Information: A Cityscape of Paper & Cloth, from SAQA‘s Creative Force exhibition, a quilt I loved so much I decided a detail of it needed a full page in the intro of the catalog.

Edge of Information: A Cityscape of Paper & Cloth (detail), ©Leslie Tucker Jenison

Intrigued by the idea behind this piece, I contacted Leslie to ask her about the work. She was very generous in sharing her process with me. The quilt is constructed of cotton/bamboo, cotton/silk, cotton broadcloth, and Lutradur. It also features various kinds of paper from books, magazines, newsprint, and shredded junk mail, all stabilized with matte medium to seal and stabilize against potential problems with acid content in the paper. She explains how her original idea was transformed during the process:

I was creating a quilt for a themed exhibition. I spent about a month using dye, soy-wax batik, screen-printing, and other surface design techniques to create many yards of cloth and paper for this quilt, thinking I was working toward an abstract winter landscape. The piece wasn’t coming together in a satisfying way, but still I pushed forward. One night, I had a dream about a very different quilt using all this cloth & paper. This had never happened to me before (or since, unfortunately!); this quilt would be a different sort of landscape: a city skyline. I dropped the other construction and began working on the piece that eventually became Edge of Information. The quilt came together very quickly once I got on track. Edge of Information: A Cityscape of Paper and Cloth is the first large piece that I created using both cloth and paper.”

Artists come to fiber art from many different backgrounds, but I think Leslie is unique in that she has been both an RN and a pilot. I asked her if either of these things provided an influence for her current work, and she said, “Without question!” Once I heard how these things relate to her work, it’s easy to see the inspiration. She says,

I love the juxtaposition of microscopic to the overt. I adore all things skeletal: I find bones to be very sculptural, with fascinating contours and negative spaces. To me, the inside of the human body is as beautiful and interesting as the outside.

I have spent many hours flying over the landscape, particularly in the midwest. Topographical details of the landscape, crop patterns, river courses, etc., have greatly influenced my quilting style.

Leslie says her best work comes from experimenting in the studio. She doesn’t plan extensively when making a piece, but she begins with an idea and allows the work to evolve while working out the details of how best to interpret and convey the subject.

Her recent large quilt, What Remains, a piece about the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, is another example of how she works to express the idea.

What Remains,  ©2010 Leslie Tucker Jenison

The quilt was created using print media about the earthquake, laminated to polyester sheer, along with cloth created to resemble industrial-looking building materials. The base is constructed of many layers of felt and cloth to create a dimensional effect. Leslie describes her thoughts about making the work:

Specifically, I was thinking about the strata of the rubble: all the everyday items layered in between building materials. I thought about how these images are shown to us so frequently that we almost become immune to the horror of the tragedy. Then, it becomes yesterday’s news. I did a great deal of writing on this piece both by hand and sewing machine, and it’s incorporated into the quilt. The quilt is quite raw and disturbing to look at, and that was my intent.

This quilt was part of the special exhibition Beneath The Surface in Houston at the International Quilt Festival.

Where I Come From, 8 x 10 inches, ©2010 Linda Sharp

Yesterday I received this marvelous jewel of an artwork in the mail. It’s my purchase from the SAQA Benefit Auction. I’d had my eye on it from the beginning, and now I’m so thrilled to have it. The photograph doesn’t do it justice; I wish you could see it in person. The spheres are brilliant little half-globes of felt, and the quilting is exquisite, bringing to mind ocean currents or shipping routes. The circular globe shape is dimensional, a raised area surrounded by a narrow strip of felt. Even the back is meticulously finished, with the title done in beautiful lettering, and some intriguingly deconstructed printing hinting at the narrative.

Where I Come From, reverse, ©2010 Linda Sharp

I wanted to know more about the story behind the quilt, so I contacted the artist, Linda Sharp, to ask her about it. Here’s what she said:

“Where I Come From” is a theme that has intrigued me for years.

Being an adoptive child made me wonder about my biological origins and what secrets may be encoded in my DNA waiting to surprise me.
I am reasonably certain now that I am not a lost princess, as childhood dreams dictated. But this is just as well, since it is probably too late for me to learn how to eat at a place setting with six forks and I suspect that even a tiara won’t really help a bad hair day.

As the daughter in an air force family, and the wife of an engineer specializing in rural telecommunications, I have lived in many parts of the world.
Landscapes spoke to me, friendships were made and sometimes wisped away, foods were remembered, but no one place held all the good things.
I could never really answer the question “Where do you Come From?”

The heavy metallic stitching on the quilt represents the complexity of where we belong – the currents of time and travel change us and our needs.
The button is a whimsical ‘belly button’ hinting at the secrets of my birth.
The felted spheres speak to me of many things, molecules, our cells, map markers and planets.
The target is focused on the Oldavai Gorge.

I suppose that the answer is “I have come from everywhere I have been.”

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I was especially drawn to this quilt because of the felting, which touched a spark of synchronicity for me. I’ve been interested in the idea of working with felt for several months, and I’ve been doing some research into how to do it, plus I bought some wool this past summer (a story in itself!). Linda has generously shared some of her knowledge with me – did you know that you can use Kool-Aid to dye wool? I certainly didn’t. But I’m going to try it, because really, what could be easier?

I highly recommend a visit to Linda’s web site, Rock, Paper, Stitches. Perusing her categories, you will find that not only does she make quilts and felted art, but it turns out she’s also an accomplished jeweler, teacher, and even a cartoonist! And be sure to look at the Workshops tab, where she shares some of her methods.

There are still some beautiful art quilts available in the auction. Up for bid through Sat., Oct. 2, are the pieces in the 2nd group on pages 2a and 2b. Starting Monday, Oct. 4, bidding starts for the last group, which you can see on pages 3a and 3b.