Season Evans

You’re a new addition to the crayon box: Which color are you and why?
I would have to say “Snow”. That is the color name of the fabric that I use in the backgrounds of most of my quilts. It’s just off-white enough to create subtle connections with the colors I use in my designs.

How did you become interested in art?
I think I’ve always been interested in art, even at an early age. I was always drawing, writing, reading, and making.

What your path to art look like?
I started making quilts just for fun, as a hobby. But, my path to art started with writing. I went to graduate school for creative writing and found a particular voice with that work. Later, I decided to combine my love of textiles and storytelling.

Three dominant things stand out in your work: symmetry, line work, and angles. Can you speak more about the aesthetic of your quilts?
The goal of my work is to get to the essentials of whatever story I am trying to tell. Sometimes that means paring down an idea or concept to a single line or collection of lines. I’m also fascinated with juxtapositions: What happens in that space where two opposites meet, whether it’s color, lines, etc.? Do the opposites clash or do they work together? In that sense, I’m also fascinated with structure. How can ideas/colors/shapes/line be built to create a particular sensibility or that space where opposites can meet. Also, in lines, there are infinite spaces, infinite possibilities to create.

Where do you find sources of inspiration?
I find inspiration for my work everywhere. My quilts come from narrative - the stories of myself and my community and the community at large. The goal is to tell the stories of contemporary life.

Who are other artists that have influenced your work?
There are so many artists who have influenced my work. The most influential artists are the many named and unnamed quiltmakers of past generations, who inspired me to start quilting. There are contemporary quilters and fiber artists who continually inspire me: Erin Wilson, Abigail Booth, Coulter Fussell, Basil Kincaid, Maura Ambrose, Erin M. Riley, Michael C. Thorpe, Kathryn Clark, Lorraine Pettway, Faith Ringgold - there are too many to name, really...

When did you start quilting?
I started quilting in college. I went to undergraduate school in rural Pennsylvania (I’m originally from PA) where quilts and quilting were part of the community. While I didn’t come from a quilting family, I fell in love with them and their simple beauty and intimate functionality. My dad gave me a used sewing machine for my birthday and with the help of some quilting books, I taught myself to quilt. I quilted as a hobby for years but then took a break while I was in graduate school. When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I decided to make her a quilt and I haven’t really stopped since then.

Do you have a specific space you do your quilting in?
I am fortunate to have a studio space just for quilting. I rent a small studio that is close to my house and my daughters’ school that often feels like a home away from home.

What does a typical studio day look like for you?
A typical studio day starts with writing. Reading and writing are still important pieces of my art practice. The words help inform my work, even if I am in the middle of constructing a quilt. Quilt construction can be repetitive, in a good way, like a meditation, and writing helps me focus. Then, I work on design or construction. If I’m working on design, I work with graph paper and pencil. If I’m working on a quilt, that can either mean cutting fabric, sewing patchwork, or quilting. Making a quilt is such a time consuming process that often my studio time is fairly simple: write and then sew.

Do you have a favorite part of the artistic process?
I can’t say I have a favorite part of the process. Quiltmaking is a collection of so many processes that I’ve grown to find joy in almost all of them. I have to admit that basting a quilt (pinning all three layers of quilt together before actually quilting it) is my least favorite - it can be physically taxing if working on a large quilt and I find it often boring.

What is your favorite tool to create with?
My favorite tools are pencil and paper and cotton. When I am thinking about projects, I write and draw my quilt designs on graph paper with pencil. When I am constructing a quilt, my favorite material to work with is cotton. It’s so versatile.

How has your practice changed over time?
As my children have gotten older, I’ve been able to have more time dedicated to my practice. That longer attention and focus to my practice has been exciting and given me greater opportunities to push my work.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?The best piece of advice I’ve been given is to keep working. If I have writers’ block or am stuck on a design, that I just need to keep putting words on page or keep stitching. The movement and the practice often frees my mind and allows me to push through whatever is holding me back.

If you could become one of your characters/works of art which one would you become, and why?
This is a tough question. In making a functional object as art, it’s difficult to personify these pieces. Yet, they are all stories based on real life. So in that sense, I would choose “Two Rivers” because that is the quilt that feels most like home to me.

What is the hardest thing about quilting?
The hardest thing about quilting is patience. Some quilts take so long to make (I’m currently working on a quilt that I started almost two years ago). Ideas - even good ideas - can get lost in the time that it takes to get to be able to make it.

How long does it take to make a quilt?
The time it takes to make a quilt depends on how it’s made. A quilt made on my domestic sewing machine takes weeks to months to finish (depending on size). If there is any sewing that is done by hand then it takes almost twice as long or longer. The quilt I’m working on now is being sewn entirely by hand and I’ve been working on it for almost two years (with some time off for other projects) - but I’ve been thinking about this idea for that long.

Which superpower would you have, and why?
I don’t know much about superpowers but if there was one where I could clone myself I would - only to be able to make quilts faster. Some quilts, depending on the complexity, take months to make. While I’m making one quilt, I’m thinking about new quilts and ideas but I have to wait to start working on something new. If I didn’t, I don’t think I’d finish anything. But being able to fly would also be amazing.

What fabrics do you use?
I typically use cotton for my quilts. However, the backs of my quilts (quilts are three layers of fabric: top, batting, and a quilt back) are usually large collections of patchwork that consist of all kinds of fabrics, from cotton, linen, silk, wool, and even leather.

What is your ultimate professional goal?
I feel like I’m living my ultimate professional goal right now. I make quilts as art and am able to sustain a small business doing so. That being said I am always looking for ways to push my artistic boundaries. I’ve done some recent installation work and am looking into adding new materials to quiltmaking. So I’d like to explore those a little further.

What is your favorite accomplishment thus far?
My favorite accomplishment so far has been making a large installation piece for the Facebook Artist in Residency Program. They commissioned me to make a site-specific piece for one of their offices in the Seattle area. The piece consisted of fifteen individual quilts (some up to 12’ long) to fill three walls of an open stairwell. It taught me so much about scale, working on a large project, and my practice.