Ali

 

A bit about me...

I work with textiles created predominantly from cellulose and protein fibres and also from paper and clay. I hand dye and print nearly all the plant and animal-based fabrics used in my textile art. I am fascinated by the way sunshine, water, grass, soil, photosynthesis and metabolism conspire to create the raw fibres of thread and cloth. Harvesting those fibres frequently means death or disruption, just as our lived experience also unfolds. I am inspired and challenged by the possibilities of using woven and spun materials.

My art quilts are a resolution of incidents and instances in life, where something or someone has moved me to respond. Sometimes these are from joyful travel experiences while others are as a virtual, silent witness to manifestations of our inhumanity.

My process involves working in many journals, exploring the trigger or call to action. I look for the social, political, economic and emotional manifestations of an event through mind maps, drawing, and extensive research. This leads to consideration of which textiles and colours best support the expression of the idea as an art quilt. I will use a range of printing techniques, often cutting my own print blocks to further embed those responses into and onto the cloth.

The final design is iterative. Sometimes there are rules, but there is no pattern. The work evolves under the needle, piece by piece, stitch by stich. Once the base layer is made, I use a range of techniques to create texture and give depth to the layers of meaning. These include use applique, painted scrim, prints, paint, thread and ink in addition to machine and/or hand quilting.

I love the connections we all share, the way we are joined by fabric and thread to our communities and broader humanity.

Ali George

Ali George - CV

ARTISTIC MILESTONES

2023            Connected by Thread, a Broadstrokes exhibition, Old Schoolhouse Gallery,

                     Cleveland, Queensland

2022            Resene Paint Challenge – NZ Quilt Symposium 2022

2019            Inspired by Margaret Olley, a Broadstrokes exhibition, Warwick Art Gallery, 

                     Queensland

2017            Stitched Together Project, fundraising for FGM repair

2017            Art Quilt International Abstract and Geometric, Schiffer Publishing Ltd (Journey 

                     at 30,000 feet), published as a gallery artist

2016            Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition, Taiwan (exhibiting as a member of

                      Broadstrokes)

2016/17       Our Wishes for the World exhibition, touring Australia and New Zealand

2013              Awarded Queensland Regional Art Awards TAFTA Textile Prize for 

                       My Father’s Shed

2012-2017    Guest Artist, Western Australia Craft Show

             Guest Artist, Craft and Quilt Fair, Brisbane and Sydney

                        Curated various travelling exhibitions i(eg SAQA displays)

                        Presented floor talks to a wide range of visitors

2012-2015     Selected as an Open Studio Artist by the Scenic Rim Regional

                        Council, Queensland

2013-2015     Juried into various Studio Art Quilt Associates travelling exhibitions

Since 2010    Selected as part of the State of the Art exhibitions presented by 

                         Queensland Quilters