More from Textile Artist Leah Evans, VIVA’s Guest Artist for March!

“Throughout history all craft mediums have been used to create maps or relate ideas about land and our relationship to it. Working in cloth allows the use of certain metaphors. Seams created by cutting and piecing suggest boundaries. Seemingly arbitrary borders reflect ownership and the parceling of land. The subtractive technique of reverse appliqué, where layers are cut away to depict shorelines and riverbanks, mimics erosion. Additive techniques, like embroidery, needle felting, and appliqué, can be symbolic of development. These approaches to textile work are also tools that help me explore the influences we have on the landscape.

My current thematic focus is the ways in which people impact their environment and in turn, how the environment affects people. The pieces are influenced by aerial photography, maps, and satellite imagery, but are not always based on specific places. Mining, agriculture, water use and treatment, nuclear power, and oil extraction are frequent subjects of my work, and are meant as visual reminders of the changes we create in the land. Similarly, components of my work demonstrate the influence of nature on our constructs. My work explores themes of rivers changing course and shifting property divisions, lava flows breaching residential developments, and changing coastlines caused by climate change.

My quilted wall hangings consist of layers of the following techniques: appliqué, reverse appliqué, piecing, natural and synthetic dyeing, needle felting, and a variety of embroidery stitches. I do not use a computer or any imaging software in my work. Often, I choose hand tools and hand processes over electric. Overall, there is a balance between hand and machine work. Tools I use most often include chalk, needles, rulers, compass, scissors, staple gun, seam ripper, and a home model Kenmore sewing machine. A majority of the materials I use are salvaged. With fabrics gleaned from thrift stores, garage sales, upholstery remnants, and cast offs of family and friends, my work is in keeping with the quilting tradition of recycling.” - Lisa Evans

“My work for the last 18 years has focused on telling stories of human interaction with land. I use traditional quilting techniques, hand embroidery, dyeing, and salvaged materials to create fine art quilts. Along with piecing and appliqué, the predominant technique I use is reverse appliqué. Like in kapa kuiki quilting, reverse appliqué can produce organic and intricate shapes. The types of imagery I use include historical maps, geoglyphs, satellite imagery, and aerial photography.

Two of the first things people respond to in my work is the use of color and the craftsmanship. Those initial qualities combined with the commonality and accessibility of quilted cloth draws viewers in. I use this moment of visual connection to address specific themes of human interaction with the landscape. Mining, agriculture, nuclear power, residential land reclamation, agriculture, climate change, water use and treatment, and oil extraction are frequent subjects of my work, and are meant as visual reminders of the changes we create in the land. Similarly, other components of my work demonstrate the influence of nature on our constructs. These influences can be seen in rivers changing course or coastlines changing due to climate change, thereby causing a shift in property divisions. My expertise and focus is in combining historic, visual, and cultural elements in a way that creates an emotional response.” - Lisa Evans