LeDroit Valentine Study, beads, buttons, hand and machine embroidery, hand and machine quilting

Pat Autenrieth is an artist who works primarily in textile media and quilting. Through the use of machine and hand quilting techniques, Pat builds textile-based artworks that draw on aspects of geometric abstraction and expressionism, sometimes incorporating recognizable figures interpreted through a fabric lens. 

DETAIL Spare Wombs, Loose Change taffeta, velvet, tulle

I love the amount of visual and textural variety that exists in Pat’s works -- both across series of works, and in individual pieces. In the series Spare Wombs, the artist creates quilted compositions in the shape of uteruses, using everything from faux fur to loose change to complete her compositions. The use of toys and other small objects affixed directly to the surface of the artwork lends itself to a very different interpretation for each of these pieces, and they each function quite differently in a vacuum than they do seen next to each other. 

www.arsaut.com

The artist’s most recent quilt is a re-imagining of a painting that the artist herself produced in the 80s -- this kind of personal reimagining serves as a fascinating gateway into the artist’s practice and process for the viewer, and I can imagine it being enlightening for the artist as well.

DETAIL Spare Wombs, Incubator, cotton, tulle, artificial fur, seven Kewpie dolls