BHM SPOTLIGHT #9: FRANCELISE DAWKINS — Textile Collagist Quilting Our Oneness

With Parisian origins, fabric artist Francelise Dawkins has stitched a deliciously vibrant life here in the U.S. for over 40 years now, using her artistry to intricately thread textiles into collages of “form & function” — quilts, wall hangings, “soft” installations, framed window boxes that create multi-cultural connections.

“What I seek is an element of uncensored, emotional surprise, beyond multicultural reality. I am on a spiritual exploration, deepening my sense of what it really means to belong to the human race … The art of collage helps me grasp what freedom ultimately is: a natural state of oneness born out of welcoming the difference we are.”

Dawkins’ most recent project — a quilt entitled Good Trouble on the Journey to Justice — was funded by a Saratoga Arts grant secured through the Saratoga League of Women Voters and is now on display at the Saratoga Springs Public Library. This collaged worked was inspired by the personal stories collected by LWV of locals who engaged in what John Lewis coined as “Good Trouble.” A book of these stories accompanies the collage, capturing these powerful experiences along with the “memory” quilt into an experience that will enrich, strengthen, and remind our generations to come of the personal sacrifices and committed efforts it took to get us all to “here.”

Teaching French, hand-work, and art in our schools, Dawkins threads vibrantly rich story through all of her work, creating visions of vital energy and inter-connected life that can only expand one’s sense of belonging — the very same energy and connectedness evident when Madame Dawkins salsa’s her way on to any dance floor, we might add!

Francelise Dawkins’ recent project “Good Trouble on the Journey to Justice” — now on display at Saratoga Springs Public Library.

BIO: Francelise Dawkins is a Parisian “textile collagist”, who’s been living in the U.S. for four decades.  She first studied Fiber Arts at the Art League School of Indianapolis before moving to NY, where she developed her “meditative” concept for interior designs through textile collages.  She has since exhibited or taught at the American Craft Museum in NYC, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New York State Museum, in Albany, NY, and other renowned venues.  One of her installations was part of the “Putt-Modernism” show at the Hyde Collection Museum in Glens Falls, NY.  She’s produced essays about her art and the role of intuition in publications, such as Margaret Blanchard's  “From the Listening Place”.  She designed the art cover for Gisele Pineau's French novel, “L'Espérance-Macadam.” Many of her pieces have been shown in magazines, on cable network TV, and books, such as Carolyn Mazloomi’s contemporary art quilt book, “Spirit of the Cloth”.

NYS Gov. Andrew Cuomo recognized her with a certificate of appreciation for her support of and dedication to perpetuating the Arts. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the American Quilter's Society in Paducah, KY.

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