Pattiy Torno
#3 CURVE • 828.388.3526 • pattiytorno@gmail.com • pattiytorno.com • @pattiytorno
Fotopiecing
Photography came to my life in 1985 when Steve Mann walked into Chicken Alley, behind my studio in downtown Asheville, carrying a Leica camera borrowed from Ralph Burns of Iris Photographics. One look through that lense and I was hooked. ”Fotopiecing” is the term I arrived at in 1995 to describe the marriage of my quilt and photographic work. Fotopiecings are images that I stitch together from the familiar, inspiring, beautiful, colorful, geometric, repetitive, textural I stumble upon in the world I inhabit. Often a juxtaposition of the natural & the man / machine made, these images create their own atmosphere. Sometimes with a shadow of my former self. Always the documentarian, I also hope to engage the eyes & curiosity of those who encounter my work. As I was inspired to always keep looking, by the quilts I grew up with, I strive to pass along the sense of possibility that I get from looking at complex imagery. Fotopiecing Gallery
Fotowalls
Go big or go home! Fotowalls are a new phase of Pattiy’s fotopiecings, which have transformed her wall hangings into large-scale works. Using different materials and a different process, these works reference street artists who do wheat paste paper art. The video above shows the process from start to finish of the installation of “Transmission”. The scale of these works allows the photos that Pattiy captures to exist in a new environment, allowing the public to engage.
Extraordinary Quilts
Handquilting as meditation facilitates my craft. My fabric collecting feeds my obsessions with color and pattern that emerge in the form of my quilts.
I began sewing in 1965. In my family, learning to sew was no surprise.In 1983, I was looking for a way to get back to the simple joy of playing with fabric. Quilting seemed like the perfect vehicle, so, I began. I am self taught, as this is the one type of sewing that did not get passed from grandmother to mother to daughter. In 1995, I began to think of quilting as what I do.
Fleece
Playing with color and patterns, to design and make affordable alternatives to my quilt work that can go anywhere in your life. My friend Rachel's nephew is our model above!
Sculptural
Every once in a great while i do sculptural work for clients... above is the donation piece made for the WNC Community Foundation's Power of the Purse Art Auction. Below, one of a series of 13 years of trophies made for Flagpole Magazine of Athens, GA.
Eclectic Clothing
In 1974, my last year in high school, I decided to become a fashion designer, as it was the only career I could think of, that would allow me to earn a living having something to do with what I love the most... sewing. I attended Virginia Commonwealth University for two years and Parsons School of Design for two years. I apprenticed in the Fashion Industry while I was in school in New York and then started my first company in 1980. I have worked for myself ever since.
Polartec Pullovers
I have been making fleece blankets, hats and scarves since the late 1990's. In 2008 I found a source for Polartec and started making my Polartec Pullovers you see pictured above. Polartec LLC (originally Malden Mills) is the american company that invented fleece in the late 1980's and they have never taken their production off shore, so my PTK PO is "made in the USA". Nice!
Video work
in 2010, President Barack & First Lady Michelle Obama visited 12 Bones Smokehouse across from CURVE studios in the River Arts District. I made a short video of their visit. From time to time i do this kind of work. Below is a short film i did for Akins Parker Creative in LA for the Lexington Avenue Brewery here in the AVL.