Textile artist, painter to show latest work at IHCC

OTTUMWA ? Wisconsin textile artist and painter Patricia Strong will present her latest works in an exhibition titled ?Theophanies: How the Soul Appears? beginning Monday at the Indian Hills Community College Art Gallery.

A public reception for Strong is set from 7-8:30 p.m. on opening night.

Strong?s exhibition will close March 13.

Strong, of Fond du Lac, Wis., was diagnosed with Crohn?s Disease in 1980. She was hospitalized for 80 days, given her last rights and told that she had a 3.5 percent chance of coming out of the surgery alive. Marshfield Clinic doctors called Strong?s condition one of the worst 20 cases of Crohn?s Disease ever recorded in the United States, and the Mayo Clinic gave her three to six months to live.

She survived and has since undergone a tumultuous life of multiple hospitalizations and surgeries.

A crippling affliction like Strong?s would render many people hopeless, but for this energetic and determined free spirit, the illness only inspired her creativity, which provided a much-needed outlet for her suffering.

When Strong begins work on a new painting, she said the colors just ?fall from her brush.? In fact, Strong has always felt her hands were spiritually guided while creating art and attributes her success and her 23 years of battling Crohn?s Disease to God.

In one four-year period, she experienced only 10 months of remission. During her rare moments of improved health, Strong sought liberation from the illness through painting, playing guitar and piano, and most notably, creating intricately detailed quilted art.

?Theophanies are our interpretations of God,? explained Strong. ?I?ve had three meetings with the Almighty and have a better understanding of my purpose.?

The results of these meetings are evident in every facet of her work. Strong described the focal point of each piece as being the ?flame.? From quilts to painted furniture, the kaleidoscope of colors and fusion of textures are intricately arranged, with the goal of achieving burning-bush intensity. In some of her cubism-style quilts, one 6-inch-square area could have more than 200 pieces of stitched slivers of fabric.

?A lot of people would have given up and that would have been easier, believe me ? to just sit around waiting to die,? asserted Strong. ?But I reminded myself that we don?t do ?easy? in my family.?

Today, Strong is 56 years old, with a large collection of unique pieces of art ranging from hand-painted furniture and wall murals to wall-hung sewn and painted art.

She started quilting in 2007 and in the first year and a half she created more than 40 quilts.

?Confined to my home, I just started sewing pieces of fabric together to form pictures ? that was 20 years ago. I never imagined that it would be something that saves me,? said Strong.