I walk in wonder.

For thirty years I have been a walker, but it has only been in the last five that I have seen the world like this. Maybe the invention of the camera phone has had something to do with it. And social media—I post my photos on Instagram and Facebook. It’s hard to imagine that technology has had a part in what is now an important physical, emotional and spiritual practice for me.

As I am moving, I see a place and atmosphere that vibrates in front of me. I drink it in like the purest water. I stop and reach for my phone to capture the light. Perhaps because my work in textiles is often so labor intensive, this instant photo seems satisfying and the perfect companion to my quilt work.

In translating these to fabric on this intimate scale, I want to portray a sense of there-ness, to show what made me stop and appreciate the world around me. In the making of the work I further experience its aching beauty.

Ironic, to take an instant, and spend days remaking it.

Sue Benner 2019

Statement:

During my Mesh series of textile works, I have been working with concepts of patching, mending and healing. In this commission for Ellen and Larry Keeshan, I thought of the mesh as a net, capturing a piece of the sky, a bit of atmosphere, and bringing it into their beautiful home.

I experimented with my materials until I achieved just the balance I was looking for: a palette of soft sky colors and the effect of sunlight filtered through foliage. It’s a work as light as air, soothing and serene. See images of the process and the installation.

See a video with images of the process and installation.

Excited fans await to welcome the Golden State Warriors to their new home, the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Let’s Go Warriors!

This is a special commission for the Chase Center Art Collection facilitated by Sports and the Arts in partnership with Adobe created in 2019.

Art quilt: dye and paint on silk, cotton, linen, polyester, Golden State Warriors jerseys and found fabrics, thread (cotton, polyester, rayon); fused collage, hand-guided free-motion machine quilting.

43.25”H x 66.5”W, 2019