In college, I had a professor who was OBSESSED with textiles. I mean, I think she pretty much had her doctorate in it. Under her tutelage, I wove things and tried my hand at indigo dying. Also, in 5th grade, my class was all girls and the teacher was so excited that she had us make a quilt.
So you can say, I have a history with fabric. I also want to admit that quilts aren’t really my thing. They always seemed old fashioned and definitely not as comfortable as my super fluffy blanket that I like to cuddle up in.
But dangit, some quilts have personality.
And one of the artists I learned about in college, she stuck with me. Because she made me appreciate what you can do with a quilt.
Her name is Faith Ringgold and she literally put her stories on quilts. And they’re beautiful. Just look at that closeup above. There’s a real sense of narrative. There’s a real story going on there. I haven’t spent a lot of my life in cities, but even I can get a sense of a muggy summer night spent relaxing on a rooftop chatting about a day. I’m not her, I don’t know if that’s what’s happening there, but that’s what looking at it makes me feel. And I like that feeling.
Faith is also well known for her sculptures (which include some awesome masks) and her performance art. And based purely on her Wikipedia page, just generally being a really cool person who stands up for what she believes in.
She makes art with a purpose, and I love that.
She has a website: HERE! I definitely recommend reading up on her.
Also, cool fact about her. She’s still alive. Unlike the last artists I researched. So it was not depressing to read up on her. Also, I believe she still makes appearances!
-Smudged
