Innocenza Presa

During the 90's my work became more prolific. My studio practice was more serious, and I entered my first exhibitions. Inspired by images and my photographic training, I used images in every possible way to make quilts; on acetate, layered with plastic, transferring images, even printing large photographs in the darkroom to piece and quilt like fabric. I ran fabric through my daisy wheel printer and spent countless hours copying language and images onto acetate transparencies. Regional exposure led to national exposure as well as publication in magazines and books, but it was also a time to learn about rejection and the roller coaster of juried exhibitions. During this decade, it was my story that was being told; pieces based on past or present memories and experiences. They were often revealing, but the work felt true and honest. This piece, Innocenza Presa, was juried into Visions, 1995, and its partner piece was juried into Quilt National, 1995. My artist statement at that time read:

"Our lives move through a course of tangled twists and turns, often detouring down unfamiliar paths, undesired routes, or to uncomfortable locations. One is forced to respond, ready or not, to a loss, a love, an unexpected light.

Our multi-facted personalities shift in color and hue, traveling through time, sometimes changed forever. This piece reflects one of those unsettling periods, and the courage summoned to face it."