Daphne W. John

My mother could not resist a beautiful piece of fabric - even when she had no immediate use for it. I have inherited this trait. My love of texture and color originally showed in the clothing I created fro myself and my children. After the children flew the nest I turned from garment-making to quilt-making. Sez I to myself, "I don't need to take classes. I can easily figure out directions in a book. After all, think of all those complicated Vogue patterns I put together." Obviously, I ruined a lot of fabric, horrified the purists by using non-cotton fabrics, continually messed up my machine tension, broke countless needles and shredded yards of metallic thread.

Like most head-strong people, I learned a great deal from my errors. The best lessons taught me to have fun…to experiment with color combinations…not to worry about what the purists said…to stop hoarding my favorite fabrics…and to play with texture and color as if I were using another medium. I also learned that manipulating fabric eased frustration and stress!

I begin a new project with a specific idea or theme in mind. The final result may be quite different as the fabric has a way of shaping itself and saying to me, "Nope! Try it another way!"

I find it very difficult to define "ART." If pundits throughout the ages haven't been able to agree on a definition, why should I try? My hope is that my work will cause the viewer to think, to laugh…to feel SOMETHING!