This is SAQA Europe/Middle East: The United Kingdom

ALICIA MERRETT

I was born and grew up in Argentina, under crystal blue skies and surrounded by colour, which may or may not explain my preference for working with strong colours.  I came to live in England in the late 1960s.  I have stitched since I was a child, but did not take it seriously until the 1980s, when I became a cloth doll and teddy bear maker, designing my own patterns, teaching and writing books.

In the 1990s I visited the exhibition “Contemporary American Quilting” at the Craft Council in London.  There I was amazed at the works of Nancy Crow, Michael James, Caryl Bryer Fallert and others, and decided to make the move into contemporary art quilting.

Light Fantastic

I made my first quilt in 1994 and won an award for it, so I knew I was on the right tracks!  This quilt, Light Fantastic, was shown again recently at the 20th Anniversary Exhibition of the European Patchwork Meeting in Ste Marie Aux Mines, France.

Login Shakespeare

My first love was colour and therefore my quilts reflect that.  I have worked in series about Music, Shakespeare, ColourScapes, Gee’s Bend.

Gee's Bend Blues

In 2008 made my first map quilt, and in the years since then I have made many more.  I love geography, cartography, aerial views, and maps seem to fit in the right place in the development of my work.

Mapping Earth

I exhibit often in the UK and abroad, including shows at the European Patchwork Meeting in 2011, and the Festival of Quilts in 2004 and 2014.  This year I produced a book/catalogue of this exhibition, which was primarily about my map quilts.

Seaside Town

You can see many more of my quilts, and details about the book, in my website, www.aliciamerrett.co.uk

The Night Road