Dawna Bemis

About the Artist

In my most recent series I draw upon block quilt patterns as a metaphor for the loss of generational knowledge transfer. With this work I am exploring issues of identity, gender, and family history. As I work on these pieces, I find myself connecting with the many hands that have worked these geometric patterns over the ages; I am struck by their power and simplicity. I can't help but wonder if my foremothers knew the geometric properties of the grid and invariance that they were demonstrating as they sat around their quilting bees, sharing family lore and everday wisdom.