Artistic Textiles and Unique Art Quilts

Perhaps it all started in rural Ohio, growing up with folk art and the influence of Appalachian crafts. From childhood, I was drawn to the colorful patchwork of rustic quilts. 

My first year of teaching – rural Ohio in 1977 – snow and ice closed highways and schools for all but seven days in January. As the wind howled through the single pane windows of my old farmhouse, I rummaged for scraps of fabric in my limited stash. A blouse from my friend’s trip to Israel, a Guatemalan coaster, a whimsical tea towel, bits of calico – all of these and more became the quilt top to re-cover my childhood comforter. By February, I’d completed my first quilt top. 

Now I am drawn to hand-dyed fabric and the world of surface design.  The endless possibilities of creating one-of-a-kind fabric feels right in my personal artistic journey.  Even more tantalizing are the opportunities for layering and embellishment in each unique composition as the fabric “speaks.” The camaraderie of working alongside gifted instructors and student artists make the exploration even more gratifying.

Poetry also plays a big part in my artistic journey, and my recent work explores the merger of hand-created fabric and the written word.