Anita Jacques
Anita Jacques’ mother enjoyed painting and sewing, and encouraged her to do the same by teaching her to sew when she was 7 years old. She has a memory of her mother sitting at the sewing machine, Anita standing at her side, talking and watching her work. Perhaps that is why she has always been drawn to sewing, and has transformed a domestic sewing machine into a tool for art, mutating fabrics into paint- as the world is interpreted in a wondrous expression of fiber art.
Anita began creating her fiber art pieces in 2001 after viewing an artist who created their art from fabric and thread, as opposed to traditional paints. Having been inspired by a unique form of expression that connected her to her past, she developed her own style and technique of this contemporary art form. Most of her pieces are influenced through her life experiences; remarkable places, and photographs of her travels. When using the photographs, she pulls fabric from her color coded bins and color coordinates the thread to the fabric. She starts by cutting and binding pieces of fabric and felt batting together with spray adhesive. She then begins building the art piece layer upon layer, freehand cutting the desired shapes out of the selected fabrics. After spraying each piece with temporary spray adhesive, she then affixes it to the felt, creating her visual interpretation. She continues until satisfied with the composition, then machine sews (thread paints) each individual piece of fabric into its place. When finished with the sewing, the work is mounted onto a luan backer board, usually sprayed with a UV protectant, stain guard, and water repellent, prior to framing.
