19. Sheila Hicks

"Pieces above and below"

Sheila Hicks is internationally known as a textile artist but work could also be considered sculptor. The works that she creates with fabrics and threads is quite amazing, on her website it was explained as; she works with “fibers”. Hicks has done commissioned projects worldwide, one of them in particular was creating a theater curtain for the Kiryu Cultural Center in Japan. Her work is bright and inviting and she obviously knows the materials she is working with because her craftsmanship is amazing. A great deal of her pieces are made to hang from the wall and more often the not the creations cover entire walls. Through reading about her I found that she uses a number of methods when “weaving” her works, which include knitting, knotting, bonding, turfting, and felting.

Theater curtain in Japan

"Silk Rainforest"

I love Hicks’s work because it so beautifully done not only that but her use of color is great. I appreciate the fact that she isn’t afraid to experiment and she really is about learning the materials that she works with. The scale of some of her works is quite amazing and are so detailed that its hard not to appreciate the work that goes into one of her pieces. I really enjoy the texture of her work, which is always changing with the various fibers that she utilizes. Her work kind of reminds me of that of Eliza Frenand because of her work with textiles and different fabrics.