Susan McCraw
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
Fabric Collage
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
Strength in Numbers
 
Firesign

"Strength in Numbers"
2009
33" H x 44" W
$1,000

A prehistoric rock painting in southern Africa inspired this composition. Ethnographers believe that the rows of stylized figures represent the superior power of a tribe over that of unrelated individuals.

 

"Firesign"
2009
35.75" H x 31" W
$1,000

This piece celebrates the power and mystery of fire and lightning. It is loosely based on familiar patterns of tribal rugs from Africa and the Middle East.

     
 

"Arctic Ice Cap (Breaking Up)"
2008
31.5" H x 42" H
$1,000

The jagged shapes in this design emerged from a doodle drawing. Those points where the shapes approach each other closely create high energy, in a push-pull sensation. At their best, forms woven into rugs and painted onto houses in traditional societies display a similar energy.

 

"Kuba"
2009
45.5" H x 37.5" W
$1,000

The patterns on both the left and right sides of this piece originate in work from West Africa. The larger portion, on the right, is adapted from traditional “dance skirts” of woven raffia, usually in just two colors.

     
Strokes quilt
 
 Regalia III quilt

Strokes
2008
28”W x 21”
NFS

Graffiti fascinates me. My imagination produced these spontaneous “letters,” which seem to proclaim a message and also, perhaps, to bind together the overlapping strips on which they rest.

Regalia III: the Sorcerer’s Robe
2008
39.5”W x 41.5”H
NFS

This design is more restful than some of my earlier zigzag pieces, because the lines in this are more uneven and more widely separated. I altered the colors of some of the fabrics with lines of stitching and with iridescent paint.

     
   
Bermuda Daze quilt
 

Bermuda Daze
2008
30”W x 24”H
$600

The alternating zigzag patterns in this piece remind me of the edges of the waves as they wash up onto the beach, and the bright blues, corals and yellows echo the hues of the water, sand and sun. Lines of stitching in various colors resemble the trails that the receding waves leave behind on the sand.


     
 
 
 
   
 
 

This page was last updated 5 October 2009

The entire contents of this website © 2009 Susan McCraw
All Rights Reserved.  No unauthorized duplications allowed.