Meet Rachel Davis, Artist-in-Residence - DuPage Children's Museum

DCM is OPEN  | Sunday, March 31 | 9–5

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Meet Rachel Davis, Artist-in-Residence

February 14, 2019

By: Rachel Davis
artbumble

Since my early childhood in rural upstate New York I have enjoyed making things and exploring all kinds of media, from fort building and drawing to printmaking and painting. In the past few years I have been learning to sew, silkscreen, and use natural dye to play with color.

I especially enjoy being outside and making visual notes, through drawings or with a camera, of things I see on walks: insects, fungi, stones, moss, fruits, and bark. I look at these specimens up close for their texture, color, and form and use them in my art making.

This winter through March 2019, I will be in The Studio introducing children and families to textile processes: surface design through silkscreen and dye of fabric and then piecing and stitching these to create a quilt. We will explore many processes over the next three months, from drawing to color mixing to stitching on fabric.

I do not know what the quilt will look like when it is finished. The ‘not knowing’ is part of the pleasure of making. I often start with materials in my own studio and through formal decisions and experiments create a new work of art. I am especially interested in materials that I don’t think of as belonging together. I think the creative use of materials and the unexpected delight in the process are much like child’s play: necessary and important work. Currently, in my home studio, I am mixing paper, fabric, and wood to create new pieces of art.

Stop by The Studio and experiment with textiles and natural materials! Thursday – Saturday, 9:30-12:30, through March 23rd.