Good Riddance

Need I say more?

Just Kidding Around

December's gathering of the faithful, our informal textile group, occurred at the lovely home of Siripan and Tony Kidd, where we were treated to a visual feast of Siripan's artful quilts. Like a fish out of water when she first moved to England, Siripan found her creative voice by pairing the traditional medium of quilting and handsewing, with the gorgeous Thai silk of her homeland. As an early docent at the Jim Thompson house and a fan of the company's famous wares, she collected rolls of remnant silk and began using it to make pieced quilts. She became aware of the unique sheen of silk and how to use its directional light-reflecting qualities to give her pieces even more life than just that imparted by the glorious colors. Combining that with her unique "rice grain" stitches for texture gives her work an almost painterly quality.



Here she is joined by husband Tony in displaying a piece inspired by weather pattern diagrams. Another piece (below) in 'cool' colors evokes the Suffolk winters and is titled accordingly. Here the very beautiful texture is readily apparent, along with the sheen of the silk.


Most of Siripan's work is abstract and Modernist: influences could be Modigliani, Arp and other notable 20thc. modern painters, tho she doesn't cite anyone specific. Her recent work has become more conceptual and three-dimensional, challenging the definitions of quilting and using it as a very 21st century artistic medium.

In addition to her quilts, Siripan offers workshops in textile art at her home, and also leads textile tours around this region. Check her website for more information.





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