“While I was driving across the Nevada desert, a hot wind sent clouds scudding along above me. My husband was photographing them as I drove, and the wind buffeted and harried us with an almost physical presence.
Back home, in my books on angels and goddesses, I found the name Sikiel listed as the Angel of the Sirocco – the hot desert wind. I made this image as I imagined it that day: a vast, powerful figure striding along just out of sight in the empty spaces.
The portrayal of the human form as a classic study is one of my favorite subjects. Finding new ways to do this in my textile art, while considering the footprint we leave in the world, is of ongoing interest to me.
In this work digital prints on fabric are combined with other cotton and silk commercial and hand-dyed fabrics. Digital fabrics were used only in the background and sky – while textile oil pastels define features on the figure.”
Lura Schwarz Smith has a BA degree in art from San Francisco State University. She has been producing art quilts since 1975, and has received awards both nationally and internationally.
Smith’s work can be seen in galleries and art quilt exhibitions, such as Quilt National and Quilt Visions. Her work is in many private collections and she is a member of the Studio Art Quilt Associates. Together with her husband, she is co-author of “Secrets of Digital Quilting: From Camera to Quilt.”