Anne Keith, 2004, made as part of a series entitled Matrix.
Size: 36.25 in. x 36.25 in. (1 m x 1 m)
Top: silk
Backing: silk
Wadding: none
Construction: folded and machine pieced
Quilting: machine and hand quilted
Anne Keith trained in Printed Textiles at Glasgow School of Art and has exhibited with Visual Arts Scotland and with Edge: textile artists Scotland. Awards include the Art Quilt Award by Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead.
The inspiration for this piece was a rainbow over the Firth of Forth, seen from the artist’s Edinburgh studio. A series of photographs captured the changing light in a sombre sky. Grey, blue and sea-green silks reveal the subtle interplay of light in sky and water, while flashes of intense, jewel-like colours add vibrancy to the piece. Exposed edges enhance texture and contrast.
In the exhibition catalogue Making Journeys Helen Joseph wrote of Keith’s work:
This quietly personal quilter … observes and translates complex colour and tone changes in a subtle and sensitive way. She is absorbed and patient when handling fabric; collecting, gathering and treasuring material from her travels. Her skill is to be found in the transformation of these pieces into an understandable whole – the fragment of a memory, the small piece of silk. (Collins Gallery, 2002)