CQ West: Unfolding Stories 3

STEPHANIE CRAWFORD
www.stephaniecrawfordquilter.com
My style is mainly pictorial. Ideas for my
work come from daily observations of the
world around me and from places I visit in
my travels, both distant and local. I am
often inspired by buildings and townscapes
and the activities of everyday life and am
especially interested in exploring
perspective, light and shadow. I like to
create quite detailed pictures, which are
very often pure fantasy and in which I aim
to leave something for the viewer to fill in,
using their own imagination.
I usually start with a drawing, which I
transfer onto white cotton and then paint
with fabric paints. Everything comes
together with lots of detailed stitching and I
sometimes add more paint or more stitch
as seems relevant. Sometimes I use
appliqué to create more depth. Most of
my work is quite colourful and highly
painted, but from time to time I work in
monochrome or just add a splash of colour
for emphasis. Although some of my quilts
are ‘one-offs’, I like to work in a series,
which might mean a number of small
pieces which work together, or a fixed
number of larger pieces on a similar theme.
I also re-visit some of these themes over
time.
My recent work is diverging in two
directions. Firstly, a collection of
observations on shoes, which is lighthearted
and intended to amuse. At the
same time, I am working on how rubbish is
to be found almost everywhere we go and
I am making a series of quite detailed
pieces which concentrate on a small area
and, perhaps surprisingly, can make what I
like to think is a pleasing picture. After all,
‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.
I give talks and workshops.
Facebook: Stephanie Crawford
Instagram: Stephanie Crawford