Inspiration
An unanswered question is a fine travel companion. It sharpens your eye for the road. (Rachel Naomi Remen)
I love traveling. When you go through life with curiosity, a wide heart and open eyes, you can meet wonderful people and discover fascinating things. Thus, I enjoy vibrant world metropolises as well as the peace and quiet of remote natural landscapes. I am as enthusiastic about ornaments and color plays of traditional folk arts & crafts as I am about modern abstract art and the faboulous world of geometric shapes. I am particularly into the relaxed Scandinavian lifestyle and elegant Japanese aesthetics.
Here in my modern, well equiped Pasacana Design Studio with lots of natural light, I really feel at home and enjoy my creative freedom. I also have enough work space to seat four guests for workshops and quilt events:
Design
The patterns and layouts for my textile work are usually created using a computer. Drawing by hand is so not my cup of tea and that’s why I don’t keep sketchbooks. I only use a small notebook and my cell phone camera when I’m on the road. At home I use the patchwork design software EQ8. With just a few lines I can quickly visualize my spontaneous inspirational thoughts as rough drafts, color them with a few digital fabric swatches and save them. This way I can be sure that my ideas won’t get lost somewhere.
Designing using the computer is quite a fun thing to do, but of course I’m passionate about turning my designs into textiles. Pillowcases are a good size for me to test new patterns and fabric combinations without wasting too much valuable fabric. And after all, you can never have enough pillows, right? Only when I really like a design and it is also scalable in different sizes, I develop it further to create table runners, wall hangings and larger quilts.
Creation
Passion – Perseverence – Perfection
When working on my textile pieces, I feel committed to the tradition of old handmade arts & crafts. I use only high quality cotton fabrics and linen and work with different patchwork and quilting techniques that have been passed down over several centuries. As you can see, these ancient techniques also work quite wonderfully when it comes to creating modern textile designs.
Besides classic piecing and quilting with the sewing machine, I also enjoy traditional hand sewing techniques like English Paper Piecing and Appliqué. I especially like Foundation Paper Piecing because it allows me to translate my designs into fabric in a very accurate and precise way.
But I also use modern textile improvisation techniques, especially when I work with my fabric scraps. In line with the Japanese motto “mottainai” – “waste nothing that is valuable”, I strive to use all of the precious natural raw materials as consciously and as sustainably as possible.
Diligence, attention to detail and professional craftsmanship in all work stages are important to me, no matter how many hours I ultimately need to complete a piece. Therefore, I pay attention to efficient fabric cuts, strive to make straight seams, exact corners, invisibly sewn quilting threads and carefully serged edges, even in places where you won’t see them later on. If something doesn’t fit, it gets unstitched again. That is the commitment to quality I have set for myself. And only when I am really completely satisfied with my work does it deserve the PASACANA label.