Penny Strockbine

Pando #2, 2013, 48" x 23"

hand-dyed cotton

Little Leaf, 2012, 10" x 16"

hand-dyed cotton

Japanese Anemone II, 2014, 44" x 56"

hand-dyed and hand printed cotton

Japanese Anemone II (detail)

Artist Statement
My work is defined by two words: translation and transcription. 

I translate what I see in the natural world around me; not to copy an image realistically, but to capture its essence. 

If I had a bumper sticker on my car it would read “I brake for trees and flowers.”  The shapes of trees in winter, silhouetted against empty skies, are the bones of a landscape, while dried grasses and leaves soften the starkness.  As the seasons unfold, landscapes come alive with the gentle colors of spring. The vibrant hues of summer melt into the raucous hues of autumn.  At the same time contours soften and coalesce.  This is what I see, and what I strive to represent.

I transcribe these images onto cloth by silkscreening with thickened dyes, painting with dyes or textile paints, and shibori dyeing. These tools provide the structure for the pieces I make.  Sewing pieces of my distinctive fabrics together - like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle - furthers the process. Fusing the entire construction to a layer of felt completes the picture.  

Biography

Penelope Strockbine’s first career was as a laboratory scientist - studying various problems in molecular biology.  During that career she chose quilting as a hobby to satisfy a desire for color and beauty in her life. More recently, Strockbine experimented with watercolor painting. Though it satisfied her need for color, she missed the tactile qualities of cloth. 

Marrying surface design processes to hand or machine quilting establishes a foundation that allows Strockbine to create original, colorful fabrics, which then become distinctive landscape creations.