Skylights, Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry

January 26–April 16, 2016

Reception: Thursday, January 28, 2016, 6–8:00 p.m

 
For as long as I can remember, I have expressed myself through artwork. My formal training was primarily in design, drawing, and studio painting. After many years of painting, sewing, and experimenting with other media, I discovered that fabric, as a fine art medium, best expressed my personal vision. Since 1982, I have been a quilt maker, i.e., my work is constructed from layers of fabric, stitched together with batting or other filler between the layers.

I love the tactile qualities of cloth, and the unlimited color range made possible by hand dyeing, and other surface design techniques. For twenty years, virtually all of my quilts begin with white, 100% cotton fabric. The fabric was dyed, painted and printed to create the palette of colors and visual texture used in piecing and appliquéing my images. In 2004 I began licensing some of my original painted and dyed designs to Benartex, for use in commercially screened fabrics, and many of the quilts since then have included these fabrics. I am also making a series of quilts from images scanned and manipulated in the computer and printed directly on fabric with archival ink jet inks.

The focus of my work is on the qualities of color, line, and texture, which will engage the spirit and emotions of the viewer, evoking a sense of mystery, excitement, or joy. Illusions of movement, depth, and luminosity are common to most of my work. The inner glow is created by hand dyeing or painting my fabrics in gradual progressions from light to dark.

Both my geometric color studies, and my more organic, curved seam abstracts are inspired by visual impressions, collected in my travels, in my everyday life, and in my imagination. Although some of my quilts include pictorial images, my work is most often about seeing, experiencing, and imagining, rather than pictorial representation of any specific object or species. When recognizable objects appear, they represent the emotions and flights of fantasy evoked by those objects. My intention is to focus on positive energy and depict that in my work.

I intend for my quilts to be seen and enjoyed by others. It is my hope that they will lift the spirits and delight the eyes of those who see them. I am constantly learning and my work evolves as I find new images in my imagination and develop the techniques to create them in cloth. As a teacher I believe that the magic of art lies in our heads and in our hearts. I love sharing my techniques with others so they can share their magic with me.