Website/blog: www.alisonschwabe.com
Instagram: @schwabealison
E-mail: alison@alisonschwabe.com
As a young child in the 50s, it never occurred to me that sewing could be used to make art. My own academic background of physical geography and geomorphology has given me ongoing interest in the marks and shapes left by the continuing actions of wind, water, temperature change and human activity on every landscape. This rich resource of pattern and texture informs my repeat grid designs. As I’ve aged, it has become clear to me that all change on any surface, whether it’s sudden, slow, natural or man-made, can be taken as a metaphor for Life itself.
After making traditional geometric patchwork quilts in the late 80s, I began designing my own art quilts. My go-to design layout is the grid, an enduring influence of traditional patchwork, and my abstract designs are based on the basic geometric shapes of squares, circles, triangles, lines and dots. My construction techniques gradually changed to predominantly fusing and hand or machine applique, and my choice of materials includes more non-traditional ones, including nylon organza, plastic, mylar, vinyl and leather. Despite these changes, my textile art retains the defining characteristic as a layered and stitched textile.
Pandemic Pattern
Retail Price: A$5000.00
Dimensions: 72 x 94cm (H x W)
Statement: By mid 2020, rows and rows of newly dug graves became a common image on our TV screens as the new Corona virus began to ravage human populations in many countries.
Exhibitions: Quilt National 2021
Photographer: Eduardo Baldizan
Green Mosaic
Retail Price: SAQA Benefit Auction 2022
Dimensions: 30.5 x 30.5cm (H x W)
Statement: Green is my favourite colour, celebrated here in hand stitched improvisational raw edge applique. Donated to SAQA’s Online Benefit Auction, September 2022
Photographer: Eduardo Baldizan
Bush Colours
Retail Price: A$750
Dimensions: 40 x 40cm (H x W)
Statement: Hand stitched gold thread holding pieced raw edged fabric strips in place; colours of the Australian bush.
Photographer: Eduardo Baldizan
Slideshow
Retail Price: A$1500.00
Dimensions: 120 x 110cm (H x W)
Statement: Concentric squares are a favourite symbol, but for a long time after completion this quilt had no title. Recently a friend commented it reminded her of the evening slideshows that were popular family entertainment when she and I were both young.
Exhibitions: SAQA exhibition at the Chicago SOFA expo, November 2022
Photographer: Eduardo Baldizan
