Addison Paige

Background: I was born in Berkeley, CA and raised in Gainesville, FL. My BFAA is from UT-Austin and my MFA from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. I currently live in Holly Springs, NC.

How It’s Done: My materials are commercial and hand-dyed cotton fabrics, including batiks from Indonesia. First, specifically chosen pieces of fabric are stitched together to create the background. I layer this background over a larger cotton batting and a backing fabric to make a quit sandwich which is then machine quilted together. To finish the piece, I add hand-stitched lines of cotton embroidery floss, machine stitched lines and other embellishments. Each art quilt is framed using rag mats. All pieces are numbered and recorded in sequence of completion.

Why I Do It: I make my first wall quilt on July 4, 1998. I had long been drawn to the sensual aspects of fabric. I knew then that I had found a medium that energized me, as well as a way to use all the fabrics I had been collecting over the years. Over the next six years I created a few wall quilts each year. All of these were original compositions created as I worked on each one. In 2004 I decided I wanted to create intimate, small-scale, framed art quilts.

I work improvisationally, which means I don’t work from patterns or sketches. I create each piece while I am assembling it. This enables me to fully enjoy the process of creation. I let the fabrics I work with influence, personal history and emotional interactions.

I share a home studio with my brother Eric. Sine 1995, we have worked together to make eccentric painted Lucite clocks for our company, “what will the neighbors think?”

I hope you enjoy my new voice.