Artist Statement
I can look at a clock and know the time but I don’t understand how time flies or heals. I know how to waste time however I’m not very good at stealing time. And where is all my lost time?
Recently, I learned that a dog, a fly and a human all experience time differently and that these differences are not arbitrary but based upon metabolic and environmental pressures. I wondered whether a 507-year-old edible clam, nicknamed Ming (c.1499-2006), was wired to experience time stranded in the intertidal waters north of Iceland. Possibly not, never the less I am creating a series of quilts that ask: What Did Ming Miss? This project is on going and should be completed sometime in 2019.
Initially, my intent was to address playful topics and translate my ideas in bright colors in a Naïf Art style. As the tumultuous US Presidential primary and election came to pass, the subject matter changed to reflect the attitudes of an anxious, frustrated and perhaps bamboozled nation.
My quilts are assembled from paper, woodcut prints, commercial and hand-dyed fabrics. Often, they are hand appliquéd and embellished. It is a leisurely process that connects me physically (my DNA is on every fiber) and emotionally to many serious and whimsical topics of interest.
Biographical
Kathy Suprenant grew up in the village of Hudson Falls in northern New York State. She received a BS in Biology from the State University of New York at Albany and a PhD in Biology from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. In 2016, Kathy retired as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Kansas. While at KU, Kathy served as Department Chair, taught cell biology and published original research on the role of the cytoskeleton in cell division and early development.
