Johnnie McKenzie
Greenville, SC
Artist Statement
No matter where my passion to create leads me, I am guided by one simple truth: life is learning, learning is life. I enjoy the glories of trial and error, failure and success. And, I don’t care if my socks don’t match.
About Johnnie
Johnnie began quilting at age four, hand piecing blocks from feed sacks, flour sacks, fertilizer sacks, worn out overalls, and scraps from our clothing. It was a great treat to go into town with her father to pick out the sacks that would be added to that year’s new quilts, quilts they made out of necessity since the family's farmhouse was heated only by fireplaces that were never lit at night. From those early choices, she began to leave a little bit of myself in every quilt she made.
After the cotton fields were picked and the trailers full of cotton were taken to the gin, Johnnie and her mother picked scrap cotton that opened up late or was just missed. They took the seeds out by hand, boiled them in a giant cast iron pot outside on a sunny day and spread it out on sheets to dry for batting. It was excruciatingly tough to quilt, especially with the excruciatingly thick thread available at that time.
After making traditional, function quilts for over 65 years, Johnnie began exploring nontraditional fiber techniques and her inspiration changed from choosing a pattern first to choosing a color, fabric, fiber, or message first. Many of Johnnie's pieces are inspired by her love nature, passion for a cultural or environmental issue, or an artist’s work that lit a spark in her. She says, "I often find a magic fabric that I put on my design wall for weeks until I hear the notes it wants to sing." In 2022 Johnnie began working with three-dimensional pieces that emulate ceramic structures putting quilting in a non-traditional light.
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