Another one finished . . . Paula Nees, a once-Columbus (now out-of-state) artist renowned for her fabric art, has created a beautiful triptych called “Three Songs of the Goldfinch”. In her words:

“The first time I met Sue Cavanaugh was at a workshop on natural dyes in 2009. I marveled at her use of line, pattern and color that flowed like a stream. Indeed, that was at the heart of her work to take that movement in nature and realize it in manipulating fabric.

Visits to Sue’s studio at 400 Rich were enriching. Used as a workplace and staging area she would install massive constructions made of parachute fabric. Always committed to reusing and recycling materials, her methods were about deconstructing then reassembling these bits and pieces to create her exhuberant works. I considered this aspect of her work when presented with the challenge to participate in the tribute exhibitions “A Common Thread”.

With my interest in indigo, I started by dying an old drop cloth. Indigo with its deep blue was a counterpoint and complement to the remnants of white, green and orange parachute fabric I’d received. The reinforcement cords and straps were removed from the fabric, then dyed and reconfigured into nets. I modified the parachute fabric with rust, solar dyes, metal leaf and scorched patterns.

These fabrics are intentionally left raw and frayed. Layered and left to hang freely these constructions exist as phrases or utterances - like the song of a bird - brief but distinct. My own studio work relates to this response to the visible and invisible nature of things. Like Sue I embrace natural phenomenon, sensory experiences and the element of the unexpected. I am indebted to her influence and sense of life.”