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Echinacea VI: FireFinch (ignis Fringillidae Universum)
Universum to be turned into a single whole
2024
20” high x 40’ wide x 30” deep
Andrea Finch creates sculptural quilts of botanical & environmental subjects, realistic to abstract, exploring textile textures. Her botanical obsession began with two decades of photographing and creating an arboretum in her yard while working at a local garden center. She has come to quilt-making from a different angle, allowing the fabric to speak through texture, color, and design.
Andrea grew up on a hobby farm in Eastern Pennsylvania and earned a BA in Fine Arts from Kutztown University. She started quilting during her last class at university which changed the direction of her art. Her art career was interrupted for 18 years while she raised her children and lived a different creative life. When she returned to quilting, she tossed out many of the quilting rules. Her work, never truly conventional, has taken on sculptural forms.
Now living in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, she is involved in many arts organizations throughout the region. She is a Juried Artist member and Exhibition Committee of SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associates), sits on the board, finance & exhibitions committee of the Virginia Quilt Museum in Dayton, Virginia, is the co-manager of the Foundry Art Market co-op.
Her work can be found at the Foundry Art Market in Chambersburg, various galleries, museums, public and private collections, and juried exhibitions throughout the US.
A Boy’s World transition & growth to a woman and FireFinch are 2 of 3 pieces I created from a quilt titled 'A Boy's World' that I made almost 4 decades ago for my oldest son. It was handed down to my second child who loved it to the point of tatters. Grown soft and worn with all the washings it was tucked away when outgrown. As my child grew into an adult she realized she was in the wrong body and her transition began. In cutting up this quilt I snipped away at the past, questioning my role as a mother. It's satisfying to transform a beloved quilt into art to sit in the light for all to see, as she has.
Method: Machine quilted, machine thread painted, hand & machine constructed, hand cut
Materials: Cotton & other textiles, an old well-worn beloved family quilt with polyester & cotton batting, wire and thread.
Once a traditional flat quilter, my work has left the surface, now sculptures that taunt the viewer to reach out and touch. My garden, as it changes through the seasons, is the inspiration for my work.
I use all textiles, new and vintage quilting fabrics, repurposed quilts, reclaimed textiles, and decorator samples diverted from landfills. Each piece is a unique collection of hand-cut fabrics, stitched together with liberal use of thread by dense machine quilting through multiple layers of fabric and batting, that form the stiffness to defy gravity to create the desired shape.
In my work, I save memories, preserve the environment, and create art that is accessible to everyone. Art that makes you smile in a world that can be so bleak. I am creating a whimsical garden of flowers and vessels with ties to my family and community.
24” high x 20” wide x 20” deep
Echinacea VI: FireFinch (ignis Fringillidae Universum)
Universum to be turned into a single whole
2024
20” high x 40’ wide x 30” deep
Andrea Finch creates sculptural quilts of botanical & environmental subjects, realistic to abstract, exploring textile textures. Her botanical obsession began with two decades of photographing and creating an arboretum in her yard while working at a local garden center. She has come to quilt-making from a different angle, allowing the fabric to speak through texture, color, and design.
Andrea grew up on a hobby farm in Eastern Pennsylvania and earned a BA in Fine Arts from Kutztown University. She started quilting during her last class at university which changed the direction of her art. Her art career was interrupted for 18 years while she raised her children and lived a different creative life. When she returned to quilting, she tossed out many of the quilting rules. Her work, never truly conventional, has taken on sculptural forms.
Now living in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, she is involved in many arts organizations throughout the region. She is a Juried Artist member and Exhibition Committee of SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associates), sits on the board, finance & exhibitions committee of the Virginia Quilt Museum in Dayton, Virginia, is the co-manager of the Foundry Art Market co-op.
Her work can be found at the Foundry Art Market in Chambersburg, various galleries, museums, public and private collections, and juried exhibitions throughout the US.
A Boy’s World transition & growth to a woman and FireFinch are 2 of 3 pieces I created from a quilt titled 'A Boy's World' that I made almost 4 decades ago for my oldest son. It was handed down to my second child who loved it to the point of tatters. Grown soft and worn with all the washings it was tucked away when outgrown. As my child grew into an adult she realized she was in the wrong body and her transition began. In cutting up this quilt I snipped away at the past, questioning my role as a mother. It's satisfying to transform a beloved quilt into art to sit in the light for all to see, as she has.
Method: Machine quilted, machine thread painted, hand & machine constructed, hand cut
Materials: Cotton & other textiles, an old well-worn beloved family quilt with polyester & cotton batting, wire and thread.
Once a traditional flat quilter, my work has left the surface, now sculptures that taunt the viewer to reach out and touch. My garden, as it changes through the seasons, is the inspiration for my work.
I use all textiles, new and vintage quilting fabrics, repurposed quilts, reclaimed textiles, and decorator samples diverted from landfills. Each piece is a unique collection of hand-cut fabrics, stitched together with liberal use of thread by dense machine quilting through multiple layers of fabric and batting, that form the stiffness to defy gravity to create the desired shape.
In my work, I save memories, preserve the environment, and create art that is accessible to everyone. Art that makes you smile in a world that can be so bleak. I am creating a whimsical garden of flowers and vessels with ties to my family and community.
24” high x 20” wide x 20” deep
