D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
February 2010
Our Cover Artist
Karen Pritchett, who created this issue's cover, "15 Cats I've Yet to Meet," shows her work locally at Blue Dome Gallery in Silver City. After she graduated from Berea College in Kentucky with a degree in Fine Art with an emphasis on ceramics and sculpture, Pritchett and partner Todd Shelby lived in Cincinnati for five years before finding their way to the Southwest. They lived in Bisbee, Ariz., and Capitan, NM, then returned to the Midwest and now call Columbia, Mo., home. Together, they operate a whimsical pottery business, Animalia.
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"Lassie, My 1st and Last Dog" by Karen Pritchett (fabric quilt, 42" x 51"). |
Pritchett also produces contemporary quilts and paintings on fabric, like this issue's cover. Her works translate autobiographical imagery and text into a rich narrative that explores the quilting tradition in unconventional ways.
"Making 'paintings' with fabric is a way of expressing my anger, grief, love and forgiveness," Pritchett says. "My new quilts are primarily about my family and myself. I use my sewing machine for everything: piecing squares, sewing sequins and quilting. I incorporate any and all kinds of fabric. Repeating images and mosaicing with sequins is a cathartic approach to achieving a highly textured, visually pleasing surface.
"My use of text is meant to be a thought-provoking means of embellishment," she adds. "My goal is self-expression and I'll use any means to get there."
Pritchett's work has been featured in three shows at the Blue Dome Gallery as well as at the WNMU McCray Gallery, and she was included in the prestigious SoQ group show at the Museum of Fine Art in Santa Fe in 2004.