Betty Busby is based in Albuquerque but her work wins awards and acclaim around the world. What she creates are called quilts, but they're more accurately paintings with fabric -- and sometimes made with paint on fabric. It's artwork not for the bed but for the wall. She'll be the featured artist in the 12th Biennial Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta, May 30-June 1 at Expo New Mexico.
The branching imagery that dominates her work is derived from fractals. "I went to the fractal show at the [New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science's] planetarium," says Betty. "It blew my mind. They go from a picture of the galaxy down to a picture of an atom, and you see the same image repeated again and again." A recent design came from the Japanese maple in her backyard. "It has little seeds. So I took one and photographed it and used it as the start for a cutting pattern on my iPad."
In this more complete version of the interview, Betty talks about her role at the 2019 Fiber Arts Fiesta, as well as the work she's displaying in the group show, Out of the Blue, on view through August 9 in the Rotunda Gallery at the New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe.
