Art Buzz Austin Artist- MANDY BALLARD

I work with textiles. The ability of a piece of fabric to start as a plain sheet, blank and white like a canvas, and then become so much more, fascinated me as a young child and continues to inspire me. I cannot imagine working with any other medium.

My work is abstract, inspired by the simple life I am surrounded by. A glimpse of the frog or turtles who live in my pond, or of the flowers I plant each each spring, prompt a a trip to the dye vat to capture the feeling of each experience. From there I build layer upon layer of dye color, wax, silk screening and paint. I brush and dip and finally build in more depth with stitch.

I never start work with a particular goal in mind, but gradually develop a direction that I hope brings to the viewer a bit of the same enjoyment and pleasure I take in art made from humble silks, cottons and linens.-MANDY BALLARD