Deidre Adams

Robert Ryman, Surface Veil, 1970-1971
22 x 29 inches, oil on fiberglass with waxed paper frame and masking tape. Collection SFMOMA.
 
“The real purpose of painting is to give pleasure.”
–Robert Ryman
When one’s thoughts turn to the topic of white paintings, artist Robert Ryman comes easily to mind. Ryman, born in 1930 in Nashville, was first a jazz [...]

 
Paris, France, ©2009 Deidre Adams
It’s snowing again today – yeehaw. We’ve had a lot of snow this winter – I mean, a lot. I’m not inclined to go to the trouble of looking it up, but I can say that my shoveling muscles have had way more use than in recent years past. I do [...]

Surface Tension, 30 x 40 inches, acrylic on panel, ©2011 Deidre Adams
 
Surface Tension (detail), ©2011 Deidre Adams
New Year’s Day is my favorite day of the year. Starting with the prior November, the craziness of the holidays takes hold and makes me feel anxious, and I kind of just hold my breath until it’s all over. [...]

Sublimation, 30 x 40 inches, acrylic on panel, ©2011 Deidre Adams 
After finishing the Anythink commission, which had occupied the better part of my time for about three months, I felt a little rootless. I tried working on another textile piece, but it just didn’t want to cooperate. So I brought out all of the paintings [...]

Hanging a textile piece can be done any number of ways. Some people like to frame them, but I’ve decided that that particular aesthetic doesn’t appeal to me. I believe a textile should be free to assert its own identity, and it shouldn’t be forced to pretend it’s a painting just because that’s what people [...]

The last step of the painting process is to add small details, fine lines, and handwritten text to provide another layer of visual interest as well as give me a way to incorporate the words of the community members into the work. The writing consists partly of words from notes I took during the interview [...]

Did I say the quilting was my favorite part? No, that’s not right. It’s really the painting … or is it? There are very few aspects of creating art (as opposed to aspects of marketing and selling art) that I don’t love. I did find one this time, though – more about that later. But here [...]

In process photo showing the piece partially quilted. Safety pins remain in the unquilted areas.
Once the quilt top is pieced, the next step is to create another same-size layer of fabric for the backing, either from a single piece of fabric (ideal, in my mind) or stitched together from multiple pieces if needed (as in [...]

After choosing fabric, the next step is to sew the individual pieces together into a single large piece called the “quilt top” (for any non-quilters who might be reading this). This process is greatly facilitated by having what is known as a “design wall” in one’s studio. In my case, I have one entire wall [...]