This seventh volume of The Solomon & George Chapbook Series features the fiber art of Mary O. Stevens and the poetry of Crystal H. Rogers. They have been friends for many years, sharing interests in the natural habitats near their rural homes. They also share a concern for the preservation of the environment--for plants, animals, and humans. There was a direct collaboration on the project, as the artist and writer spent time together pairing their works. Placed on facing pages, twelve works of fiber art are accompanied by twelve poems to create The Outside Twelve. The S&G Chapbook Series pairs a visual artist with a literary artist.
Author Biography:
Crystal Rogers is a Gold Hill, Alabama-based poet who writes about environments: the home, the farm, the garden, the outdoors, and the world we make in our own hearts. She has held a writing residency at Firefly Farms and is a member of the Chewacla Writer's Guild and Auburn Poets. Her first book, Kaleidoscope, was a collaboration with photographer Janice Sikes. Crystal grew up on a farm in Chambers County, Alabama in the midst of an extended family. She learned about growing things on that farm: plants, animals, and relationships. Her mother spun out a stream of nursery rhymes and song lyrics that focused her attention from an early age on poetry and the beauty and comfort it provides. Her writing subjects are primarily observations of nature or human effects on nature, as well as bonds between people and places. She earned a BS and a MS from Auburn University. For thirty years she has tended a family, her gardens, and relationships with her family and friends. She currently writes a blog (http: //goldhillplantfarm-crystal.blogspot.com) and is the owner/operator of a plant nursery in Chambers County with an emphasis on native species (Gold Hill Plant Farm). Mary Stevens' appreciation of quilts and fiber work began in her childhood through the use of beautiful quilts made for warmth by her grandmother and great-aunt. They, along with her mother, also sewed clothing for many family members, from baby through college-age. With their influence she has continued to make quilts and work with fiber art. Her quilts are sewn by machine and created for functional use, often using hand-dyed fabrics, as well as commercially available pieces. Battings include cotton, wool, and cotton-polyester. Creating fiber art was a natural progression for Mary, with exploration of various materials to create visual images. She uses fabrics of all sorts, and surface embellishment with beading, found objects, paper, yarns, threads, and paint constructed on the foundation of a traditional quilt. Recently, she has begun creating constructions of wood, metal, and other materials. Her fiber works, both quilt and art form, have been exhibited at Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center in Auburn, Alabama, Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, Alabama State Council of the Arts in Montgomery, Alabama, and at Auburn University Theatre and Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in Auburn, Alabama. She was the founder and a member of the Studio 222 Fiber Art Group of Auburn, Alabama for twelve years.
