Textile Artist
Alexandra Lush Benson
Textile Art
Exploring form, texture, color with textiles in both known and abstract subjects.
Haute Couture
Haute Couture, getting back to my fashion model fascination of my younger years combined with my love of florals. Mixed media on fabric with thread doodling, raw edge applique, acrylic painting, charcoal pencil and paint sticks.
Matte 16"x16"
Frame 21.5"x21.5"x0.8"
Was it just a dream
Was it just a dream started off completely different than the final piece. If you were to strip away the layers you would find two figures walking into a dream, another world, another dimension? One will never know but their memory exists in the walls of the home and in the soul of her eyes and that is where they will stay.
Mixed Media on Fabric, paints, fabric, thread, watercolor pencils, discarded and repurposed papertowels, utilizing even the tiniest discarded fabric.
Matte 16"x16"
Frame 21.5"x21.5"x0.8"
Juxtapose
Open Space was my permission to freedom. I had a piece of quilted discarded work that I had originally wanted to create bojagi with. Bojagi is a Korean Quilting form that is all about shapes and simplicity. When you hold a bojagi pieces up to light, it gives the effect of stained glass. The fabric I chose for that art form just was not working for me. So I layed the piece out of my table and I started painting over it. Before I knew it, a floral started to form. I love the contrast of the bright colors against the black.
Art on Fabric 10.25"x14.25"
Vera's Bouquet
Vera's Bouquet is set on a patchwork pieces background. The flowers are set in a beautiful blue vase filled to the brim with beauty. Heavily stitched in a thread painting style and mounted to a black painted gallery wrapped canvas.
Mounted on Gallery wrapped canvas: 12" square x 1.5" thick.
Rush Hour Alvira
Alvira went to shop the markets of the textile district in Tokyo Japan in the early afternoon midweek. Taking in all the textiles and notions offered on the street lined with fabric stores, she lost track of time. Unbeknownst to her, the train system was becoming insanely congested as she strolled the streets of the textile district. With her bags full and inspiration brewing in her head, she made her way to the trains to realize she was lost in the sea of people trying to get home like she was. Pushed, shoved and squeezed into the train, her bags clutched tightly to her chest she waited for a moment to breathe. With each stop, the once crowded train gave way to more room. Frazzled Alvira was able to finally find a seat, take a breath and admire her new fabrics as she formulated creative plans in her head. Making her way home from the trainstation, she layed her fabrics gently on her sewing table to rest for the night as she rested her head from the day of chaos. Alvira was created using scraps of fabric and painted fabric. I free motion thread painted her hair and her face.
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Matted Opening 15.25"x19.25"
Frame 28.5"x20.75"x1.5"
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The Muse
The Muse is a mixed media piece, fabric, paint, thread, watercolor pencils, paint sticks were all used in her creation. Since I can remember, the female form has always been my go to drawing and I was certainly reverting back to my forms for this piece. I find the female form to be my muse, to get me out of my creative stuck point. It was such an enjoyable process working on her, watching her transform before my eyes. I even used up my copper patin scraps!
Matte 16"x16"
Framed 21.5"x21.5"x0.8"
Star Gazing, Maui
When I started the creation of Star Gazing House I did not know what it would become. As much of my work, I start the process to overcome a fear, deal with an emotion, or just create for the need to create. But as this piece progressed, Star Gazing House started to take form. It brought back memories of a time our family stayed at the Star Gazing home in Maui, Hawaii. The pitch black night revealed millions of stars and a chance for my son and me to see the satelites traveling through the heavens. The memory is both magical and peaceful. Machine stitched.
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Wrapped on gallery canvas 16"x20"x1.5"
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Yoga Abstraction
This piece is a study on curves, small piecing and no raw edges. It was a challenge and an inspiration to work on. Often we are scared of things because we fear imperfection but imperfection is beauty. This piece is machine and hand stitched. It's mounted on gallery wrap canvas.
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16"x20"x1.5"
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Hummingbird Delight
Mixed Media on Fabric, playing with thread, gold foil, paint and raw edge applique. Hummingbird delight is vibrancy set against the darkness. Drawing with thread by machine, delighting as forms take shape serendipitously.
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Matted Opening 8"x8"
Frame 12"x12"1"
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SOLD
Dhalia
Dhalia came from a few sessions of creative play. Many scraps on my cutting table serendipitously alinged to take on the form of a floral. I used free motion thread doodling and handstitched embroidery.
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Matted Opening 4.75"x4.75"
Frame 10.5"x10.5"x2.25"
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English Rose
English Rose was a piece inspired by the first bloom in my garden. I used free motion thread doodling combined with handstitched embroidery.
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Matted Opening 4.75"x4.75"
Frame 9.5"x9..5"x1"
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First Sprouts
Experimenting with very tiny scraps of fabric, inspired by my blooming spring garden, and wanting to try painting fabric, first sprouts came into creation. I free motion painted the piece and then mounted it onto a gallery wrapped canvas.
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Mounted to black painted gallery wrap canvas that measures 10" square x 1.5" thick
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Eve's Garden
Eve's garden was an exploration of thread drawing with golden thread. I wanted to see how the gold thread contrasted with the black cotton background. It was a meditative and mesmerizing process. Each floral stem made me wante to create another stem and then another. Eve stands in the middle of the garden, her arms filled with plentiful findings for the day.
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The artwork is mounted onto a painted black gallery wrap canvas. It is 12" square x 1.5"
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Kiss Me Fish
Scraps and scraps and an inspiration brought about kiss me fish one day. She floats on my studio wall, bringing kisses of inspiration when it's lacking. Her vibrants colors and over emphasized cuteness evokes smiles and feelings of nostalgia.
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6"x5"
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NFS
Catwalk
I love landscapes but often when I create them they feel lacking in emotion so they become more of a study on perspective and value. This landscape works on value and perspective. Free motion drawings on cotton fabrics and then mounted to board.​
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Mounted on Board, 8"x8"
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SOLD
Fashion Within
One of my first Textile pieces, using both my quiltling knowledge to create the background but turning my fashion drawings from my younger years, into textile forms. I used scraps fabrics to create the models and a method I call thread drawing to add details to the forms. The background is all free motion stitched with designs and words.
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Mounted on Gallery Wrap Canvas, 10" x 20"
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Every Tangle
During my creative rut I found myself creating tangles to move my way back into creativity. It occured to me that I should attempt it in fabric. I created my design on paper first and slowly manipulated the fabric so that no raw edge would be seen. Once I piece all my shapes like a puzzle, I free motion drew the tangle designs in white thread.​
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Framed 16.75"x12.5"x1"
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Southwestern Vase
Study of manipulating textiles, cottons and organza with thread painting. This was an earlier piece, I founy myself working small during the height of the pandemic.
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3"x5"
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