Artist Bio
Ann Ribbens can best be described as a fiber artist who deploys a wide range of surface design techniques. Ann seeks to provide rich visual details while giving the viewer a “wide-angle” view. Her portfolio includes representational and abstract fiber pieces. Ann's artistic journey as a fiber artist was probably inevitable. Ann comes from many generations of women who made fantastically beautiful quilts. They were farm women with great sensibilities for color and pattern. Of course, they used scraps because that's what was available to them. Little girls’ dresses and men's suits alike found new lives in these wonderful quilts. Ann's mother was an accomplished knitter and tailor. She taught Ann how to sew when she was a teenager. Ann remembers making a turquoise wool dress, fully lined (because she was allergic to wool), when she was 16. In college, Ann sewed a corduroy sport coat for her boyfriend at the time. She wonders where it is now!
Ann has been working as a fiber artist since 1985. Exploring the quilting world seemed like the best way to get through our impossibly long Minnesota winters. Though sewing skills come in handy for quilt making, so much more precision was involved to ensure that corners lined up correctly and that the color scheme worked. Like many young quilters of the day, Ann found these prescriptions very restrictive.
In the mid-90s, Ann abandoned making traditional quilts. She joined an organization for contemporary quilters and found a whole new artistic outlet. Ann experimented with various media, including textile paints, dyeing my own fabrics, and embellishing her work with hand embroidery and beading. Over the years, Ann has done shibori (Japanese tie-dye technique), raw edge piecing, stenciling, screen printing, and many other techniques. She has rarely repeated the same process in exactly the same way. Now Ann prefers working in small formats, or "wall" quilts. Five years ago, Ann learned natural dye techniques and incorporated them into her art practice. Ann has a natural dye garden and benefits from the botanicals she can harvest to impart watercolor and textural effects on fiber. In recent years, she has added sculptural dimensions to her repertoire to create 3D pieces.
Ann Ribbens' work has been shown in the following juried exhibitions: Art League Rhode Island, Providence, RI; Cape Cod Cultural Center, Yarmouth, MA; River Arts, Prairie du Sac, WI; Studio Art Quilters Association (SAQA) Legacy exhibit; the Fitchburg (MA) Art Museum where she was awarded first place in the textile category; Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA; Mosesian Art Center, Watertown, MA; the Brush Gallery and the Loading Dock Gallery, Lowell, MA; Schweinfurth Museum, Auburn, NY; Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA; The Wickford Art Association, North Kingstown, RI; Minnesota State Fair (where she was awarded a third place) and other Twin Cities venues. Ann Ribbens' work has appeared in books and in textile magazines, including the Surface Design Journal. Ann Ribbens has delivered several public presentations on her art practice.