Erica 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. 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’s work has been exhibited in Surface Design Association’s show at The Dairy Barn Arts Center and at the Kansas City Artists Coalition. She has studied papermaking at Arrowmont School of Arts And Crafts. Erica was a two time recipient of the Susan Lordi Marker Award for Excellence in Fiber in 2023-2024, and was the recipient of the Karen Gould Award in Fiber in 2024. She is currently a 2025 BFA candidate in 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 through 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. 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 continual patterns. Each piece is a mother who taught her daughter and then taught her daughter, similar to how a pattern repeats itself. The slow act of making by hand brings my awareness to the mundane and unrushed parts of life and I invite others to share in this ritual.
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