About
ERIKA MULVENNA
Artist, Author, Educator
Hi, nice to meet you! I am an
artist, author, and educator; a collector of vintage sewing machines, and a
total geek for color theory. I currently create, write, and teach from my home in
Chicago, Illinois.
As an artist, I inherited my love of art and sewing from my mother at a young age. My very first sewing projects (at 10 years old) were stuffed toys and doll clothing. From those first sewing projects, I've learned all kinds of sewing techniques from garment construction and corsetry to fabric dyeing techniques and quilting. I earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Studio Arts from the College of Fine Arts at SIU-C in 1992, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree majoring in Fiber Arts from the College of Fine Arts in 1997. I received the Rickert-Ziebold Trust Award for excellence in undergraduate art at SIU-C in 1997.
In 2014 I became obsessed
with how humans perceive color and challenged myself to read any book I could
find on Color Theory. I have read hundreds of books about color published in
the past several hundred years, and this research gave me a unique outlook on how
the use of color in art and design has changed through history – and sparked
new ideas for using color in my work.
My current artwork reflects
my interest in human color perception and how humans approach color as
something to be organized, categorized, and analyzed. These works are colorful
and full of multiple saturated hues. You may have seen my work at a past
QuiltCon show, MQX Midwest show, or even at the Iowa Quilt Museum. My work is
also included in the newly formed Modern Quilt collection of the International Quilt Museum.
I began guiding others to
create and sew while in college and have found a way to teach in some capacity
at every organization I have worked with since that time. Through a long
partnership with BERNINA of America, Inc beginning
in 2005, I have taught consumer classes of all sizes and have authored hundreds
of blog articles on all subjects of sewing for the WeAllSew.com platform.
I continue to contribute creative content for the WeAllSew.com platform as a long-time BERNINA Loyalist Ambassador.
My current mission in education focuses on teaching creative humans how limitations in color perception can affect final visual projects made with color. My Color Theory lectures and classes can help students discover their own sense of color and better communicate in their chosen media with color. Learn more on the "Lectures and Workshops" page, link at the top of the blog.
