Through a multi-media approach, Beverly Y. Smith creates story quilts as a means of expressing a living, evolving relationship and personal connection with her ancestors. Using vintage and re-claimed garments, Smith transforms her figures into bearers of memory that tell stories from across time. At the center of her work is a connection to personal and familiar narratives, and she calls on the legacy of memory to address the complexities inherent within her Southern culture and roots.
Smith received a B.S in Psychology from Morgan State University, a B.A in Education from the UNCC, and a Master of Art Education from Winthrop University. She recently retired from a 30 year career as an educator.
For more information, please see: beverlyysmithart.com and on Instagram @quiltbev.
Beverly Y. Smith, Flour Power, 2012. Mixed media quilt: graphite, paint, vintage flour sacks. 40"x 40". Photo: Dan Ormsby.
First, and most importantly, how are you doing? How are you navigating the highs and lows?
I am doing fine considering the state of things. Thank you for asking. I am keeping busy! On March the 13thwhen everything closed due to the pandemic, I began to teach classes remotely and my car garage became my art studio. March 13thwas the last time I saw my students in person. I officially retired in May of this year from teaching after 30 years.
Beverly Y. Smith, Make Time for Tea, 2017. Fabric, graphite, acrylic paint, embroidery. 78” x 64”. Photo: Dan Ormsby.
It's my experience that most artists engage with some level of self-isolation in their day to day art practice. Has this been your experience? And if so, have you found these innate rhythms to be helpful during this larger, world-wide experience of isolation?
My studio is currently in my home where I live with my family; therefore, during my creative process I am in some form or fashion surrounded by others. I have grown accustomed to creating with the ins and outs of everyday life antics. However, the impact of COVID-19 on my emotions makes it difficult on some days to pick up a piece of fabric. On these days, I start to feel guilty having all this extra time and space. People assume it is the perfect time for artists to create.
Beverly Y. Smith, Mother’s Red Heel Shoes, 2019. Mixed media quilt: graphite, fabric, paint, transfers, embroidery. 75" x 53". Image courtesy of the artist.
It would be great if you could briefly talk us through your practice. Understanding it is integral to appreciating the multivalence of your work.
I am a mixed-media fiber artist. I choose to express myself through quilts because of their personal connection to my ancestors and Southern roots. I find there are qualities inherent in art made of fabric and thread – the depth of the colors, the layers, and the texture of the stitches – that cannot be duplicated in any other medium.
I create a body of work that focuses on an investigation of the concept “Duality,” which I define as the coexistence of freedom and constraint. This consists of a mental freedom to create without prudence or judgement yet includes a spiritual constraint that dictates that I uphold and honor my ancestors and Southern roots.
I construct collage-like art quilts using fabrics that I pattern using a variety of surface design processes. The surface is layered with machine stitching, hand embroidery, paint, transferred images, found objects, and graphite drawings. My graphite figures are drawn on unprimed canvas using a variety of pencils from HBs and 8Bs. My figure renderings come from live models, photographs based on legendary figures, and people of personal importance, such as my 98-year-old mother, my sisters, and my friends. It is typical for my quilts to contain vintage and re-claimed garments as well as nostalgic materials. This transforms my figures into ancestors that tell stories from another time. I typically use an applique process that starts with a self-designed template and fabric that is sewn directly to the quilt top.
I focus on themes from the Antebellum South that address past taboos and controversial issues. Conversations with my mother, grandmother, and aunts have always inspired me to base my artworks on Southern expressions and idioms.I may start with a particular vision inspired by a Southern expression or childhood memory, only to encounter some epiphany or to discover a unique or rare fabric leading me into a completely new direction.
My goals for future works include communicating my ideas metaphorically through fabrics. I look forward to learning and employing art-making techniques that place greater emphasis on the manipulation and marking of fabrics, such as the destruction and re-addressing of materials pertaining to textiles.
Beverly Y. Smith, Plant a Seed, 2017. Fabric, graphite, transfers, acrylic paint, embroidery. 78”’ x 64”. Photo: Dan Ormsby.
Has any of your imagery shifted in a reflection to what's currently happening? And why, or why not?
My concept changed more than my imagery. I began a series of quilts during the shutdown centered around “A Rite of Passage” … events marking an important stage in my life. When my student’s prom, graduation and my retirement celebration came to a screeching halt, I realized how the simplest milestones could no longer be taken for granted. Learning to tie a shoe, losing a tooth were thresholds that connected me to the human race, connected me to the world. I altered my quilt pattern design process slightly by using quilt patterns from the Underground Railroad era. When slaves made their escape, they used quilt patterns as a mnemonic device to guide them safely along their journey. Creating patterns such as the shoo-fly, Bear’s claw, and drunkards path require properly preparing the fabric for accurately measured cutting, making sure seam allowances fully fill the 1/4-inch marks, and pressing the seams open. A process that is very time consuming.
Beverly Y. Smith, Shaping My Own Identity, 2019. Fabric, graphite, transfers, acrylic paint, embroidery. 80" x 62". Photo: Dan Ormsby.
Are you thinking differently? Coping differently? Inspired differently?
I find myself feeling an urgency to create as much as I can, to get my stories out. This creates a bit of anxiety. I enjoy walking through the woods and jogging to calm myself and to feel alive. I am inspired by the artworks of others. I am inspired by the Black Lives Matter marches taking place around the world.
What is bringing you solace, or even joy, in this moment?
Some funny reruns on T.V that I never had the time to see before COVID, talking with friends till 3:00 am in the morning, and being able to spend more time with my family.
Beverly Y. Smith, Too Much Sugar, 2017. Mixed media quilt: graphite, paint. 54" x 43". Photo: Dan Ormsby.
What research or writing are you doing that you find compelling?
It is quite strange but during my lowest points, I had disturbing thoughts about the bottom of slave ships. I wanted to be there. I wanted to experience lying side by side with my ancestors learning from them firsthand their unwavering coping skills. I wrote a poem titled: Not the Beginning of Me. The poem takes place in the worst part of the slave ship, the “nitty gritty”. I have been researching the practice of hiding codes in plain sight. Susan Kuchera wrote an article titled The Weavers and Their Information Webs: Steganography in the Textile Arts. In it she talked about steganography, the practice of hiding information in plain sight in forms like knitting, crochet, embroidery, quilting. I also enjoyed researching Jonathan Swift’s Directions to Servants (1745), where he suggested an ability for the servants to hide by obscuring their actions in the dark, making it harder for them to be monitored.
Beverly Y. Smith at work in her studio on Plant a Seed. Image courtesy of the artist.
Are you reading anything?
My usual… A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson, The Law of Attraction by Esther Hicks, and After the End of the World by Alexis Pauline Gumbs.