Elizabeth Barton makes wall hangings from layers of cloth that she has painted, cut into pieces, stitched together and then stitched again over the top. Some call these quilts, some call them fiber collages! Basically, however, it’s painting with fabric. The imagery is of places she seen: Athens, GA, New York, Canada, and England. She explores the beauty of everyday environments in abstracts, cityscapes, industrial and rural landscapes always trying to create a sense of place. The wall hangings are of many different sizes, from small pieces that can be framed, to large ones that would make a very bold statement in a large room or assembly hall.

Elizabeth also paints in watercolors; she finds this is a good way to work out some compositional ideas quickly before the time intensive work involved in making a quilt.

She was born in York, England, educated in England and U.S.A., and emigrated to U.S.A. many years ago. Whilst working in the health service at the University of Georgia, she began to make quilts for the wall. She made the quilts that hang in the public library and also the ones hanging at Gate 29, Concourse E, Hartsfield Atlanta Airport. Her work is in both private and public collections around North America and England. She has had a number of solo shows from 1997 at Brenau College in Gainesville, through several at UGA, OCAF and Lyndon House in the Athens area, California, and last year at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK. She also teaches workshops across the USA, Canada, UK and online.

website:  www.elizabethbarton.com
blog:  elizabethbarton.blogspot.com

©2011 The Studio Group