Hello! I'm S.E. Gilchrist, fiber and mixed media artist.

       I grew up in the New England area, but for the past decade have lived nomadically in the United States area…traveling full time in an RV - with a spouse, a daughter, a dog, a falcon, and a lot of art supplies!

       It likely sounds obvious to say, but I LOVE creating my art!  In childhood, my drawings were most often colorful, geometrical “doodles” - and it’s a fascination I have yet to outgrow. My art falls into the category of “Geometric Abstraction” – specifically, “Hard-edge”, “Concrete” or “Minimalist” works – works that focus on a minimum of line, form, and color.  While my works are largely intuitive, I also find inspiration in nature, architecture, and other structural elements and have been greatly influenced by the abstractionists and colorists throughout a variety of art movements particularly in the 30’s through the 60’s.

         My process starts with creating studies on paper, which usually begin by working with line and form. The goal is simplicity, and I often find I am pulling out and paring down elements within each piece in order to achieve it. Next, I move on to color which I find the most exciting part of my work! The last stage, my “Zen-stage”, is creating the final piece. Each artwork, completely hand-stitched, is an exercise in meditation - given that even a small 8” x 10” panel contains over 8,500 stitches. I work with cotton threads, using a half-stitch method, to apply the color onto a perforated paper or vinyl canvas. In the world of needlework, this would be most akin to cross-stitch.

        My artwork strongly correlates with my personal philosophies. In my life I strive for Simplicity and Harmony – the “lines” and the “forms” – and seek out Adventure – the “color” of life! I challenge the notion that art must have a deeper meaning behind it – just as I similarly challenge the notion that life must have a deeper meaning, some “greater purpose” behind it, and that we are somehow obligated to seek this out if we are to live a meaningful, fulfilling life. My belief is that my life, like my art, is its own purpose and all that is required of me is to look, to see, to accept, and to appreciate all that is there in front of me each day - and to enjoy the beautiful, colorful world I am surrounded by.