Annabelle Solomon: Profile and Quilts

Annabelle Solomon: Profile and Quilts

Artist's Statement

As sixth generation Australian woman of European descent, my work explores a sense of place: as artist-creator I relate to and reinterpret the evolution of indigenous northern European cultural and spiritual heritages from the perspective of the southern hemisphere.

I do this by symbolically applying conventional and innovative quilting practices to content and design, thereby bringing into form a 'transitional imaginary' by which to find relevance and sign for ancestral cultural stories transplanted to a contemporary Australian environment and culture.

The motivation behind my work is particularly evident in the continuing development of works known collectively as The Wheel of the Year - a project which evolves annually as an installation of eight seasonal quilts which is exhibited regularly. It is an event which provides opportunity for an unfolding realisation of indigenous consciousness for those of European descent, effective at multiple levels of interaction connecting the personal and political.

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RECENT INVOLVEMENTS AND SUCCESSES

Over the last decade, Annabelle has curated a series of exhibitions of women's contemporary textile arts at the Blue Mountains Gallery of Braemar in Springwood, NSW. Under the banner title of ’re- fabricating', the exhibitions have showcased the works of established artists from all parts of Australia and New Zealand.

In her PhD dissertation (2011), Annabelle used the medium of quilt art to explore the influence of imagery and symbolism on ways of seeing and knowing, set in the context of the changing seasonal patterns in place. She engaged with three processes for analysing the creative process as a means for changing cultural consciousness, on
the societal, communal and cultural levels: four exhibitions of women’s textile art; a seasonal cycle of creative textile workshops; and the creation of a second series of art quilts for the Southern Hemisphere. Intentional expression and reception of art in relation to place revealed the cyclic nature of the creative process and re- integrated an authentic and autonomous approach to often unconsciously held, culturally induced ways of seeing.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AND WORKSHOPS

Over four years of holding Soul Seasons workshops, my commitment to facilitate each woman's unique expression of her creativity is motivated by a conviction that the creative process greatly influences our sense of self and our world. In teaching creative textiles, I aim to provide a space in which inspiration can blossom into unexpected outcomes in many areas of life.

The workshops are developed according to the themes of each of the 8 seasonal festivals of the old Celtic calendar: the Solstices and Equinoxes, and the 4 Crossquarter Days. You are encouraged to explore your creative energies through story and myth used in specially prepared ritual celebrations for the season. The workshops promote the experience of being woman, and enable individual response to content and design by using a variety of techniques and applications.

LECTURES

The Wheel of the Year in Quilts

As well as possibly exhibiting the series of artquilts which envision the cycle of the seasons, you can rediscover the significance of the traditional seasonal festivals as embodied in symbol, image and story in a lecture which considers their origins and relevance to the southern hemisphere.

PUBLICATIONS

I invite you to enjoy reading my personal journey into the seasonal celebrations by quilt-making in my book, Seasons of the Soul: the Wheel of the Year in Quilts. It is a glossy covered paperback of 111 pages containing 10 colour plates.

Price: (current in Australian dollars Sept 2001). Within Australia $30; Overseas $36 ( includes postage).

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