GLENBURN – Those who work, or come to do the state’s business, in the Burton M. Cross Building in Augusta are often in a hurry, but there’s no chance they’ll miss the artwork hanging in the elevator lobby.

On opposite walls, near the tunnel that connects the building to the State House, are ribbons of bright color, reds and oranges and blues that draw the eye to “Reflections,” art quilts created by Glenburn artist Elizabeth Busch.

“‘Reflections’ creates spatial illusion, both with the whole piece and within each segment of the piece,” Busch explained. “Details within each segment are not defined, but rather appear as shape and color reference within the space of two opposite white walls, 20 feet apart.”

Technically, the large pieces, one about 16 feet wide, the other some 10 feet, are “hand-painted, textile paint and mixed metal leaf on canvas, machine-stitched with metallic thread.”

Emotionally, “the content of each painted, quilted segment is a reflection of me and the Maine environment that I love,” she said.

Busch has been creating art quilts for many years. Four quilts in her “Seasons” series were featured in the 2000 Stanley Marcus Holiday Collection, curated by the chairman emeritus of Neiman Marcus.

In addition, the woman has taught workshops around the world for quilt artists.

“Reflections” shows that her own work continues to evolve.

“Each whole wall creates a dialogue both across the space and within the two-dimensional planes,” Busch said. “The shape of white wall around each piece is as important as the piece itself. A negative-positive relationship creates a strong graphic image, drawing the viewer in.

“An up-close look reveals the richness of painting and quilting, the quilting stitches actually returning the light with reflective metallic thread,” Busch said.

If it sounds – and looks – as though the work has sculptural qualities, there are reasons for that.

Busch has sculptures hanging in the atrium at the Maine State Library, in the entrance to the Donald P. Corbett Building at the University of Maine, in the stairwells and library of the new elementary school at Deer Isle-Stonington, and in a variety of other buildings in several states.

Suspended in airy spaces, the curving shapes constructed of film gels, netting and gold leaf suggest the flow of their surroundings.

On Deer Isle, “I ‘became’ an elementary school student for the sculptures in the entries and the library,” Busch explained. “What would it be like to sit there and read, look up and daydream about what’s going on in the sculptures slowly turning above me? What is it like to live surrounded by the sea, to feel those waves in synch with my heartbeat? I try to do this with all my work – it’s very exciting.”

Another aspect of her life that informs both her sculptures and art quilts is the years she spent as an architectural designer with firms in Bangor.

It was while working for the late Eaton Tarbell that Busch realized that she “could envision three-dimensional space. He was a big mentor in my life.”

It was a time when she found out other things that also would prove useful in creating art for Percent for Art projects such as those at the school on Deer Isle and in the Cross Building.

“I absolutely love building models,” she said, adding, “and I was learning all this stuff about space, and about working with committees.”

Thinking in three dimensions certainly helped in this recent project.

“When I looked at the plans for the Cross Building, I saw a busy place, people rushing back and forth at this elevator area adjacent to the cafeteria,” she said. “I also saw an abundance of a Creamsicle orange kind of color, not an easy thing to work with.

“I wanted to engage those rushing by to slow down a bit and look at the quilts. A rectangular format would not draw attention of busy people to this static space, so I started to sketch some ideas. I think what I came up with looks like a flat version of my sculptures. Without intention, for me one medium always fuels the other,” she said.

Busch used orange as one of the colors, “but heightened it with reds and complemented it with blues and gold leaf.”

Viewers have responded positively to “Reflections,” Busch found out when she spent some time in the lobby with a photographer.

“The trompe l’oeil ‘ribbons’ had many people stopping and saying very nice things,” she said. “And that, after all, is what it’s for, this public art: the people and their specific space.”

Another local artist whose work hangs in the building is Wally Warren of Bangor, whose “City of Dreams” painted assemblage is outside the Cross Cafeteria. Warren also has a similar work in the school in Deer Isle.

Other Maine artists with work in the Cross Building are Alan Magee of Cushing, Jeanne Bruce of Temple, Marguerite Payne Robicheaux of Stratton, and Barbara Sullivan of Solon.