Contemporary Art in Context: Natalie Baxter

Based in New York, Baxter uses sewing and quilting skills passed down to her by the women in her family to create eye-catching artworks such as Bloated Flags and Housecoats. Her Bloated Flags series feature stuffed and swollen versions of the American flag, made from flamboyant materials. The purpose of the series was to focus on how the flag symbolizes something different from region to region in the United States, and how politics may have weaponized the flag in a performative, sloganeering, and divisive fashion. Likewise, her Money Quilts series examine how traditional values encourage men to strive for financial success and women to be nurturers.

Baxter considers her hardworking grandmotherʼs influence as a cornerstone of her work, as reflected in her Housecoats series. Considering her grandmother’s housecoats as a sort of “homemaker workwear,” Baxter created numerous versions of quilted housecoats, with both traditional quilt patterns and often humorous appliqués that question the gender roles originally intended for the garment. In all her series, she uses fabrics found in quilt and fabric stores, as well as recycled quilts. Although she does not identify herself as a fiber artist, she believes sewing connects her to a long line of family women.

Various types of textile arts became elevated to fine art consideration in the West during the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 1800s. Textile art received further attention in the German Bauhaus school (1919–1932), which espoused combining fine art aesthetics with industrial production. Textile arts received their greatest “upgrade” to fine art status in the Pattern and Decoration Movement, an offshoot of the Feminist Art Movement (1960s–70s), which promoted the artistic merit of art forms traditionally considered women’s work, such as weaving, quilting, dyeing, and embroidery.

ARTIST Q&A
What are some of the biggest influences on your work, including other artists, events, or things outside of the arts?
Natalie Baxter: All my work stems from skills learned from my maternal grandmother, a quilter and homemaker from rural Kentucky who learned to sew from a long line of women in our family. Spending so much time physically creating in a way that has this generational history influences the work. I also pull concepts from my lived experiences and observations made about the world around me, both from a personal perspective and a larger world view. I listen to a lot of news radio while working in the studio and that definitely seeps into my work.

I feel energized and excited about getting back in the studio after spending time seeing art in person and interacting with other artists. You don’t always have colleagues or an organized network of co-workers to lean on as an artist, so my community of artist friends are so important to my mental well-being and creative process.

Do you have specific strategies, rituals, or routines that help you work and/or generate ideas?
NB: I am somewhat of an obsessive maker and tend to work in series, so I work through a lot of my ideas by making multiples of something until I feel it has reached a successful end. When I find myself not enthused about that work, I know it’s time to move on. I recently realized that when I don’t have a solid idea, I start a quilt and use that meditative time piecing together and quilting a quilt to come up with ideas for future pieces.

I have also started an activity learned from writer friends of waking up and writing three pages of whatever pops into your head. It is a good way to get all of the daily tasks, worries, and thoughts out onto paper so you can clear your mind for studio time. I have found it helps me focus on work in the studio when I feel overwhelmed by all of life’s other tasks. Taking a walk by yourself in the woods can also help clear my mind.

Tell us about one of the biggest moments in your career.
NB: It’s hard to beat those first moments of recognition early on in a career. For me, getting my first solo show in New York felt huge. Seeing my name in art sections of the New York Times and the New Yorker was also very humbling. I feel so grateful to have carved out a life of art-making, and to have others give me recognition and praise overwhelms me at times.

Do you consider your artwork reflections of current American culture or sociopolitical statements, or both?
NB: I think it’s hard to avoid making art that doesn't somehow reflect the culture and socio-political environment in which it’s made. My work is without exception, perhaps more directly through the imagery I reference, materials I use, and issues I address. Through the use of fabric and soft sculpture, I strive to create approachable work that is accessible to a wider audience than just those with my own political views, in hopes of sparking a dialogue that doesn’t exist in an echo chamber.

DISCUSSION
Begin by showing images of Baxter’s Bloated Flags and Housecoats. Discuss the use of traditional materials and Baxter’s relocation from the more traditional South to New York City. Discuss how the Housecoats series and use of textile materials examine gender roles. Adapt the following questions with age-appropriate language. Ask:

How have traditional gender roles affected your own life or the lives of your family members?
Do you see them as positive or negative?
How are gender roles and behaviors changing in today’s world?
What would you like to change?

STUDIO EXPERIENCES

Create a soft sculpture inspired by an everyday object or symbol.
Experiment with traditional textile materials to create a small sculpture, collage, or installation. How does the use of textiles inform your artistic choices? What are their limitations?
Choose a craft or creative process traditionally associated with women. How might it be updated or changed for today’s world?
Create an artwork in the media of your choice that explores gender roles in today’s culture. How can your piece spark questions, discussions, and dialogue?

Nontraditional Textiles

Quilted Symbolism

Art History: Textile Arts

About the Artist