First Friday Art Walk – October 2023

We are excited to feature self-taught quilting artist, Shawn Marie Delker, who has studied under several internationally known fiber artists. Her quilting journey began in 2000 and soon developed into something extraordinary when she discovered art quilting, the combining of botanical printing and thread painting.

Using plants that she grows in her Kansas garden; Shawn’s current work of botanical printing is based on the process by which plant colors and shapes are transferred to fabric by applying heat and pressure. She then uses photographs of the birds and butterflies that visit her garden to make thread paintings. She guides fabric through a sewing machine to apply color and texture, using thread to “paint” a design. Each piece is unique because it is totally done by hand.

Shawn’s art is based on her love and wonder of the natural world and her concern about the climate change effects evident in her own garden. Ornithologists are concerned over the loss of habitat for common birds, with the plants she grows and harvests have become more difficult to grow with increasing drought and heat. She would like for her viewers to consider the climate changes that are happening here and now.

Three of her quilts have been selected into juried galleries in Topeka, Omaha, and Albuquerque, and she has exhibited at several regional art galleries. Shawn also teaches art at the Salina Art Center to both children and adults. For more information about her work, visit shawndelker.art.