Cheetah

"Cheetah" by Rhonda Denney was made as part of her The Eyes Have It Series.

As part of a mentorship with Carol Ann Waugh, Rhonda was challenged to create three new pieces in just under two months. She made Cheetah as one of those three and it became a part of her The Eyes Have It series. Knowing that people paid attention to the eyes of her quilts, that's what Rhonda chose to focus on for Cheetah.

Artist Statement: "Most animals use their sight to survive, either to find food or to avoid becoming food. Not all animals see the world in the same way and eyes are unique to each species. Animals are constantly alert to the environment around them; their survival depends on that.

Martin Buber said, "An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." For this series, I want to focus on the allure and power of different animals and their eyes, be they mammal, bird, reptile or insect, and try to capture it in my fiber art. To me animal eyes are a large part of their distinctiveness and character, and I love the challenge of recreating that in my art."

Technique: Raw-Edge Appliqué technique using silk noil and commercial cotton hand-colored with pigment and inks with thread sketching.

Construction: Silk noil and cotton fabric; polyester batting; pigments; cotton, polyester and monofilament threads. Mounted on a painted wood panel.