DVAA Member since january 2015

Eleanor Levie

Website:

About:

Just a Jewish feminist from Baltimore, a political junkie and needlework & crafts dilletante only recently comfortable calling myself an artist. Previously, I have edited and produced books to inform and inspire quilters. Currently, I present trunk shows and workshops to quilt guilds, to encourage traditionalists to ignore the "quilt police," break the rules, break out of the box. I still make useful artsy craft: table runners, pillows, and tote bags as gifts. But for art that attracts another glance, I am constantly looking to go beyond -- to upcycle, upscale, print on fabric with fiber-reactive dye, and try to outdo my previous explorations. Rarely satisfied with the result, I feel immensely grateful to the DVAA community for support, constructive criticism, and the friendship of the most wonderful group of oddballs anywhere, particularly those in the DVAA book club.

Artist Statement:

A continually evolving artist in the medium of piecing, applique, and especially quilting, I'm just as apt to use recycled plastic and foil packaging as I am to use commercial, global, and vintage fabrics, plus my own printed and painted fabrics, with embellishments such as embroidery, ribbons, trims, buttons, zippers, or found objects.

My work often expresses my values regarding the social justice issues important to me. I founded an online gallery, now an archive: UnitedWeQuilt.com, where over 100 art quilters celebrate our democratic values and protest or parody a particular authoritarian administration.