Alison Smith

I create large-scale stitched works.

Using a basic running stitch, I strategically create patterns that give the illusion of depth, layers and shifting planes on a flat surface. Hand stitching these complex patterns is time consuming and laborious but also meditative in its repetitive nature.

I work on a large scale using a medium that is generally reserved for small works, mending or embellishment. Each stitch I make shows how I spent a moment and each piece I create is evidence of how I spent a period of time.

I use natural plant based dyes to add color to the pieces by hand dyeing the canvas or the thread. The use of natural dyes is intentional for environmental reasons but also for the way in which natural colors are harmonious with each other in a way synthetic colors are not.

On occasion I will use a pattern more than once to create a piece in multiple colorways. Keeping the pattern constant allows for me to explore the ways in which color can affect the pattern, the feeling it gives and the way it moves on the canvas.

2007 B.A. Studio Art, University of Vermont
2006 Lorenzo de Medici Institute, Florence, Italy