Faience

From the Artist:

My “Material Matters” series examines the challenges of organizing textile fabrics into coherent collaged works. It plays against the usual association of fabrics as being pliable and focuses on their ability to form collages out of a multitude of prints and to create their own structural formations.  It is a study of color, pattern and form using a non-traditional medium (fabric and stitching) to create fine art wall reliefs. The various printed and solid fabrics are the canvases with which I collage forms in a formal process to create a composition. The stitching helps to interconnect the forms by creating texture and marks on my "canvas"--similar to a painter using brush strokes to create marks in their paintings.

Biography and Story

"Thread, fabrics and yarn are my paints.  Instead of brushstrokes, I stitch.  My stitching is done primarily via sewing machine – an instrument emblematic of the female role. I see strength and power in the stitch and feel its history; it is a way of leaving a print to be remembered, beckoning you to take a second look.  The sewing machine is transformed into an artistic tool that I use to create contemporary art." 

Sandra’s eye and tactile sense were initially developed through exposure to the fabrics printed by her parents’ company, Alexander Henry Fabrics, Inc. She maintained her involvement in her parents’ efforts while taking art classes at Pomona College, attending USC Law School and during her employment at major corporations and law firms. She has taken art classes at Otis College of Art and Design, UCLA Extension, and Brentwood Art Center.