Art and Scroll Studio fifth season opener features fiber artist and author Ellen November

by Shelley Werner

(AJNews) – The fifth season of Art and Scroll Studio will begin on September 18, 2024 at 7:00 pm MDT. This free zoom series will begin a new series of fascinating artists working in a wide variety of media in the 2024/2025 season.

Ellen November creates photographic portraits in fabric that are snapshots in time and place. Enchanted by location and memory, she interweaves the special feeling of place with the roads, the landmarks and the floorplans that create a collage of texture and color. The finished work invites the viewer to experience the impact of an area or idea through the lens of fine design and detailed execution.

“Art quilting combines all my creative outlets: Quilting/sewing, photography, illustration, and design. I work on several pieces at a time. While working, I am completely engrossed and in my groove. There is no other head space I’d rather be in.”

Her initial dive into art quilts was inspired by her fascination with maps and the exquisite area she lived in for 32 years: Palos Verdes, CA. Using Auto Club, Thomas Guide and Google maps as her aerial views, she began her process. She combined the maps with photos of the area. From her mentor, Valerie Goodwin, she learned design and execution techniques that launched her work into a whole new and satisfying realm.

Drawing on the graphic nature of maps, Ellen’s fiber art is cartographic in nature. Art quilts allow her to combine her skills in illustration, photography, graphic design, and quilting.

Her latest series represents the many Jewish holidays.

“My artwork expresses my love for the infinite communicative possibilities of pattern, texture, shape, and color. As a trained illustrator, I am motivated to convey ideas and perspectives and to engage the viewer in my vision. As a fiber artist, I utilize the power and depth of mixed media to create a compelling statement that reaches out to viewers on multiple levels.”

She creates her art by pulling from images and ideas that resonate with her personally: locations with which she is familiar; places she would like to visit; moments in history; and social causes and topics. The subject and intent of a piece guides the selection of materials used, including textiles acquired from many sources, fabric she dyes or print s herself, and her own photographs edited and printed on fabric. In her work, materials help tell the story, and prompt the viewer to deeper and more reflective exploration.

Aerial views feature prominently in many of the works. Cartography, which has informed several of the pieces, is graphic in nature and she is intrigued by bird’s eye views of streets, boundaries, and geographical footprints and their relationship to angle and perspective. “I created a series of work based on interpretations of the Rand McNally Thomas Guidebook of maps. Using a map as the foundational first layer, I build an interpretive statement through additional images relevant to the area.”

Her process begins with an aerial view as the overall layout. She begins with the background, delineating water from land. Then comes the layering, delineating parks, landmarks, highways. Then scaling of objects from minor to major.

Lastly the quilting which is done by machine, including “free motion.” She does some hand-embroidery to accent particular elements.

Ellen’s work invites the viewer to see from a distance and at the same time zero in on details that give depth to each piece. Moving from afar to close up gives a sense of movement to the experience, much like a timeline that takes you from the past to the present at the same time. Richly detailed sewn elements and layers of appliques with collage provides a profound impression of time and place

She received a BFA in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena CA. She now resides in San Luis Obispo, CA, on the Central Coast.

Ellen November will be the featured guest on September 18, 2024, 7:00 pm MDT on Art and Scroll Studio, a live zoom series that celebrates the makers and creators of Judaic art. For advance tickets for this virtual and free program please email: artandscrollstudio@gmail.com