Pandemic-Inspired Artwork

The coronavirus pandemic has been a challenge for people world wide, but for some artists, it has also been a source of inspiration. Three SAQA Atlantic members, Audrey Feltham, Susan Lilley and Anne Morrell Robinson, share their pandemic-inspired work below.

Audrey Feltham

Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador 

COVID-19 : Crossroads by Audrey Feltham, 2020. w 24" x h 24"
Hand printed on 100% organic cotton, hand quilted.

Hunkerdown by Audrey Feltham, 2020. w 32" x h 26"
Hand dyed silk, hand printed, hand quilted.

COVID-19 : The Inner Landscape #2 

by Audrey Feltham, 2020. w 11" x h 15"

Textile on paper, hand quilted.

Artist Statement: 

These three pieces are part of a body of work I started early in the COVID-19 lockdown, exploring the psychological results of isolation. Issues such as high anxiety, refusal to accept isolation, fear of the unknown, anger at issues of work safety, etc. are being explored in the smaller textile pieces that I am currently working on.

More of Audrey's work can be seen on her web site, Atelier West. 

Susan Lilley

Bridgewater, Nova Scotia

Closed, Cancelled, Postponed by Susan Lilley, 2020. w 13" x h 12"
Repurposed cotton, hand dyed and discharged, with hand stitched.

Artist Statement:

This piece was inspired by an early May drive along Nova Scotia's South Shore. After many weeks in lockdown, I had high hopes for this scenic drive. Instead, I was disheartened to see nothing along the road but one sign after another proclaiming the words closed, cancelled, postponed. Even our beloved beaches were off limits!

 Anne Morrell Robinson

Margaree Valley, Cape Breton Island, NS

Words of 2020 by Anne Morrell-Robinson, 2020. w54" x h46"

Artist Statement:

This piece began as a project to use up strips of fabric. As it took shape, I realized it was about our mutual experience of the Coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter protests. The quilting lines include the year, 2020, as well as the phrases: I can't breath, my bubble, physical distancing, PPEs, gaslighting, health versus politics, self isolate, and the new normal. I realize now what I wanted to say: Despite a very grey period in our history we all need splashes of colour. 

See more of Anne's work on her web site, Kingross Quilts and Fibre Arts.