CQ West: Unfolding Stories 3

JANE BROOKS
www.contemporaryquilterswest.org
A fascination for contemporary art quilts
and a love of cloth have been the stimuli
for developing my recent practice as a
printmaker.
I work with colour and mark, using linseed
oil based, relief inks and oil paint sticks, plus
experimenting with hand dyed fabric. I
tend to ‘crossover’ and employ many of
the techniques I work with as a paper
based artist. Using traditional printmaking
processes in a contemporary manner, I aim
to continue to develop a personal and
original visual language. It seems that this
works well for the genre of experimental
quilt making because I find that I can
place, piece, and layer each element
that’s been printed or dyed until I achieve
a surface/image I want.
When I’m working with textiles, inspiration
comes from many things. Walking, as well
as the meditative and actual surface of
the path is a strong influence plus seasonal
time, text, symbols, and plants.
With a background of working and
exhibiting in the field of art and design, I
am now lucky enough to be exploring
textiles, and especially the medium of art
quilts. I consider this as the next step along
my creative journey. It is an exciting, fun
and invigorating development. Sometimes
though, it’s very challenging as well, but
that’s great for innovation.
I run workshops collagraph printing onto
fabric and paper for groups or individuals.