Unscripted: Fiber Improvisations by Bonnie Bucknam

Our September Exhibition brings us quilted works from internationally known artist, Bonnie Bucknam of Montrose, CO.
Bonnie’s work Crater won Best of Show at Quilt National 2011 and is now part of the Quilt National Permanent Collection at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. Bonnie’s work has been shown in numerous exhibits in the United States. In 2015, Bonnie’s work was in a year-long solo exhibition at the Portland Oregon International Airport. She was a solo artist at the Visions Museum of Textile Art, San Diego, in 2019.
Internationally, Bonnie’s work has appeared in the Haus der Wirtschaft museum in Stuttgart, Germany, the Museum of Modern Art in Verona, Italy, and other venues in Germany, England, Ireland, France, Japan, Brazil, and the Netherlands. Bonnie’s work Tangle is part of the permanent collection of the Tuch + Technik Textilmuseum, Neumunster, Germany. She has work in the Patchwork Design Contemporaneo Collection in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the State of Alaska’s Art Bank.
Artist Statement:
I have been experimenting with improvisational design for many years, but lately decided to devote a series of works to that process. I start by putting a pieced or plain fabric shape on my pin-wall, then respond to that. I add to what is there with another shape or piece and see what happens. It is liberating to not have to conform to a predesignated design. These pieces “go with the flow.” I generally use my own hand-dyed fabrics. These are dyed with Procion MX Fiber-Reactive dyes. Lately I have incorporated some commercial fabrics and some fabrics created by other dyers and friends. All the pieces are free-form cut, that is, no rulers or straight edges. This free-cut technique creates imperfections that to me are more engaging than precise piecing. I have a longarm quilting machine. All the quilting is free motion, meaning again, no rulers or programmed designs. I love to just sew and
embrace the outcome.
Bonnie's exhibition will be on display September 1 - 25 with an artist reception on September 4th.