Karen Linduska - Fiber Arts

Karen Linduska

REBUILDING THE WALL ON MY TERMS

Rebuilding the Wall

Rebuilding the Wall on My Terms is the title of the series of 10 Art Quilts that I have created about spiritual creative recovery. After spending 15 years in recovery breaking down the wall I put up as a defense mechanism, I realized that I needed to build the wall back up slowly on my terms. It was to protect myself from certain people and certain life situations. I needed to visually rebuild the wall I had spent so much time breaking down. So I did it with what I know best and feel safest with, thread and fabric. The basic idea, inspired by a dream, was started in the summer of 2003. The series took me three and one-half years to complete.

While I was creating the first piece, many other images and issues were surfacing. This happens to me often as I work. I usually try to put those images in the piece I am currently working on. This time, however, I felt I had too much to say for just one piece, so this is how the Wall series was born. Working on this series has been a spiritual healing process. I had to go through some sad, scary, tough stuff to get to the healing part. It was well worth the adventure.

Each quilt has a different theme, with repeated images that represent specific symbols in my life:

Redhead Girl = me as an adult
Brick Wall = strength, structure, repetition
Flowers & Plants = growth in my life
Corn Stalks = southern Illinois
Purple Door = my vulnerability, people can enter, but only if I let them
Tiny girl = my inner child
Fence = security, protection
Water = calm, healing
Tree/Roots = being grounded

Creative Process

I do collage journaling. Images are inspired from dreams, drawings, pictures, quotes, song lyrics. One never knows. With these images and ideas I go on to design my quilts. I then do a life-size drawing of my quilt. From that life size drawing I can add to or cut apart to use as patterns. I do my basic color study in the collage process. I also might color the life-size drawing in sections to see if I like the proportion and coloring. This is not a blueprint, and I may alter the quilt quite a bit from the life size drawing.

My quilts are really paintings with thread, markers, colored pencils, stamping and bits of fabric. They are highly textured. On the average 90%of the quilt is covered with thread. I do layers and layers of rayon thread in different colors and different stitches to create the textured effect. I usually machine quilt sheets of fabric and then cut out the shapes I need from that sheet. They are then appliquéd onto my quilt. All of my fabric is backed with a light quilt batting and medium to light weight stabilizer. [ Top of Page ]