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| Part of a Smithsonian Institution national tour, Fish Stew, 48” x 48”, depicts the disciplines of Sharp and Chef Susan Spicer. |
Sharp begins her creative process by envisioning a general design idea and cutting out shapes for it from magazines. These are pasted into a notebook, much like a painter’s sketchbook. She cuts or tears cloth shapes from her collection of mostly ethnic fabrics to match the notebook’s smaller paper shapes. These are later stitched on a background cloth. More often than not, her original idea morphs into something else, she says.
Sharp does some of her stitching by hand, but most is by machine. She loves the old-time blanket stitch because it shows on the cloth. “I love seeing the thread.” She does an all-over meandering stipple stitch across the background when the design is finalized. “It’s like a doodle with a sewing machine,” she quips. Thin batting goes between the front and back sides of the art quilt. “I always make a nice back, just like a ceramist whose pot is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside—and thoughtfully presented from every angle.” Each quilt has a label with her name and a date of completion.
Like a painter who loves the feel of the flow of the brush and the medium, Sharp says she loves the feel of a fabric and wonders how many hands have touched it before her. In addition, she remarks, “I love the unique sound of thread being pulled through fabric. I deeply enjoy and am acutely aware of the tactile qualities of textiles. Come clothes shopping with me, and you will notice that it takes forever, because I must touch every garment in the store.”
Sharp’s work can be seen at the Arizona Designer Craftsmen 50th-Anniversary Juried Exhibition at Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa Arts Center, through Aug. 8.
| Telling Stories, 44” x 43” |
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| Color, texture and symbols abound in the collage quilts Summer House Triptych, 61” x 86” |
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