Artist's Statement
"A sharp wit, a Sharpie and a sharp needle are my best tools”
Stylized women, with a cheeky look inspired by comic books, anime and political cartoons, reflect Ritter’s wicked sense of humor. Using innuendo to explore human emotions and social issues, the allegorical imagery is both narrative and conceptual, inviting multiple levels of interpretation. Often repeated in a traditional quilt block format, the use of serial imagery creates interesting secondary patterns and added subtext, fusing the abstract with the figurative.The tongue-in-cheek title is often a cliché, pun, joke, double entendre or irreverent observation on the human condition. The title, hinting at the punch-line and the wry imagery are enough to spark the inner dialog between the work and viewer, evoking open-ended responses that are associative rather than literal.
My newest works explore the more practical side of Womanhood, where my earlier quilts explored the spiritual side of Woman. “Garden Plots” is a series using the garden as a mischievous metaphor for growth. “Go-Go Girls” explores life on the run in the modern world. “Ladies of Leisure” is a series planned for the future, with drawings already in progress. "Handy Women" looks at the roles women are expected to fill in modern life.
The women in my block series "Womenagerie" are wild women with the qualities of strength and freedom. The "Cover Girls" series explores our society’s obsession with female beauty. Whenever the female form emerges in my work, she is strong, and vibrant, a force of nature, someone to be reckoned with. In my early work, she is often a creature of myth. In all her manifestations, my "Quilted Goddesses" are my attempt to tap into that powerful spirit hidden inside.
My earlier work includes "Spirit Horses" a series exploring my life long love of the horse.
Why Quilts?
The question I am asked most is “Why do you make quilts; why not paint?”
History
There are many reasons I first began to make quilts. First of all, I love antique quilts and was taught to value craftsmanship by my grandparents and parents. Quilts are a part of our family history; through quilting, I honor the women who came before me, while also poking fun at outdated attitudes.
Process
I also love to paint, dye, print, silk-screen and do all sorts of mixed media in the studio. On the surface of the quilt, I can explore all of those options, experimenting and playing with new techniques. I am an experimental artist at heart and love the possibilities inherent in fabric. No other medium short of sculpture offers the fabulous texture of the quilted surface.
Function
Art quilts can make a dramatic backdrop for any space. Quilts are also easier to store and ship than paintings which require special boxing and extra costs in framing. Quilts with a roll-up system can even be used to hide a big screen TV while the TV is not in use.
Irony
But today, most of all, I love the tension created by the jolt to expectations my quilts elicit. Any audience has built-in expectations about quilts. The expected quilt is handmade. A patient grandmotherly type woman makes the expected quilt from traditional patterns. The expected quilt is used on the most intimate item in a house, the bed and these expected quilts are supposed to give you a warm and fuzzy feelings.
I love to challenge preconceptions and my quilts use all of these presumptions to turn expectations around in a surprising and often funny way. Made with a long arm machine and a large format printer, these quilts still have a tenuous relationship to the traditional quilts. By using repeat blocks in various layouts, the secondary design elements set up a pattern reminiscent of a traditional quilt. But the use of cutting edge technology is contrary to the “made by hand” axiom of traditional quilting. The theme and subject matter is obviously non-traditional and the drawings are rarely warm and fuzzy. The women in my newest quilts are quite aggressive in demeanor and show my growing tendency toward a more strident stitch. These are not quilts to snuggle under!