The world is inundated with perfection from machines. Akron, Ohio, artist Connie Bloom strives for the hand of the artist to show in her work, making the thread her artistic voice.
She calls it “drawing with thread,” a process that is also known as free-motion quilting. What makes her drawing different is that the machine does not contain a computer, so all her threadwork is entirely hand guided with no tools or devices to make it look uniform, even, straight, or in any way perfect.
She adds threadwork throughout the process of making an art quilt. It takes two months working full days, six days a week, to make one art quilt. Many of her themes are animals, particularly her beloved pets, or of the natural world.
Walking the Dog is an art quilt made up of about a million confetti-sized pieces of hand dyed cloth, plus four layers of stitching. It does not contain any glue. The threadwork is the crowning glory.
You can meet Maker Connie Bloom at the Akron Mini Maker Faire held at Main Library in downtown Akron on Saturday, September 19. For more information, visit www.makerfaireakron.com.
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