Here you see Marilyn Prucka speaking at her WSG gallery talk just before her show, "Gatherings," closed on June 22 - quilts inspired by the "gatherings" of pine needles in puddles on her driveway.
About her fiber art, she says, "Dyes pulled me in. I fell in love with dyeing....there was something about making my own color..."
After a career in nursing, Marilyn studied for a B.A. in Art at the University of Toledo and then a master's degree in art (MFA) at Eastern Michigan University.
For three years she was president of the Art Masters Association at Eastern, an organization of grad students and faculty. That bolstered her self-confidence because she organized shows and there was one every year at Riverside Art Center. She says the context of a gallery setting changes the look of the work itself: "When you put it up on the wall and put a spot on it, it looks different..."
Her favorite fiber artist? Hiroyuki Shindo who works with indigo and dips wrapped balls of fiber into the dye.
Her workplan? "My work is not well-planned," she says. "I start a journey...." She has a "design wall" with an 8'x8' piece of felt attached to which she pins work - "little pieces tucked here and there" and she works on 3 pieces at a time over a long period of time as the work develops.
Her palette? "I save everything... I have baskets full of fabric separated into color." She says her work may look like quilting but it is "more about collage and painting."
Parting remarks? "Everyone sees differently. It's a creative act for people to see your work."
Note: This is Marilyn Prucka's last appearance at the gallery as a member. She lives in Monroe and she says time and distance constraints have kept her out of her studio too much. We wish her well; she's a real pro!
Martha Keller
