My quilt practice affords several lines of enquiry for research. As a cultural and symbolic convention of the American home, it links historically to the female and the notion of craft, a mediated form that crosses from the private to the public. The quilt as an object carries its own mythology linked to industrialisation and American patriotism, along with methods of self-sufficiency and pioneer settlement.
The quilt became the perfect vehicle through which to freeze frame, taking the film images out of their time-based context to facilitate a much deeper contemplation. This practice allows the craft itself to drive the production of the work towards an almost meditative act of looking. This process helped me to understand the close looking of both theorical and visual material. My research processes also offered a personal sense of reflection regarding how I define myself in relation to the work. The meditative process of quilt construction allowed personal space for me to evaluate various fragments of the project.
The journey through the PhD gave me the opportunity to engage with practice, leading to the creation of six quilts for the final submission. I also explored other forms of practical research that centred on engagement with local communities, taking part in and running workshops, creating local exhibitions and making visits to craft and sewing hubs in the United States and the United Kingdom. The establishment of links between quilting groups in Plymouth, UK and Huntsville, Texas has offered opportunities to extend the notion of creative exchange well beyond the scope of the PhD itself.
