August 13 – October 12, 2021
Maggie Weiss has been sewing and creating for over 35 years. Based in Evanston, IL, she teaches quilting, surface design, and ThermoFax silkscreen classes regionally, nationally and at the Evanston Art Center. Her work has been in exhibitions and private collections all over the United States and England.
Artist Statement: For as long as I can remember, I have loved fabric, texture and creating things. I was immediately hooked after learning to sew on a machine in fifth grade. Many years, craft projects and mediocre garments later, quilting became the perfect outlet for combining my penchant for textiles with sewing and art making.
Not long thereafter, I discovered how to transform yardage with dyeing, painting, stamping and other surface design processes. Teaching followed closely behind as it was a pleasure to pass on what others had so generously shared with me. Integrating these methods has led me to my most recent work, in which the quilt surface is assembled in layers, with pieces of hand dyed and printed fabrics forming the base on which intricately cut silhouettes are overlaid.
Combining principles of composition, design, and collage with art cloth and quiltmaking is the best of both worlds.
Creating the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface is a continually captivating challenge. My goal as an artist is to create a compelling surface that invites the viewer to react, take a closer look and to strive to bring beauty or awareness into the world.
I work with Thermofax silkscreens because it is a wonderful tool for use in surface design, quiltmaking, printmaking and even for simply creating an original t-shirt design. The process involves placing a piece of riso film over a photocopy with the emulsion side down and running them through an old-fashioned office machine called a transparency maker. In a matter of seconds, a silkscreen is created and ready to be stabilized for the printing process.
