Artist Profile: Rachel Parris

Rachel Parris

Birmingham, Alabama

 

1. What other ideas for this theme "rituals" did you have? I thought of watching the birds in my backyard with my husband every morning over coffee. I also thought of my walks on the beach in the early morning when I am able to visit the gulf coast beaches of Alabama. I have lots of little rituals in my daily life. I also realized that there are some old rituals that have gone from my life. I think that is ok. Our rituals should serve us, not vise versa.

2.  Are you involved in any community or group projects where you donate your work?  if yes, what project or projects?  No

3.  Do you belong to a small group of like-minded artists?  yes/no  Name/where?  What is the best part of being part of an art group? I do not belong to such a group. My friends in Houston and online are my quilt guild whether they know it or not.

4.  Are you a member of a professional art organization, such as SAQA?  Have you ever held a volunteer position in the organization, and if so, what? no

5.  What is your favorite palette of colors that you use in your work?  Name 5.  purple, fuchsia, turquoise, red, yellow, Name 5 of your least favorite colors? brown, orange, ???

6.  Describe your creative work space in 20 words or less.  Are you messy or tidy? I work messily in my dining room. This requires a lot of cleaning up of materials and dragging out of same over the course of a project. My neat nick husband endures the mess with a love that only he could muster.

7.  What is your creative process?  Think, draw, design, make or right to the design? I spend a lot of time thinking about; and some time laying out a design on my computer as I don't have a design wall.

8.   Is there a particular object or shape that shows up repeatedly in your work?  Why? I love circles and spirals; but, am not sure they show up in my work as much as I would like because they frequently get a little "flat" on me.

9.   If you had to choose a favorite artist from another media, who would it be, and why? Georgia O'Keeffe. I love her colors and I love the fact that she apparently loved the Southwest as much as I do.

10.  Have you written a book related to Art Quilts and Quilting or have an instructional DVD?  If so, can you tell us the title or titles? You jest!

11.  Do you make art full time? I do not.   If you have another career, would you describe what you do? and how you incorporate art into your life? I work on learning to be the person I want to be. My foray into art quilting has led me many directions that enrich my life on a daily basis.

12.  What is your most thrilling news to date in relation to your art quilt life? When I learned that one of my very first journal quilts was going to be included in the Creative Quilting book I cried for two days.

http://rachelparris.blogspot.com/