Valerie Goodwin: “Art Quilt Maps”
Valerie Goodwin is an artist, author, architect and college professor that lives in Florida and teaches architectural design at Florida A&M University. She also lectures and gives workshops nationally and internationally. The artist has published a book called Art Quilt Maps: Capture a Sense of Place with Fiber Collage-A Visual Guide, in which lots of her artworks are complied.
Art Textile and Architectural Design
Art textile and architectural design could seem two worlds very far from each other, but it is not so for the artist. From a young age she has always been interested in sewing thanks to her grandmother and mother that encuraged her talent. She then managed to combine this passion with what she had learned during her studies of architecture. This uninon led to the creation of her textile artworks.
“What I loved about combining architecture with textiles was the fact that the mixed media and collage, in particular, allowed me the freedom to express myself using architectural ideas as well as to explore my love of aerial views and maps”
Valerie Goodwin
Maps of Real and Abstract Places
In her artworks maps have a leading role because through them she wants to tell a certain story. Sometimes the artist, being also an architect, adds to these maps structures and architectures, so her final pieces combine profile views with aereal ones. She creats quilts inspiered by real places, but she also experiments creating abstract pieces.
The artist in fact also creates abstract compositions using characteristic elements present in maps. The structures that she places in her conceptual pieces are broken down and become one with the environment. Forms shatter and penetrate each other creating intricate textures.
Her lastest artworks also move towards abstraction, although, as the artist states in an interview, her pieces want to be a reflection of social issues that the world is facing, such as the pandemic.
Many of her works have been purchased by private collectors and museums. This fact confirms the great interest that her pieces of art have.
Workshops
The artist is also really involved in workshops, in which she teaches how to create quilts and fabric compositions through various techniques and materials. These courses can be great opportunities to get to know the world of the artist and experience her creative process on your own skin. Her most recent one is called L I G H T & L A C E Y, whose aim is to “Create lovely collages using shapes such as map elements, floral motifs, and/or geometric patterns”
References
Featured image: Cartographic Collage III
