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Alice Engel Levinson has been a North Carolina resident since 1973. In the spring 2000, she closed her practice of twenty-five years as a clinical psychologist to begin a new career as a visual artist. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and juried exhibitions throughout the eastern United States. In the Durham Herald Sun, Alice’s work has been described as... "…abstract quilted paintings of deep personal and universal faith... a symphony of color, technique, and art." (Blue Greenberg, January 2002). How I work “Fiber welcomes my hand to mark its surface and offers immediate tactile and visual excitement. My work process is intuitive and encourages spontaneity and experimentation.” Creating complex cloth 
Starting generally with white cloth, silk, cotton, or canvas, I build a complex surface of color, image, and texture through dyeing, painting, or printing with fabric dyes, textile pigments ,and resists. These processes are applied and reapplied, layering one atop the other until a rich and ‘complex’ surface is achieved. Each successive layer of color or line influences the next, as I explore the interplay of marks absorbed within the fiber of the cloth with marks and texture placed on the cloth.Building a piece Selected fabrics are torn, cut, or incorporated ‘as is’ and their pieces mixed and melded as I assemble my compositions. There is great pleasure in finding coherence among disparate elements Each piece is built with successive layering of fabric and thread. Often edges are left raw and unbound. All layers of stitching from basting to embellishment are visible. The process of construction is an integral element in my design aesthetic.This organic approach enhances the sense of movement and energy in the work.  My art-making may be prompted by a moment in nature, a news story, a flash of joy, a memory, a dream. Sometimes its source is a nagging question or concern, with art-making a path for working through toward resolution. Nature’s forms and patterns are prominent motifs in my work, providing a visual language for exploring human experience. Life-space moments and events in our greater world often become occasions for exploring the inner space of feeling, memory, fantasy, and myth.  Alice Engel Levinson · alice@alicelevinson.com · Hillsborough, NC |