| Artist Statement
I am an artist, working in a
medium that until recently was considered to be only a craft. I
have loved textiles since I was a child. I was born with a
fabric addiction ... and a special preference for 100%
cotton. I love the tactile pleasure of manipulating fabric
as well as the light and shadows created by seams and raw
edges. I use color and composition to capture the spirit of
my imagery, rooted in the beauty I find in the world. Brightly
bold or softly delicate, I am enchanted by nature and enjoy the
challenge of interpreting visuals using thread as well as paint.
Quilting/Sewing Background
My maternal great-grandmother,
Sally, and great-aunts were Pennsylvania Dutch women and skilled
quilt makers. I believe I inherited the ‘quilting gene’
from them! I have early memories of playing underneath a large
quilt frame, during a quilting bee in Sally’s home.
I was intrigued at the prospect
of sewing from the moment I first saw a sewing machine. When I was
12 I bought my first sewing machine ‘on time’ with my
babysitting money… $4 a month, for 36 months… and learned to
sew, making many of my own clothes over the years, including my
wedding gown. I also made baby quilts for friends and family
while I was in my 20’s. Sewing took a back seat for many
years, while I was busy raising my children, but at the age of 40,
I took a formal class in quilting through Harford Community
College. I joined the Flying Geese Quilt Guild soon after
and increased my technical quilting skills over the years.
In 1998 I participated in a workshop that taught raw-edge piecing,
and in 1999 took a class in painting on fabric. Since that
time, my focus has changed from traditional quilts to art
quilts. My personal style is not as bold as that of the
average innovative quilt artist. I love to use innovative
techniques, but my results are more like traditional art in
appearance. Muslin is my ‘canvas’ but I use both acrylic
paints and thread to paint my pictures.
Exhibition History
- Bel Air Festival for the Arts,
annually, 1983 to present
- Harford County Farm Fair 1993,
3rd
Place
- Harvest of Quilts, 1996
- Fort Washington Quilt
Festival, 1999
- Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival,
2000
- The Gallery at Liriodendron,
Annual Juried Art Show, 2000
- Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival,
2001
- Art Quest, 2001, Viewer’s
Choice Award
- Ocean City New Jersey Arts
Center Exhibit – July 2001
- Oella Mill River Gallery
Exhibit, Jan-Feb 2002
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