Improvisations on Nature
My work can be described as a translation
of everyday images from nature into an aesthetic format.
The viewer’s attention is at first attracted to
images of common subjects from nature…
leaves, flowers, seed pods, cocoons…
but quickly moves to the rhythms and textures and colors
of the formal arrangements of these images.
As a textile artist, the handling of these images is influenced
by the materials available today.
Commercial fabrics come in an incredible array of color and patterns
and are used in many of the works in this portfolio.
But also included are fabrics that have been created
by experimental printing, dyeing and bleaching techniques,
and these offer a more personal approach to my subjects.
Life experiences naturally inform the work in the studio.
Teaching courses such as design theory and art history over the years
have certainly influenced the development of the formal aspects of this work.
Membership in a traditional quilt guild opened my eyes
to the lasting power of rhythm and repetition,
or as I like to think of it…visual music.
My garden and my camera have opened my eyes
to the values and contrasts created by the play of light over form,
aspects of nature that regularly work their way into my art.
These common but beautiful forms
serve as metaphorical references to time and protection
in a rhythmic interpretation of form and place.
Joanne Alberda 