REBECCA SHEWMAKER

ARTIST STATEMENT

Rebecca Shewmaker uses sewing and embroidery techniques to create landscape paintings from fabric and thread. The Texas landscape inspires her work, and she spends many weekends visiting and photographing the places she depicts. Based on her experiences and photographs of the area, she stitches detailed textured landscapes on fabric. 

Her creative process takes significant time and work so that she only produces a few paintings each month.  She begins by dyeing cotton fabric for sky and land and then spends many hours sewing straight and zigzag stitches with a sewing machine.  Threads are changed frequently to add color and tone to the image.  To contrast the threadwork, loose wool, dyed ribbons, or tulle are incorporated.  French knots and straight stitches are hand embroidered to add more detail.  She enjoys the slow, repetitive process of stitching and feels that this creates a sense of calm analogous to the quietness and beauty of the land itself.

Shewmaker holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Visual Arts from Rice University (2006) and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Intermedia from Texas Woman’s University (2018). While at Texas Woman’s, she received numerous merit awards, including the Catherine Cloud Edwards Scholarship and the Helen Thomas Perry Endowed Scholarship. She has shown her work in solo and group exhibitions in Dallas, Louisville, Houston, New Jersey, Indiana, and Georgia.