Artist Statement

The love of fabric and textiles motivated this artist to make the switch from the more “traditional” mediums in 1996.  The fabric and textile wall hangings that are created include the use of a variety of textile arts and crafts techniques such as, appliqué, embroidery, piece work, and quilting. Commercial print fabrics as well as fabrics hand painted by the artist are used to achieve the desired look.  Pieces of fabric are cut and stitched onto a base fabric that has been hand colored using textile paint. Sometimes fabrics are layered, stitched and then cut away to expose the first layer. Should a non textile item catch the eye of the artist it will be include in the artwork. Some of the items that have been used are: beads, flower petals, leaves and even recycled fabric softener sheets.  

Over the last three years I have been experimenting with fabric, digital images and inkjet ink. With digital camera in hand vistas are explored, a nearby yard, flower garden, building façade, anything that will capture interest with its colors or shape. Using the computer and an inkjet printer the image is printed onto plain non colored fabric. The photo may also be transferred by bleeding the ink from a paper print-out directly onto the fabric. The digital image might be printed or bled as it was originally photographed without changes to the image or it will be changed and morphed using photo manipulation software prior to the printing. These inkjet printed or bled fabric pieces are then applied to the base fabric that will become the finished wall hanging.

Recently I have been creating fabric bowls and baskets. Experimenting with coiling and shaping techniques to form vessels that are sometimes  ornamental and sometimes practical.

Biography

Karen Brockett a fiber artist, who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, has been creatively inspired by the beauty and geographical variety of Oregon. As a child her parents would pack up the family for drives throughout the state, favoring the coastal areas in particular.  Her interest in and love for color, form and texture was developed through these family excursions.

In 1996 she saw a fiber arts exhibit for the first time, specifically “art quilts”, and realized that fabric could go beyond the boundaries of simple clothing construction into the realm of art. Texture did not have to be merely alluded to through an artistic technique but could be literal within the medium itself. Thanks to the discovery of textile paints and dyes it was unnecessary to give up the pleasure of mixing colors that she found when she had been working with acrylics on canvas.  This artist finds the creative possibilities and potential for artistic growth to be never ending within the fiber arts.