Fiber artist Shawn Marie Delker learned the joy of sewing on her mom’s knee at the age of five and has been stitching ever since. She began quilting in 2000, and soon discovered art quilting. Currently she has developed a technique that could be called, painting with fabric. She says, "You might say my sewing machine is my brush and thread is my paint. Each of my art pieces is unique because it is totally hand done."
Three of her quilts have been juried into galleries from Omaha to Albuquerque, she exhibits at regional art galleries, and she teaches at area galleries and the Salina Art Center. She received the third-place prize in the medium size art quilt category at the 2017 Fiber Arts Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her experiences include being featured as the Artist in Residence at the Red Barn Studio in Lindsborg in 2016 and 2019. She is most proud of her acceptance and popularity as a demonstration artist at the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina since 2016, and her move to the Fine Arts area for that event in 2022.
Artist Statement:
“On the Edge” by Shawn Delker
Being “on the edge” of something can have multiple meanings; we can be on the edge of discovery, at the edge of our wits, or at a tipping point of choices. Sometimes these all happen at same time.
My body of work attempts to show the contemporary female at the edge of discovery, while trying to negotiate her way to gender equality. My personal experience is one of gender oppression, which is typical of my generation. I was groomed by parents who accepted the world order that females deserved a lower status than male counterparts. I can see clearly the damage that was done to countless women because they were unable to have dreams beyond raising children and being good “housewives.” Now I watch a new generation stand at the edge of change, discovery, and a new power that gives me hope that all females old or young will finally be able to reach for and attain their full potential.
My art pieces show both the joy of being on the edge and the raw, raveled, tangled and messy experience of being on the edge of change. Some of my art creations are made from recycled linens that were created through time-consuming handwork women did to decorate their homes, with all pieces having exposed edges. The torn and ragged edges of the vintage linen reflect the difficulty of change, yet that new form is also beautiful and freeing. I created other pieces of artwork entirely from thread, “painting” with thousands of stitches - again, an assigned female task - these are used to show the joy of being free to reach one’s potential without constraints due to gender.
I have found this body of work to be helpful to me as I emotionally struggle to understand and fight the suppression of women we still experience today.
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