Pressure
Status: In Progress
Year(s): Started YYYY · Completed ????
Overview
Pressure explores the tension between form and space. Four improvisational arrowhead shapes push outward from the center, pressing against the surrounding negative space. The composition suggests movement, resistance, and the feeling of contained energy searching for release.
The arrowheads themselves have a longer history. They were originally constructed in 2016 from narrow, colorful strips sewn together intuitively, a process I referred to as Wavy Bacon. At the time, they existed as fragments without a clear purpose. It was not until 2017 that the structure of Pressure emerged, giving those earlier elements a context and a sense of direction.
This piece reflects how ideas can sit unresolved for years before finding the right moment to surface.
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Pressure is about stored energy and delayed resolution. The four arrowhead forms are built from layered, colorful strips that carry movement within them, yet they are constrained by the composition as a whole. Each arrow presses outward, creating a visual strain between expansion and containment.
The arrowheads originated as an improvisational exercise, constructed without intention beyond the act of sewing and exploring color. For a long time, they remained unresolved objects. When revisited later, their directional nature became clear, allowing them to function as agents of force rather than decoration.
This quilt speaks to the experience of holding ideas, emotions, or creative impulses under constraint. Sometimes pressure builds quietly, waiting for the right structure to allow release. Sometimes it simply reshapes the space around it.
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Exhibitions
Abstractions in Fabric
Solo exhibition
Castleton Bank Gallery (The Bank Gallery)
Rutland, Vermont
2018