A magician's quest

"Exuberance"

Susan V. Polansky, 2007

I am a good copyist. Above is "Exuberance," completed in 2007. I wanted to see if I could capture the bigger than life, bursting with happiness feeling that was so aptly captured in a photo of my son as he turned three years old. I can look at a variety of images, recompose them, and create an interpretation in fabric. My last quilt, "No One but You," captures being caught up in a moment. I used a photo I took when traveling in Buenoes Aires as a starting place, and did extensive photoshop work to create a pleasing composition. I can't wait to show the quilt, but I have to wait until after the Quilt National 2013 show opens before I can post it. I can create realistic images, but I need those images to do more than show technical virtuosity. I am more pleased with my art when it comes from my heart - inspired by something that has emotionally touched me in some way. It is emotional experience that intrigues me the most. The magic of my quilt artistry is to conjure feelings from a collage of fabrics and threads.

"Zach, age 3"

Susan V. Polansky, 2006

"Exuberance" was proof to me that I could translate the captured expression in a photo to a piece created by fabric collage. But it also opened the door to the next desire. The desire to tell a story. I use my own photos, so it is not a matter of copying someone else's image. It is that I want to involve the viewer intellectually as well as emotionally. Depicting an apple accurately is one thing, even if it's an exquisite example, it will stay an apple in my mind. But give me a reason to think about it, and it becomes more than an apple. I can appreciate a beautiful rendition, but art that appeals to me more gets me to ask questions, makes me wonder, or involves me in the scene.

Did you know that the illustrator Norman Rockwell 

wanted to be a movie director if he had not become a painter? 

He had the desire to tell a story!