Spotlight: Mary Tabar, Fiber Artist

Mary Tabar draws, paints, is a dressmaker and quilter. She finds inspiration from art she sees and makes it her own. You’ll find her experimenting with discharge to create her unique fiber art pieces.

How did you get started designing quilts? Always an artist, or was there a “moment”?

I made my first quilt in 1999, when I took an Adult Continuing Education class in quilting. I quickly learned the skill because I already had a business doing dressmaking and alternations. After one year, the teacher resigned and I was hired to teach the class for Palomar Community College. I also was hired by San Diego Community Education College to teach quilting and fabric dyeing.

Teaching five classes weekly developed my skills. The schools did not want students to buy books. In the beginning, I would significantly change patterns that I found in books. Then I started designing my own patterns.

I have drawn or done needle work as long as I remember. I won drawing contests as a child and loved to do crewel embroidery. I currently still draw and do watercolor painting. I have had two watercolor paintings in two gallery shows in San Diego. I have been an aspiring photographer and have had one photo exhibited in a gallery and museum in San Diego. I took jewelry, sculpture and drawing classes in college. I am more established in fiber art, and call myself a professional fiber artist. 

How does your environment influence your creativity? 

I live in Chicago half of the year, where I do much more fabric dyeing and selling product at a local craft market. I think I can be creative anywhere I live.

Is there an overarching theme that connects all of your work?

I am inspired by art that I see, I wonder if I can use that idea in my own work differently. I never copy an art, I just try to change it, and make my own style.

Do you do series work? How does that affect your approach?

I do series of work in a style that looks coordinated. I show in galleries and museums. Work that is in a series is preferred. It shows that an artist has a subject matter and is easier to hang.

Do you use a sketchbook, journal, or technology to plan or keep track of ideas? How does that help your work develop?

For my discharge dyeing (taking color out of fabric) I do use graph paper and draw out a lot of designs. Bleaching reverses what you are making and can be very challenging. If I do not plan the discharge dyeing correctly, I do not get the effect of the positive and negative design.

When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?

I do two different types of art in fabric. My fabric dyeing and discharge dyeing are certainly improvised. Quilting has more planning and precise measurements. Making quilt patterns was difficult for me, I had to have exact measurements!

Are you a “finisher”? How many UFOs do you think you have?

I have been rehabbing an 1890 brick row house in Chicago for three years, and do not have many UFOs. I donated old projects and teaching lessons to Quilt Visions in San Diego. If I find myself not finishing a project, I wonder what has kept me from finishing. Do I really want to spend time finishing it? We have to realize not every project has to be completed. 

Describe your creative space.

I am fortunate to live in San Diego and Chicago. My space in Chicago is very small, my belief is that a person can create in any space, small or spacious.

Scraps. Saver? Or be done with them? 

I do like scraps, I save all of my cotton to piece randomly together to discharge dye. This type of piecing fabric is called improvisational piecing. I quickly get bored with traditional piecing the same block over and over.

What plays in the background while you work? Silence? Music, audiobooks, podcasts, movies? If so, what kind? 

I like to hear true crime shows, I do not have to watch the monitor!

How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?

I often check SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Association) and see what art or show calls are coming. Mostly I just work on one fiber art at a time. I love to do watercolor painting and try to watercolor every Saturday morning.

Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about? 

I do not work or start a piece for an exhibit. I do what I like and then wonder if it might work for an exhibit.

I piece together fabric and then hang it on my design board for several days to see what kind of bleaching I want to do. Some pieces might hang on the board for a month. Every time I pass the piece I think about what I see and want to do with the piece.

The quilt called “Dyeing for Hue” was made to use as a color wheel, I use it in my booth when I sell dyed fabrics. When I started this piece (54”) I thought it would be easy. I took each triangle of color and made a freezer paper stencil. Ironed the stencil to the triangle wedge, bleached it and washed it. I had to do that with each of the six triangles. I then sewed the triangles together and appliquéd the circle to a background. What took so long was that I had to make new stencils for each color.

Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?

I definitely enjoy designing a new quilt. For my animal snip and flip patterns I wanted to do every animal quilt differently. I used distinctive types of fabric, blocks and sizes for 9 patterns. For my art quilts I love doing discharge dyeing the best. It is so spontaneous. But a challenge when I have to start over, because bleach definitely has a mind of its own.

How do you make time for creating? Do you try to create daily? 

I believe there is art in everyday life, whether you enjoy cleaning your house or planting a garden. Creating takes skill and a desire to accomplish everyday activities. I watch brick layers and admire their talent to repair old buildings. I wonder how skilled carpenters can produce fine furniture. If we think of art just as items on a wall or a bed, we miss the opportunity to enjoy everyday items.

Tell us more about your Snip and Flip patterns.

I have always loved positive and negative design, in tile work, paintings, and fiber and photo graphs. I work with craft paper before fabric and came upon an idea that a simple star can be cut, flipped and adhered to a background. One thing that I teach is if you work first with paper, you can produce the same idea in fabric. I then use other shapes and sizes to make quilts, table runners and wall art. I have 12 different patterns for these ideas. I also designed nine animal patterns. Ann Turley thought of the name Snip and Flip.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received? 

Enjoy your time and practice your art. Visit museums, galleries and art shows often.

Where can people see your work? 

www.marytabar.com
https://www.youtube.com/@marywoodtabar
Fb: MaryWoodTabar
Instagram: Merrytab