Mixed textiles, including a handkerchief, kimono silk, a print by Jennifer Sampou, flour sack fabric, and a few handfuls of scraps, and cotton thread

Hand embroidered, hand appliquéd, hand pieced, and hand quilted

2022

59 x 56"

$6,000

I've had floaters in my eyes for three years, and this quilt is an attempt to eradicate and/or get used to them. The base fabric is white muslin, and the shapes that glow behind it are randomly placed dark fabric scraps from my studio. They are one of many ways that this quilt replicates the feeling of seeing with floaters.

I began the quilt as a passenger on a roadtrip with my friend Zak Foster. I looked out the window (to avoid car sickness) and embroidered without looking in the top left corner of the fabric. I think a lot about verbs when making quilts, and rather than visually depicting my experience, I depicted it by sewing in a way that was parallel to and a metaphor for the situation.

Casting a spell is part of this series in attempting to improve my wellbeing with sympathetic magic.

Exhibitions:

Heidi Parkes: Soft Magic, Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, Cedarburg, WI (2025)
Viewpoints on ARTservancy, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI (2024)
Heidi Parkes: Reuse, Reflection, and Storytelling in Cloth, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI (2023)
Heidi Parkes’s Quilts, special exhibit at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, Madison, WI (2022)

*Shipping may take up to 2 weeks

*Shipping within the United States is included in the purchase price. To make an international purchase, contact Heidi at HeidiParkesArt@gmail.com