The fabric of her life

With an easy laugh, Johanna Raczyk said her passion is working with fabrics.

“It’s an addiction. It really is.”

What began in high school as a sewing hobby, creating scarves, handbags and pillows, has become the focal point for Raczyk’s unbridled creativity. A reflection of her own opposing characteristics—fun yet serious, quick to giggle yet firmly grounded—her wall-hangings, or quilt art, are centered and powerful while also being whimsical with elements of pure cute and precious girliness. With no formal training in art or sewing, Raczyk has an innate feel for attractive materials, color combinations and detail that create a sense of serenity.

A three-year Tahoe resident, the 28-year-old Raczyk creates depictions of places, people and symbols that are close to her heart. Her choice of rich velvets and silks and penchant for deep reds and purples add further weight to the works. But she strikes a balance by using playful materials and by adding accents like butterflies and flowers. Her patterns are simple, which allows details like beadwork and ornate fabrics to be the complexity of her works.

“Head of a Woman” features a peaceful woman with big, earthy dreadlocks; the heavy fabrics and warm colors are calming and grounded. A strand of bright turquoise highlights the subject’s lively hair. A delicate feather decorates the chest as do flowers complete with rhinestones.

The work “Martha’s Vineyard” is named for Raczyk’s “second home to Tahoe.” The piece shows an outline of the island with added details: butterflies and pink strips for waterways. It’s a simple piece with accents that keep the eye interested and let the mind relax. Singling out the Vineyard reminds a person how sacred a place can be.

“My work is an eclectic combination of fabrics,” Raczyk says. “I always use Japanese silks, and a lot of animal prints and polka dots—I just can’t get away from polka dots. … [My style] is mostly Asian, hippy, environmental. That’s what I always lean toward. And I like patchwork.”

Raczyk’s creative process is ongoing and multifaceted. Although a piece like “Head of a Woman” might take 20 hours from conception to completion, that’s not the whole picture. Raczyk always carries a sketchbook.

“If I see things I like, I’ll draw them, and then I’ll take that idea home and think about it for a while.” She then lays a piece out and draws it to scale. “Then I have to pick my colors. That takes longer than you think it would. I go through magazines and cut out color combinations that I like and put them on my wall.”

Next, she chooses the fabrics, which she has on hand, in plenty. She doesn’t buy fabric to create a project; she buys fabric she loves and uses it when the time is right.

In the immediate future, Raczyk plans to create a series of hangings that represent the seven chakras. She has already finished the first hanging, “Om.” She decisively hung this piece over her boyfriend’s sushi station at Fredrick’s Bistro and Bar, where her work is featured.

Raczyk also has her popular and growing handbag business—in which no two bags are identical. Lately though, she’s been focusing more on her wall art than her bags.

“People look at [a wall hanging] like it’s a piece of art and it’s not something that has to match an outfit or hold up to wear and tear. So I can add a delicate accent like a frilly feather to it, and I know it’ll be OK.”

Wall hangings have allowed Raczyk to expand the materials she can include in her work. She is interested in making her pieces more three-dimensional. Specifically, she wants to add texture to her work by using burlap and textured fabric, incorporating more beadwork, and adding papier-mâché, wire, decoupage, glitter and mirrors.