Aimee Reid-Rice Fiber Artist

Rotating Focus

2008-07-25T22:29:00.002-05:00

Wind

2008-07-25T22:28:00.002-05:00

Water

2008-07-25T22:21:00.002-05:00

Fire

2008-07-25T22:19:00.001-05:00

Earth

2008-07-25T22:15:00.006-05:00

Elemental Quad

2008-07-25T22:15:00.005-05:00

Alchemy-Air

2008-07-25T22:14:00.003-05:00

Alchemy-Earth

2008-07-25T22:14:00.001-05:00

Alchemy-Fire

2008-07-25T22:13:00.001-05:00

Alchemy-Water

2008-07-25T22:12:00.000-05:00

Thunderstorm

2008-07-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

Burning Inside

2007-07-10T18:27:00.000-05:00

Burning Inside
20” x 17”
2007

This piece was created as part of the artsTRIBE exhibition at the Overture Center. That exhibition was entitled “O Fortuna!” and featured works by all the members of the collective based on our interpretations of Carl Orff’s opera Carmina Burana. As part of that exhibition we each created smaller pieces to show in the lobby during the opera’s intermissions. This was my piece for that lobby showing. I took for my inspiration the passage: “Burning inwardly with strong anger, in my bitterness I speak to my soul; created out of matter ashes of the earth, I am like a leaf with which the winds play.” This passage created a strong mental image for me of a leaf swept on the uncaring winds of fate. I was able to translate the windswept leaf quite well by the use of strong lines. And by having the leaf coming off the piece it feels as if it is going to fly right up off the piece and into your face. The piece has extensive hand and bead embroidery. I sculpted the tree out of silk that I dyed myself. Additional texture was created with the use of layered cheese cloth. The dark palate I used was to create the feeling of anger and dark emotions that are felt with this feeling of helplessness that the piece speaks of. Overall the piece creates the feeling of burning defiance to fate and strong motion from the wind whipping across the countryside.

Surface Tension 2

2007-04-11T21:37:00.000-05:00

Surface Tension 2
22” x 22”
2007
$325

The idea for this series came to me as spring was approaching. I was dreaming of summer days in the sun, blowing bubbles with my kids. I wanted to create pieces that convey the essence and movement of bubbles. The gentle flowing movement of the bubbles and the innate conflict between the internal and external pressures, separated only by a film of soap inspired my creative process, thus the title Surface Tension.
I really wanted to work with trying a mix of perceived depth and design elements that literally come off the piece. To achieve the sense of depth on the 2 dimensional quilt surface, I worked within a single color, and played with the shades to create a distant center and then lightened the fabric color as the bubbles appear to come up to you. I also worked with the characteristics of different fabrics, playing with the reflective nature of some to get the feeling that light is reflected in all directions. Finally to bring in the 3d element, I literally bubbled up organza, with varying colors and opacities to have them rise off the quilt surface.
A more literal homage to blowing bubbles than Surface Tension I, this piece incorporates and actual bubble wand as a design element. The wand is used to give the piece a focus and draws the eye to follow the bubbles from the wand across the surface of the whole piece, as if the viewer had blown the bubbles themselves. Vibrant purples are reminiscent of early evening skies as we try to squeeze the last summer fun from the day before dark.

Surface Tension 1

2007-04-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

Surface Tension 1
23” x 23”
2007
$325

The idea for this series came to me as spring was approaching. I was dreaming of summer days in the sun, blowing bubbles with my kids. I wanted to create pieces that convey the essence and movement of bubbles. The gentle flowing movement of the bubbles and the innate conflict between the internal and external pressures, separated only by a film of soap inspired my creative process, thus the title Surface Tension.

I really wanted to work with trying a mix of perceived depth and design elements that literally come off the piece. To achieve the sense of depth on the 2 dimensional quilt surface, I worked within a single color, and played with the shades to create a distant center and then lightened the fabric color as the bubbles appear to come up to you. I also worked with the characteristics of different fabrics, playing with the reflective nature of some to get the feeling that light is reflected in all directions. Finally to bring in the 3d element, I literally bubbled up organza, with varying colors and opacities to have them rise off the quilt surface. I chose green for this piece because I want to portray the sensation of lying on your back in the grass blowing bubbles up toward the sky. The piece is further enhanced by extensive machine embroidery and beadwork.

Sun Shower

2007-04-11T21:34:00.000-05:00

Sun Shower
23.5” x 23.5”
2007
$750

This piece, like many of the pieces that I created this winter, has the driving element of the sun. I, like many people, struggle in the dark winter months here in Wisconsin and often times I turn to my art as a way to cope until spring rolls around. The fabric I used was one that I picked up while on summer vacation with my husband’s family in Massachusetts. I spent many wonderful hours with my mother in law in fabric and antique shops and this is one of my purchases last summer. So, even more reminders of wonderful summer days. The energy in the piece is tied to the power that the sun has as it comes and breaks through the darkness to bring light and warmth into the world. I worked very hard to impart that movement of the energy in this piece with hand stitching and extensive bead work. The sun itself is a copper sculpture I created. Then when I was trying to tie this sculpture to the quilt, I needed to find a way to complete the marriage of the two elements. I ended up weaving burn-edged organza sun rays through the sun and out onto the background. The other outstanding elements on the piece are the silk and bead circles to the right of the sun. Each is a solar circle in their own right, but here they represent the rain and darkness that give way to the sun’s nourishing warmth and light.

Sweet Dreams

2007-04-11T21:32:00.000-05:00

Sweet Dreams
19” x 15”
2007
$250

This piece was created as a commission to a private collector. She had made herself a bed quilt and wanted me to make an art quilt incorporating some of the leftover fabrics. My idea with the piece was to work with the largest remnant of fabric provided. This is the purple fabric on the right side of the piece. I based my design on a few elements. First I used what I call the dandelion bursts (the lilac print on the purple fabric) and repeated that throughout the piece. I also worked with circles in many different forms throughout the piece. The central element is indeed a great big hole (and yes I had to hold my breath when I cut it out) I was trying to tie in the two elements of the dandelion bursts with the circles and create and a dream catcher of sorts. I figured that since it will be hanging over her bed that it would be most appropriate. There is machine quilting, hand stitching, embroidery, and extensive bead-work on the piece. Additional materials included hand dyed embroidery thread, Angelina Fibers, hand dyed cotton (the large teal expanse on the left side of the piece), metallic threads, beads and a various specialty fibers. I also added washers and Chinese coins to continue the circular theme, but also incorporated an international flair that was a recurrent theme in the prints on many of the fabrics provided. (in reference to the Chinese coins, not the washers).

The Softer Side(s) of MMoCa

2007-04-11T21:25:00.000-05:00

This is my first attempt at a complete free standing 3-D mixed media piece. I created this piece for the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art's "Out of the Box Auction". The exterior of the box is quilted and the interior is lined with a panoramic photo of the view you get when standing at the front window of the museum.

Fall

2007-04-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

Copper Falls

2007-04-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

Perfect Pirouette

2007-04-11T21:20:00.000-05:00

Autumn Rain

2007-04-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

Stetit Puella

2007-04-11T20:55:00.001-05:00

O Fortuna!

2007-04-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

O Fortuna!
32” x 28”
2006
$1800

To me, the lure of textiles and mixed media is the complex interaction of the individual elements. These combinations seem limitless and the results are often times surprising. Each piece has a life and energy of its own. With this particular piece I wanted to use these interactions to capture the emotions and movement that Carl Orff’s O Fortuna stirs within me.

The piece begins with an explosive introduction that very quickly drops to a dark, mysterious and very driving section filled with chanting. From there it builds until it explodes again in the final section. Here I was able to capture the complex interaction of the music with fabrics. The interplay of fabrics and stitching mimics the layers of music created by the orchestra and choirs. There are arcs of silk that graduate from dark to light and small to large, which echo this building suspense and the waves of sound washing over the audience. The 12 bead-work elements represent the 12 tympani strikes which erupt to gain your attention, but add to the rising tension rather than alleviating it. The embroidered sine waves grow outward reflecting the increasing volume and intensity of the music. It all comes to a climax with the cascade of beads representing the fall of the music at the end of the piece.

Decrescendo

2006-07-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

Decrescendo
20” x 20”
2006
$495

This piece and its companion Crescendo were designed based on a technique that I had been wanting to try. I had read about a technique by Jane Dunnewold about making paper beads. What I did was take sheet music and cut various sized triangles. I rolled them onto a bamboo skewer and then painted them with glue. I used an embossing gun to dry the glue and burn the edges. The result of this drying was an unrolling of the paper which resulted in a scroll effect, which I thought was pretty cool. I then rolled this into embossing glued and sprinkled with metallic embossing powder and embossed to add extra sparkle. Theses were then used as the central and driving element of my design. The foundation of the piece is a panel of dupioni silk sewn to a hand-dyed cotton. I made the central decrescendo element of black cotton fabric over which I laid hand dyed silk roving. Over this I attached the scrolls. The top panel of cotton is divide into two parts one I sewed various shapes of organza down echoing this feeling of decreasing intensity and movement. The top portion I laid a layer of Angelina Fibers down and attached them with echoing waves of hand stitching that also varied in the size, width and color of thread to add to the decreasing energy. The bottom panel of silk is also divided into two parts, once is filled with echo quilting following the wave of hand dyed trim. I used these lines as a music staff and embellished with beads and wire. The bottom portion contains extensive beadwork, which like all other elements in the design, add to the feeling of decreasing energy.

Crescendo

2006-07-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

Crescendo
20” x 20”
2006
$495

This piece and its companion Decrescendo were designed based on a technique that I had been wanting to try. I had read about a technique by Jane Dunnewold about making paper beads. What I did was take sheet music and cut various sized triangles. I rolled them onto a bamboo skewer and then painted them with glue. I used an embossing gun to dry the glue and burn the edges. The result of this drying was an unrolling of the paper which resulted in a scroll effect, which I thought was pretty cool. I then rolled this into embossing glued and sprinkled with metallic embossing powder and embossed to add extra sparkle. Theses were then used as the central and driving element of my design. The foundation of the piece is a panel of dupioni silk sewn to a hand dyed cotton. I made the central crescendo element of black cotton fabric over which I laid hand dyed silk roving. Over this I attached the scrolls. The top panel of cotton is divide into two parts one I sewed various shapes of organza down echoing this feeling of growth and movement. The top portion I laid a layer of Angelina Fibers down and attached them echoing waves of hand stitching that also varied in the size, width and color of thread to add to the increasing energy. The bottom panel of silk is also divided into two parts, once is filled with echo quilting following the wave of hand dyed trim. I used these lines as a music staff and embellished with beads and wire. The bottom portion contains extensive beadwork, which like all other elements in the design add to the feeling of intensifying energy.

Saffron

2006-05-07T23:52:00.000-05:00

Strawberry Kiwi

2006-05-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

My Awakening

2006-05-07T23:46:00.000-05:00

This piece is entitled My Awakening.

I originally created this to be part of the Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists (MCFA) exhibition Improvisations which was displayed at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin. The exhibit hung in Community Galleries I & II from July 5th through September 23rd, 2005 and was very well received. In fact it was so well received that MCFA decided to put the show on again at (location here) in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin from [Date to Date], 2006;

This piece reflects the personal growth and artistic passion that my friends and family have inspired in my life. Each of these amazing people provided me with sparks that have ignited the flames of inspiration. They have nurtured my artistic and spiritual growth and this is the celebration of that evolution.

Reflection

2006-05-07T23:34:00.000-05:00

Be Careful

2006-05-07T23:30:00.000-05:00

Faith In Me

2006-05-07T23:27:00.000-05:00

Controlled Chaos

2006-05-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

My Garden

2006-05-07T23:22:00.000-05:00

This piece was designed for a quilt challenge which posed the question "How does your garden grow?" This piece, titled My Garden, is my answer to this question.

How does your garden grow? Sown with hope, watered with tears, tended by faith and warmed by love and laughter, that’s how my garden grows. My Garden is an autobiographical exploration of my personal and spiritual growth over the last decade.

I began with a square piece of fabric, and from this fertile field of batik I laid out the plots representing my world. The background is quilted into a spider web pattern using metallic thread-thus depicting the interconnectedness of life and the silver linings found in even the greatest tragedies.

My first plot is dedicated to my children. Using my computer , I printed out a poem on a cotton fabric. This ode to my children catalogs the joys and grief, highs and lows, support and desolation I felt as each new member entered, and sometimes left, our family. I laid a film of organza over the poem, making it part of the background, making it part of the fertile field from which my life grows.

There are two smaller plots within My Garden, as well. In the lower right hand corner is a plot made up of layer upon layer of many different fabrics. Each new piece of fabric is a new experience, sometimes beautiful and harmonious, sometimes jarring, but part of the whole that should be enjoyed for adding to the complexity of the tapestry. On top of that tapestry of experiences is a series of words. These are words of hope, strength and feelings that capture the spiritual and emotional growth that all my experiences have induced in me.

The upper portion of the piece is also a series of layers of fabric, less chaotic and surmounted with circles. These circles represent the circle of life and the constant motion of our journey through life. Here they grow, reminding me that life is the journey, not the destination. The circles also echo back to the spider web quilting, drawing closed the circle of an interconnected life. Each circle is unique, just as every journey through life is.

Throughout the quilt I chose colors for their rich saturation and calm palette to evoke a richness reminiscent of fresh tilled earth. That the colors are more vibrant that earth tones resonates with the vibrancy of a life lived to its fullest.

This piece began with a batik fabric. I free motion machine quilted with metallic twist thread. Onto that I layered many different fabrics including tulle, organza, silk, micro suede and other specialty fabrics. The words are printed on cotton and then machine stitched onto the layers. The circles are washers that I have embellished in a variety of ways using beads, wires, fibers and clips. Two of the circles are glass beads which stand alone. The poem was printed onto a cotton fabric with my home printer. I layered a purple organza over it and embellished with fiber and beads. The binding is a series of fibers and beads which were both machine and hand stitched.

Due to restrictions of the photograph, it is very difficult to read the poem on the screen, so I've decided to post the poem directly. Obviously the formatting has not transferred over to this blog post, but the message has.

Spencer February 16, 1998 first born love perfect miracle
colic crying postpartum love beautiful intense torticollus
migraines unhappy crying crying crying him me scared
left right left right bright light no wind no deep sounds
early talker smart alert forward confused work talk talk talk
smart cute proud sandbox UADC conflicted work balance
school Alec bloomed happy songs fun neat cool kid

Abigail September 20, 2000 stillborn pain loss regret blame
disbelief pain tears ache broken heart guilt tears tears
tears tears tears lost dreams wedding dress depression
Bereaved Parents Thursdays Sue Michelle Linda Chris
butterflies depression empty arms heart ache hard days
loneliness mums Eddie Brickell Ghost of a Dog autumn
quilting motherhood alone tears tears tears acceptance
always with me mending heart inner strength
signs in the everyday butterflies acceptance peace

Quinn December 7, 2002 ultrasound amnio fear
late term abortion unsure hydrops chromosomal defect
will die fear tests tests tests improvement perfect
sweet adorable wonderful happy wise eyes warm spirit
sense of humor newborn screen weight loss cystic fibrosis
fear tears tears tears enzymes applesauce sweat test diagnosis
treatment chest PT routine vitamins medicines medicines
medicines infection aggressive treatment research hope
at-home-mom trapped confused frustrated why me
why him why us Erin kindred spirit Christy kindred spirit
Nancy quilting art outlet God God God positive Green Erin
strep rheumatoid arthritis Seroogy Anna Banana
more medicines PT OT warmth hard choices wonderful
happy joy love full heart balance reliance on God
dependence on others church Kristen surprise
live in the moment giving it up acceptance serenity
freedom tranquil calm peace fulfilled happy

Casa Kahlo

2006-05-07T23:14:00.000-05:00

This piece was created for and accepted into the the Tactile Architecture 2006 quilt challenge. Artists were invited to design a piece that have a clear architectural motif.
I began this challenge by doing research on architecture. I read books and looked for elements of buildings that would lend themselves well to an interpretation in fabric. After searching through many, many volumes, I found that one building in particular piqued my interest. I felt that Casa Kahlo, the home of Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo, created by Juan O’Gorman, was the building that best fit this challenge. It held me entranced with its bold color palette, strong lines and unique features. In particular it was the concrete stairwell and the unusual cactus fence that drew me to this structure. I knew immediately that those two features would have to stand up off the quilt as three-dimensional elements.
Since I typically work in fabric collage, combining the three-dimensional elements with the rest of the two dimensional quilt presented a new and exciting challenge. To create the cactus fence, I used two shades of green batik fabrics, tore them into thin strips and stitched them together. Then I frayed the edges to create the spines of the cacti. The alternating light and dark colors let me create the shading effect I needed. I manipulated these forms to create a suitably organic look and then hand stitched them to the quilt. I layered seed beads at the base of the cacti to add texture and tie this strong element back into the two-dimensional planters. Similarly the stairwell sweeps out toward the viewer, but is anchored back into the quilt as it passes behind the gate of the fence.
While the physical perspective of the three-dimensional elements was important, the virtual perspective created by the two dimensional elements was what would make or break the quilt. I constructed this quilt as a series of layers. I started with a stunning blue background fabric and free-form machine stitched along its dye lines in order to bring the serene blue of a Mexican sky to life and make the building stand out prominently. I used layers of organza to create the illusion of depth by shading the warm primary colors of the building where the eye expected shadow. I used shiny, translucent material for the windows to allow me to show the reflection of the serene blue sky while offering the viewer a tantalizing glimpse into the house.
All the elements of this piece combine to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Its texture, warmth and depth lend it a solidity that begs the viewer to walk in and tour the house.

Cascade

2006-05-07T23:13:00.000-05:00