Rachel Bubis: You’ve said that quilting unlocked a confidence and enthusiasm you hadn’t found in painting or photography. What do you think it is about working with cloth that sparked this shift for you? Kelly Spell: I love the tactile nature of cloth and the way it feels in my hands. Our lives are filled with fabric, from the clothes we wear to the sheets we sleep under. It’s soft, comfortable, flexible, and familiar. Those qualities removed a lot...
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Nancy Cheairs, Conversation, 2022, 24" x 20" Anna Mages: Could you elaborate on the process behind your work? Do you begin with sketches then experiment with color? Or do you find yourself working more intuitively? Nancy Cheairs: I don’t have one method for constructing a painting. There are times when I work from my large sketchbook filled with small drawings of visual vocabulary. The drawings are on transparent paper and are taped into my sketchbook. I might arrange some pieces in a co...
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Wesley Roden: In an age of short form media, do viewers ever find your work to be refreshing for how it warrants closer inspection? Do you appreciate viewers slowing down? Beth Edwards: I am heartened by anyone who spends time with my work. I work very slowly. My work builds incrementally over a significant period of time. Every painting, every show, makes me more cognizant of the passage of time. Time is literally embedded in the images. WR: Seeing the...
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