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About

What does it mean to me to be an art quilter?  I consider myself to be both an artist and an artisan.  I’ve been a quilter for many years, and my interest in working with fabric dates back as long as I can remember.  Quilting is a communal art, shared among peers and passed through generations.  Both of my grandmothers were, and two of my aunts are sewers, knitters, weavers and painters.  I learned to sew when I was a very young girl, and started quilting and dressmaking when I was a teenager.  My interest in quilting as an art form started when I was working in a quilting supply shop in the early 1980s.  The shop carried books by art quilters such as Jinny Beyer and Yvonne Porcella, and also sponsored art quilt competitions that drew entries from all over the country. Inspired, I began looking for a way to to expand the way I worked with fabric.  I joined an ongoing Fabric Art class taught by Aldeth Spence Christy and started making wall hangings.  The women in the class gradually evolved into a close knit group that worked and showed together.  They were, and continue to be, the strongest influence in my life and work.  I’ve been making art quilts ever since.

I believe that quilts and quilting have long been a mirror of their makers’ minds and a vehicle of expression for their emotional, aesthetic, and political viewpoint.  Quilting is a unique and valuable art form, democratically making itself available to people of all cultures, and having the flexibility to adapt itself to the needs of each new generation without losing it’s (grass)roots.  It’s a tradition that I’m proud to be a part of.

Recently I’ve been experimenting with dyeing and painting my own fabrics.  I’m particularly interested in the traditional process of Shibori dyeing, where tying and clamping the fabric form the resist in the dye process, resulting in beautiful organic, rhythmic  patterns.