Jessica Adanich | Mr X Stitch

Jessica Adanich is a designer from Cleveland, Ohio who makes fantastic quilts. I asked her to describe her work and this is what she said: "In 1971 the Whitney Museum changed the way art looked at quilts. They were no longer just objects that dressed the bed; they became pieces of art framed on the wall like a painting with strokes of fabric. The work I am creating now are indeed art quilts, art quilts of pin-up girls. I find them to be fascinating in the role they have played in history as a superficial symbol for an idea. While men were putting their lives on the line, they were being fed imagery of sweet American women doing their housewife duties in stiletto heals and lingerie. While on the other hand the act of quilting and sewing throughout the ages has been viewed primarily as a 'woman' duty." "By quilting pin-up girls I am creating new contemporary images of pin-up girls, ones that portray the female as an independent and strong as well as beautiful. As a young female artist I feel my work takes quilting and the role of women to the next level. " "I create each image on the computer using Adobe Illustrator and print out for my applique pattern. Each piece is cut out and satin stitched down while the faces and detail work are hand embroidered. Heavy consideration and thought goes into fabric choices and layout." There's no denying Jessica's skill - not only does she have a terrific sense of character design, I really like the execution of her quilts. The choices of fabric are intelligent, and to a great job of adding texture and dimension to the work. I really like the style of her pieces, echoing the classic 1950's pinups but with a contemporary twist. And I think her choice of celebrities is very intelligent - strong females who are admired, but who have integrity. Jessica's work is glamourous, but clearly honours the subject matter; her women are gorgeous and aspirational. I'm looking forward to seeing her body of work develop. If you'd like to see more of Jessica's work, visit her website. Once you've seen all the other work she produces, you will realise the full scope of her talent. She's awesome. ----- The Cutting & Stitching Edge is brought to you in association with PUSH: Stitchery, the must-have embroidered art book by Mr X Stitch !