By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
At the monthly meeting of the Fluvanna Art Association on Aug. 19, fiber artist Gigi Dodds discussed how she creates her art in fabric. After retiring from her job as a human resource director, Dodds was looking for something to do.
“When I was in high school, I had an interest in art, and the Minneapolis Art School offered me a scholarship, but my mother was a teacher, and my father wanted me to be a teacher. I didn’t become a teacher, but I didn’t study art either.”
It started with her grandmother’s unfinished quilt, found by a family member after Dodds’ grandfather died. The family member gave it to her and suggested she finish it, which she did, and this inspired her to learn more about quilting.
“I took a class and we were all given the same subject and were to follow the instructions exactly. I created my own design. The teacher told me I didn’t do what I was supposed to do, and I never went back.” She joined the Charlottesville quilting group and learned appliqué, which began to lead her in a different direction.
As she learned quilting techniques, she also learned artistic techniques and tools she combined with quilting to create her unique abstract wall art. She would embroider, produce fabric collages with natural elements embedded into the design, and even recycle using toilet paper cardboard rolls by turning them into flowers. She is currently experimenting with alcohol inks.
Since 2010, Dodds has been collecting fabric and has saved eight cabinets full of fabric. She has made 200 quilts and given away 100. It is a labor intensive and Dodds’ meticulous attention to detail and her fine sewing skills produce striking works of art.
