My Crush on Carmen
by Erika Echols
42″ X 62″
Bold, powerful lines. Angles with purpose. Refined strength. Tenacity. Carmen Herrera and her paintings have inspired me. I have a crush on her and her work.
While it may seem counterintuitive to make a quilt based on an abstract minimalist painting, I was obsessed. To respond, I used scale, composition, and color from Carmen Herrera’s Red and White with my antique silks, modern and vintage cottons, and lots of math. I repeated two-inch angled lines with white thread to stand with the red square. My Crush on Carmen hangs in this show to honor the colors in the traditional Orange Peel block. Both pieces proudly showcase their red and white colors with balance, warmth, and strength.
Thank you to Karen Michel, Freelance Cultural Correspondent for NPR, for introducing me to Carmen and her work with an NPR interview.