Laura Petrovich-Cheney

Creating abstract patterns is my way of dealing with life’s ambiguities and uncertainties. I create complex, vibrant, quilt-inspired wall sculptures from wooden debris collected after natural disasters, such as hurricanes, fires, and floods. In 2013, Hurricane Sandy devasted my home and my parents’ house (my childhood home) and I began to collect the material from the wreckage - like kitchen cabinets, dresser drawers, cedar siding. I believe that material has memory and can remind us of times long gone. The paint color is as I found it because retouching its surface would alter its memory and change its recognizable marks that chart the passage of time. These marks are vital reminders of a once lived life. Although I use materials and tools to create my work that are quite different from those used by traditional quilters, our finished work share similarities: An object of beauty and comfort that began as discarded scraps made meaningful by piecing together.