Susan Staecker

Statement

Quilting is for me both an artistic expression and an avenue for social interaction with other quilters. I often borrow another quilter’s design and interpret it in colors and fabrics that speak to me. Sometimes several members of my weekly quilting group will work on the same pattern, but we each modify the original and produce unique quilts which can be very different from each other. My mathematical background provides a solid base for working with patterns and shapes. I am drawn to designs which use shapes and shading to create movement and encourage the eyes to move around the quilt and appreciate different aspects of it. It is a joy for me to create a three dimensional effect in a flat medium, which for me, of course, is quilting.

Artworks

This is a 100% cotton, hand pieced, machine quilted art quilt. Because I studied and worked in mathematics for many years, I took notice when I heard about the solution to the aperiodic monotiling problem. My mathematician son said, “Mom, you could make a quilt of this!” So, I raided my large fabric stash and set out to do just that. Using eight kite shapes, I created the 13-sided “einstein” tile discovered in 2023 by Smith, Myers, Kaplan, and Goodman-Strauss, which they call “the hat”. These tiles can cover the plane, but only aperiodically. I sewed the kites together to create the tiles, which I then joined together. The machine quilting was designed to set each tile apart from its neighbors while still recognizing each color group.