Although I grew up in a family of visual artists, I was deemed “the musical child” and thus focused in that direction for the first half of my life. While the rest of the family painted, sculpted and photographed, I studied the piano and admired everyone else’s work. The shock of my mother’s early death, however, precipitated an amazing change of course and compelled me toward a remarkable discovery. My need to remain in some way connected to her led me, in absolute wonder, to realize the artist in me as well. It was a discovery that changed my life. My mother taught me all she knew about sewing and instilled in me a love for fabric. Textile/fiber art was, then, a natural choice of medium; it bridged that chasm of grief and connected me.
Textiles are inherently soft and textured; and they connect with most people on a very basic, tactile level. It is a pleasure to create, through such an intimate medium, work that invites a stolen touch. As the recipient of a Utah Arts Council/National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Grant, I am profoundly encouraged to produce work in the textile medium. I endorse the idea that public art is not only important but vital to a community. It educates, persuades, makes aware, and inspires. And it does this through a diversity of people, ideas and mediums–including textiles.
My work is in private collections and has been shown in national and international juried fiber shows, as well as regional art shows. Photos have been published in catalogs for Quilt National 1999 and Quilt 21: Art Quilts for the 21st Century as well as in Batik for Artists and Quilters and soon-to-be-published books America from the Heart (a commemorative compilation of 9/11 quilts displayed by the International Quilt Association in Houston, Texas in October of 2001) and Surface Design by Eloise Piper. In 1996 and 1998, respectively, American Quilter Magazine published my articles on discharge dyeing (jointly with Kathleen Deneris and Lisa Hollerbach) and monoprinting. I am a member of the Salt Lake Surface Design Group, the Utah Designer Craft Alliance, the National Surface Design Association, AQS, and Studio Art Quilt Associates.
Website
https://rosannalynnewelter.org
