Toni Kersey came to art quilting later in life. She refers to her process as ‘Spirit Dancing’, working improvisationally with commercial fabrics, and fabrics she creates with dyeing and surface design. Each of her pieces has a story to tell.
How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?
I don’t ever remember not being a creative. I come from a family of musicians and my mother is a musician and seamstress. Although I took piano lessons, it didn’t come as easily as it did my brother who had perfect pitch. Drawing was always my thing, and my mom was very good at allowing us to explore our creativity.
Do you feel that you chose your “passion,” or did it choose you?
My passion chose me. Although I was always involved in some form of art or design, I didn’t discover quilting until later in my life. It felt as if all the skills I had developed during my lifetime were to become an art quilter. Nothing consumes me the way working with textiles does.
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Tell us more about your “spirit dancing” approach to creating your work.
As an art quilter my work is primarily improvisational. I sometimes do sketches but, they never translate into a quilt. I call my process “Spirit Dancing” because for me it is when I feel God’s presence the most. When you work improvisationally, you are jumping into the unknown. Stepping out on faith as it were. Dancing to the tempo of the universe. It is when I can get out of my own way and let the spirit move me in my creative choices. It is when you are the vessel through which ideas flow.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
If I hit a wall, I gather inspiration from a variety of sources. I browse magazines, books and internet. Visit galleries and museums and take walks. Also, music is a major inspiration for me. I have music always playing in my studio.
Does your work have stories to tell?
Yes, my work tells stories. I achieve the storytelling through color, embroidered and printed symbols, photo transfers and textiles that incorporate traditional motifs and patterns.
My work explores themes of personal and cultural identity often referencing the rhythms of the African diaspora to express joy and transcendence.
Lately, I have been using Dutch wax textiles because it is most identified as West African fabric. However, these textiles are created by the Dutch imitating Indonesians and sold to Africans. So, it serves as a metaphor for cross pollination of cultures. I also explore different mediums using textiles such as collage and books.
Are you a “finisher”? How many UFOs do you think you have?
Yes, I am a finisher. Sometimes it takes a while to finish a piece because I need time to live with it. Eventually it will tell me where it wants to go. Sometimes I finish a piece and don’t like it. In that case I will cut it up and repurpose it.
Describe your creative space.
My studio is a converted bedroom on the second floor of my home. It has a cutting table in the middle of the room and counters with shelves and drawers’ line two walls.
One wall is a design wall, and another wall is covered with cork board. The cork board wall is covered in quotes that I like, pictures and notes. On the design wall has a couple of works in progress.
Sitting on two desktops is a sewing machine, laptop, reference material and files. I also have a wet studio in the basement where I dye fabric.
My creative space is my sanctuary.
Scraps. Saver? Or be done with them?
Yes, I am a scrap saver. The way I work dictates it.
How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?
I usually have at least two or three projects going at once. Although most of my energy is usually focused on one piece.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?
This work is part of a series that examines my coping with chronic pain. I wanted to make a statement about resilience and finding joy in spite of tough circumstances.
I usually start with choosing the colorway. Which leads to choosing fabrics. Those fabrics include a combination of commercial, Dutch wax, hand dyed and or painted fabrics.
Once I have chosen fabrics from my stash I will dye, paint or draw with oil paint sticks to create fabrics that fill in the tonal and pattern gaps. I combine my fabrics with commercial cloth because for me it represents cross cultural influences.
Once I have determined that I have enough tonal and pattern selections I begin to cut and lay the shapes next to one another on the design wall, working intuitively. Throughout the process, I take pictures of the piece as it is developing. It helps me if I need to remember how an area fits together.
While I am working, I look for how the musicality of the piece is developing. Movement and rhythm are a large part of my design aesthetic. When I am satisfied with the flow, tonal interaction and balance, I will begin to sew the pieces together.
Because it is improvisational I am always adjusting along the way.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
My favorite part of the design process is the design process. I like all the aspects of designing a quilt. Choosing the colorway, dyeing fabric, creating the design and hand-stitching and beading. However, quilting is a challenge for me. Mostly because all that pulling and pushing the quilt is hard on my body.
What is your favorite accomplishment?
I think the best is yet to come so I don’t have a favorite accomplishment, yet.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
The best piece of advice came from an artist friend when I was a teenager. She was older than me and a practicing artist. She said ”Toni, if you want to be good, make sure you put the work in.”
Where can people see your work?
People can see my work on my website www.tonikersey.com. At the Platinate Museum Heidelberg, Germany as part of the SAQA global exhibit “Abstraction: Textural Elements”, the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art Biennial Bedford, PA and the Colored Girls’ Museum, Philadelphia, PA. My work can also be seen in “500 Art Quilts”, “Artistry in Fiber Wall Art” and Surface Design Journal (October 2024).
Interview posted October 2024
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