Alexander
Bio:
Erica Alexander is an artist and contemporary quiltmaker whose practice focuses on the importance of slow and repetitive processes like hand stitching and natural dye. Her practice brings awareness to the beauty of material and plants that make up the colors and textures in her work. Growing up, Erica was inspired and surrounded by the quilts of her grandmother; this played a large part in why tradition and community are driving forces in her practice.
Erica recently debuted her first solo show, Prepare A Table, at Four Chapter Gallery displaying naturally dyed quilts and baskets made from foraged material. She has studied papermaking at Arrowmont School of Arts And Crafts and was a three time recipient of the Susan Lordi Marker Award for Excellence in Fiber in 2023-2024. She was also the recipient of the Karen Gould Award in Fiber in 2024 allowing her to visit the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY and to meet with the quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. She is a 2025 BFA graduate of the Fiber Department at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Statement:
In the same way I take time to focus on repeating breaths or thoughts through meditation, my work uses repetition as a way of centering my attention. Through experimentation with quilting, hand-stitching, and natural dye I explore ways of planting love and patience into tangible objects. Whether it is repeated hand stitches, hand printed patterns, or interlocking forms, I find joy and am grounded by things that are slow and recurrent. In my practice, I value mindfulness and choose materials which reflect this slow approach. I use natural fibers along with dyes from plants, insects, and minerals to provide me with a healthier, sustainable practice and an organic color palette. The process of natural dyeing, from preparing the fabric to creating a dye bath to dyeing the fiber, helps me slow down and reflect. The same thing is true for hand stitching. There is something beautifully intimate about spending so much time with a piece of cloth and embedding visible evidence of my hands at work.
In a world that focuses on how much we can take, I approach the materials I use with the mindset of how much I can give back. The idea of reciprocal relationships with the natural world was brought to my attention through Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I use basketry as a way to honor the plants I have foraged and find ways to use all that it has to offer. Sunflowers, dandelions, marigolds, cattails, and yucca are plants I have used to make cordage, paper, dye, and baskets. These plants are common and often overlooked in the same way that the creativity of quilters has been overlooked so, through quilting and using natural materials I create a space where the spirits of the plants and the lineage of quilters can gather and be honored.
I am inspired by traditional quilts and the generations of women who have participated in this craft before me. I reflect on my place in this ancestry of quilters through repeated patterns. Each piece is a mother who taught her daughter and then taught her daughter, in the same way a pattern repeats itself. The slow act of making by hand brings my awareness to the mundane and slow parts of life and I invite others to share in this ritual.
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