My life has been a patchwork creation. Consequently, it seems apt that I work with pieces of fabric stitched together to make whole cloth. I grew up in environments as diverse as a Kentucky farm where I watched my Grandmother quilt, and an English boarding school where we were taught fine needlework. Is this why I love to combine silk and denim in my art quilts?
| My professional life has been equally varied. I owned and operated several vegetarian restaurants, performing any task necessary. I went back to university and finished a Masters Degree, becoming a psychotherapist. I sustained myself with secretarial positions. During these transitions, writing, meditation and artwork sustained me.
In 1985, amidst the pressures of psychotherapy practice, I took a quilt class and knew immediately I had found my passion. That was my first and last traditional quilt; from then on, I stretched the |
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| boundaries of fabric any way that I could conceive. I was fortunate to be living in the Chicago area which is a mecca of fiber arts. Through a needlework and quilt guild, I took classes from all the great fiber artists - including a pivotal class with needle-weaver, Helen Banes. I studied at the School for Textile Arts, Evanston Art Center and Columbia College. |
In the early nineties, I made the huge segue from psychotherapist to full-time artist. I dye my own cloth using techniques such as batik, shibori, marbling. I sketch and photograph wherever I go. I keep visual and verbal art diaries. The culminating art quilt is a product of a time and place in my life. I find the lush, comforting medium of fabric to be infinitely versatile. I seem to keep myself on an artistic precipice, always pushing the boundaries. I use needle-weaving as a meditative counterpoint to the intense physicality of creating my machine stitched art quilts.
I have lived in places with stunning landscapes: New Mexico, coastal Florida and now, North Carolina. I draw my inspiration from nature and these diverse landscapes are a never-ending source of creativity. Trees, with their deep roots and strong lines, have been a continual subject. I have completed a series of underwater scenes, now that I SCUBA dive and have seen that magical realm. Currently, dancing figures, which have emerged in small groups over the years, dominate my work.
My work is about joy and humor, delight in our environment and our marvelous bodies which contain our magical 5 senses. Turning 50 years old has taught me to savor my time. Join me on a visual odyssey of my world.
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