The Purple Pomegranate, a fine craft specialty store, is featuring work by Whitefish artist Elaine Gutierrez during the month of July. Elaine started sewing 18 years ago when her husband bought her a sewing machine to repair a pair of his jeans. She has since developed many techniques in her exploration of fabric, textiles and fiber art.
As a self taught artist, Elaine uses a mix of appliqué, collage and free motion machine embroidery to create one-of-a-kind wall hangings. Inspired by the natural surroundings of her small ranch north of Whitefish, she often uses her own photographs for themes in her work. Elaine designs outdoor scenes; cutting small pieces of colorful fabric and appliquéing them to develop an intricate landscape. She dyes many of her background fabrics by hand and her palette ranges from earthy to vivid. She is currently moving into a new studio and is looking forward to having her own space to create her fabric collages.

Meet Elaine during Whitefish Gallery Night, Thursday, July 3, 2008 from 6-9 PM. Elaine’s work will be displayed during the opening and throughout the month of July.