12
Wednesday, July 7, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
RICHARDS: Display is
in Cindy and Duncan
Campbell Gallery
Continued from page 3
allowed Richards to cap-
ture the energy, personality
and essence of her subjects.
Richards studied their stories
and learned interesting facts
which helped inform her
final images.
<I like to do lots of
research so I bring the story
to the quilt and share aspects
of people9s lives. I love
bringing science into my
work. I like to teach with my
quilts and enhance people9s
appreciation for these worthy
human beings and hopefully
feel my fascination with
nature,= said Richards.
Richards said when she
was pondering who to fea-
ture on an art quilt, she
decided to introduce people
who were grassroots folk
heroes. The first portrait quilt
she did was Sitting Bull, who
she learned was a Hunkpapa
Lakota chief and holy man
known for his leadership and
compassion for his people.
<I9ve always found Indian
culture compelling and I was
able to put all those feelings
into the quilt,= said Richards.
Her next quilt was of
sharpshooter Annie Oakley,
who was friends with Sitting
Bull and worked in Buffalo
Bill9s Wild West Show with
him. Richards9 next quilt was
of folk music legend Bob
Dylan. After completing the
PHOTO PROVIDED
Farmworkers’ civil rights advocate Cesar Chavez.
Dylan quilt she made a pro-
posal to the SOQS to have
a special exhibit and they
accepted. With only three
quilts finished, Richards had
to produce nine quilts in nine
months to make the dead-
line. She laughed when she
remembered the effort it took
to fulfill her obligation. The
final products were worth the
late nights and have served
as ambassadors for insights
into Americans both well-
known and obscure.
Hearing people9s feed-
back from the show has been
rewarding. Richards wanted
to provide access to inspir-
ing role models. She hopes
it will get people thinking
about how they, too, can
have a positive impact on
others, whether big or small.
<What are we supposed
to be as human beings? We
can choose to be hateful and
complaining or do we have
some kind of deed to take
on in life? People don9t start
out as folk heroes; something
happens in their life where
they do something that
makes a difference and they
build on that,= said Richards.
There are also four bota-
nists in the exhibit as well
as musicians, activists,
an aviator, innovator, and
Arctic explorer. The group
has something of interest for
just about everybody and it
invites viewers to learn more
about people who lived life
fully and with a purpose.
After the show9s final exhibit
during this year9s SOQS,
Richards will say goodbye to
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Artist Leotie Richards with her fabric portrait of Annie Oakley, American
sharpshooter.
the quilts and let them move
on to their new homes.
Over the past two years,
she9s been working in wool.
Once she learned how to
work with wool, she took
the medium in an innova-
tive direction. She9s been
doing botanical studies and
has done three pieces. One
is focused on coleus plants,
another on tropical plants,
and the last on succulents.
She just taught a week-long
course using the technique
she developed and hopes to
keep teaching more classes.
For Richards, it9s not
about recognition but more
about her artwork teaching
and inspiring people to learn
along with her.
<I could do more public-
ity about my work, but I9m
really pretty relaxed about
that. I had a whole other
career as a graphic designer
for 35 years. Right now I9m
taking a rest. The fabric por-
traits took it out of me. I9m
doing projects for myself like
throw blankets and pillows
with wool applique tech-
niques. During my SOQS
exhibit at the Campbell
Gallery, I9ll sit in the gallery
and sew those flower designs
on those pillows. I9m not
good at doing nothing,= she
said.
The Cindy and Duncan
Campbell Gallery is located
inside the Sisters Art Works
Building, 204 W. Adams Ave.
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