- The Process -

When I find an elevator I want to depict, I begin by taking 1-2 rolls of photographs. From these I create a composite image comprised of several adjoining images. I photocopy this composite and enlarge to approx. 18”. Working with the enlarged image and perspective, I create the final image I want to use. I then go back to the photocopier and enlarge to the final size, which ranges from 3 ft. – 6 ft. Now I have my “pattern”.

Starting with unbleached cotton, and occasionally other appropriate fabrics, I use Setacolor fabric paints to create “textured” painted fabric lengths for the different areas of the composition – e.g. grasses, sky, elevator boards. Much like a jigsaw, I cut out and assemble the required shapes and collage together the basic image. I then use coloured pencil to enhance and integrate the different areas.

The image is then assembled into a “quilt sandwich” with the image on top, a layer of quilt batting, and a backing support of very lightweight turban cotton. I do extensive free-motion machine stitching on this to hold everything in place, and to add heightened surface embellishment and further depth. Depending on the scale of the work, this is sometimes done in several separate pieces and then assembled, rather than assembling before the initial layer of quilting. Further colored pencil and paints are added if needed and borders created and attached. The image is now mostly complete.

Then a second “quilt sandwich” is created with another quilt batting and a final backing fabric being added. This is assembled onto a long-arm quilting machine which functions much like the old-fashioned quilting frames with the quilt laid out flat and attached to rollers. I stand in front of it and move a large free-motion machine over the surface to quilt it a second time and add a further sense of density and depth to the quilt.

When it is all quilted together, it is removed from the frame, facings are attached and it is hand-finished.