about

STATEMENT:

My work includes appliqué where painted organic shapes from salvaged textiles (stained Irish linen napkins, French silk or Italian velvet brocade swatches, cotton calico) are collaged - soft to touch, spilling out from the frame, giving life to otherwise stagnant items. I combine fabrics, yarn, ribbons, fabric and leather, as embellishments, layering paint on pattern. With a background in fashion product design, stitching, folding, and unraveling are natural extensions to the painted surface. Nostalgia, potential, security, as well as consumerism as the antithesis of craft are themes I investigate in my work. The beauty of the wild natural world that surrounds us, once durable but changing daily, serves as both influence and motivation.



BIO:

Theresa Buffo was born in Canton, Ohio and is a visual artist and designer working in Nashville, TN. Growing up, art exploration was her refuge, and sewing, mending, gardening, knitting were talents inherited from her grandmothers and mother. Her education includes a BA in Studio Art from The Colorado College with honors in Painting and a Minor in Italian Studies, and studies in Industrial Design at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has held a variety of creative positions including historic textile and rug conservation for a private collector and product designer for a Nepali Adventure Travel company. Self taught in leather work, she stitched custom handbags for small retailers, online and direct to clients under the label bocUe. After moving South from Chicago with her husband and two sons, she joined COOP Gallery where she helps build community as board member, curator and grant writer.