Michele Leavitt textiles
Installing in the window December 2. More information coming soon.
Michele Leavitt
Soft Shoes
reverse applique quilt with t-shirts
60” x 44”
About the Work
Cotton knit material behaves in interesting ways. Here, several tee shirts are cut to create two squares, the colors are shuffled and layered. The shoes - which are mine, my boys,' and their friends shoes - are 'drawn' on via machine stitching and then cut to reveal the images in color.
About the Artist
Problem solving is at the core of my practice, as ideas arise, I explore my media for the best ways to express these. The whole work becomes a challenge both in technical and pictorial terms. My work evolves from the available materials, the technical challenges, and my love of experimentation. Materials include paint and canvas, paper and pencil, watercolor, and especially collage and textiles. I did study art academically while I never had sewing lessons, instead I’ve made up techniques according to pictorial needs. The works express my personal reflections on living here now.
On her fiber art:
“Exploring these art forms for adaptation to new uses or another style intrigues me. For instance, there are several textiles in this category I fondly call frazzlin' appliques. My mom used the word frazzlin' to indicate a small frayed snippet of fabric. Here, frazzling scrapes of fabric - saved over decades as too interesting to toss out - are combined to describe familiar landscapes. Quilting, my original form of creative play, adapts to both pictorial and abstract applications.
The word frazzle is distantly related to the word fringe. The fringe is the end of the carpet or other textile where the fibers come apart into individual strands. This leads to the next group of works, hand knotted carpets.”
For more on Michele’s work, please go to michelleavitt.com
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