I met Leigh Suggs at the Penland School in 2009, when we worked together during my 2-1/2 week Paper in Three Dimensions class. As students began delving into their own projects, I recall Leigh casting wet sheets of abaca paper over fence post caps she got at the hardware store. She made at least 100 hollow hemispheres, which she attached to a cast paper balloon. And the result was stunning.
Leigh Suggs, 2009 Penland Light
Leigh lives and works in Carrboro, North Carolina, and her work involves the repetition of shapes and lines. She focuses on a single gesture, whether it is cutting, stitching, or marking. As her rhythmic and laborious gestures accumulate, pattern-making begins.
Leigh Suggs, Distend, 48″ diameter
red vellum stitched on linen
Leigh recalls the “patterns and shapes she saw behind her eyelids as a child. The circle (or dot) has countless meanings, but for me it represents the infinite, the never-ending shape or object. Its start never ends”. Watch this video by Ippy Patterson to get a glimpse behind Leigh’s eyelids as dots and circles move across the screen.
Leigh Suggs, Blue Memory, 24″ diameter
hand folded security envelopes
Leigh is a recipient of the prestigious 2012–2013 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award. Congratulations, Leigh!
Leigh Suggs, Perseveration (Blue I), 22″ x 30″, handmade dyed abaca paper
perforated with screw punch
And her solo show, Red, White, Black and Blue opens Friday at Light Art & Design in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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