Yvonne in the Garden

May 2016
18″ x 26″

$940

Yvonne Porcella is a leader in the art quilt field. She was the founder and first president of Studio Art Quilt Associates, which has been instrumental in highlighting the work of artists working in the medium of fiber into the forefront of the art world. Her work was vibrant and playful, and her encouragement of other artists was inspirational.

Although I never had the pleasure of meeting her in person, I watched her brave journey through cancer and her drive to live life to the fullest as long as possible. Even while she was receiving chemo treatments, she was a color inspiration and often wore red as well as her signature black and white accents. I doubt any hospital room was ever dull in her presence.

This piece was created from a call for entries from Pokey Bolton to have a show that celebrated Yvonne’s life. Given that my medium is portraits, my celebration of Yvonne is a portrait of her. I used a selfie of her from her Facebook account as inspiration. Her orange beret was a common hat for her after she lost her hair to chemotherapy, and she often wore her black and white checkered glasses. I studied her work and tried to create a background that was evocative of it. She often freehand cut flowers, stars, and lettering in her pieces. So although the portrait is a controlled construction, it is all Yvonne, and she is surrounded by her carefree spirit, hopefully, finally, at rest in the imaginative life of one of her own creations.

Inspired by a selfie taken by Yvonne Porcella.

Live Your Brightest Life: A Tribute to Yvonne Porcella, Alden Lane Nursery, Livermore, CA September 2016

Live Your Brightest Life: A Tribute to Yvonne Porcella, Sacred Threads, Floris United Methodist Church, Herndon, PA July 2017

Fierce Fibers, The Art Place, Marietta, GA September 2017