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Jen Brodal/MSU
Blair Treuer accompanies one of her vibrant textile pieces on display at the Northwest Art Center at Minot State University.
Blair Treuer, of Bemidji, Minnesota, is a self-taught artist who explains her artistic personality as “a textile artist who ‘paints’ with fabric and ‘draws’ with thread.”
Her exhibit: “Portraits: An Identity Exploration,” runs through Dec. 1 in the Walter Piehl Gallery at the Northwest Arts Center at Minot State Unniversity.
Using strips of fabric in various shapes and random cut and frayed pieces, Treuer said she does not strategize the pieces ahead of time. She will try to have as large a color pallet as she can when starting a piece. For example, when she needs black, “I have a basket of blacks because I need a variety to choose from. I usually walk by my bundles of fabric and see what feels good.”
Treuer uses a regular sewing machine after each initial piece of fabric is tacked down, thoughtfully placed and sewn on to create the quilted effect. “With a pre-programed stitch, I change the colors as I move along the piece,” she said.
Treuer does not identify herself as a traditional quilter, but likens her technique to connecting two pieces of fabric with thread.
Treuer began her artistic journey making blankets for her children’s Ojibwe ceremonies as part of their offering and Treuer’s way of contributing to these huge milestones in their lives. She spent a decade making the blankets. Rather than doing a geometric pattern for their blankets, she made a picture of each child’s Native American name given at birth. Truer said she loved it and transitioned to making portraits in 2018.
Truer has shown her work in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Alberta, western Europe and Turkey. For more information visit htwww.blairtreuer.com/.
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