In this series of work I am speaking to “women’s work,” a term that has been historically used to devalue the domestic and handicraft. I am combining textile and herbal knowledge typically associated with our maternal lineages in an expression of reclaiming women’s power.
Technique: Natural dyes sprayed over flora, embroidery Material: Organic cotton, natural dyes, mica, Mod Podge on wood
This quilt is one of a series based upon original drawings of fantasy feathers. In this piece I have combined several fabrics from my "Gradations" collection from Benartex.
After a trip to South Africa in 2000 I was fascinated by the patterns of spots on giraffes. Rather than make a literal picture of giraffes I borrowed their spot patterns and used them in this abstract design.
Gathers and puffs have been used to transform what was intended as a simple swimsuit coverup. One bodice front and one sleeve feature star gathering, a patterned relief created when small circles of fabric are gathered on a grid. The front band features fabric gathered in concentric circles and attached so closely that the pinked edges are forced upward.
Technique: Star gathering on sleeve and bodice grids. Massed ruffled puffs on front band. Material: Fabric and beads
I am a recent transplant from Alaska to Washington. I love the beauty of this state. This July I spent a few days in the Sol Duc Valley of Olympic National Park. The peace and tranquility spoke to me.
Technique: Hand pieced, hand appliquéd, hand quilted Material: Hand-dyed and commercial cotton
This is my yard in Fairbanks, Alaska and it captures the extremes of our summer and winter seasons. Summer lasts about two and one half months while winter lasts about seven.
Technique: Hand pieced and hand quilted Material: Hand-dyed and commercial cotton; handscreened
This is my yard in Fairbanks, Alaska and it captures the extremes of our summer and winter seasons. Summer lasts about two and one half months while winter lasts about seven.
Technique: Hand pieced and hand quilted Material: Hand-dyed and commercial cotton; handscreened
Technique: Ice-dyed with multiple colors, fused, hand stitched and handmade beads from ice-dyed fabrics. Material: Ice-dyed cotton sateen, handmade beads, pearl cotton thread, cotton batting
Whenever I visit Hawaii's tropical gardens, I seek out the colorful hibiscus flowers. I photograph the flowers so that after returning to the Mainland, I can re-interpret my experience by creating whimsical fabric art. I enjoyed creating fanciful orange and yellow hibiscus plants tucked amid multi-hued green leaves. For fun, I added sparkling beads.
Technique: Free-motion embroidery, automated stitching, collage, and appliqué Material: Varied threads including metallic threads, varied fabrics and sheers, beads and sequins
A colorful croton hedge in Hilo, Hawaii inspired this quilt. Croton grows in the Northwest, but not in the exuberant hues it achieves in the tropics. The quilt was begun in a class taught by Katie Pasquini Masopust.
Technique: Machine pieced, raw edge and turned edge machine appliqué, free-motion quilting. Material: Cotton, hand-dyed and commercial; rayon and cotton thread.
From the air one can see patterns on the land which tell the story of human activity such as irrigated crop circles, and which can reveal locations of ancient geologic and human activity. These are traces on the land, erased and superimposed, like a palimpsest. Discharging done in a Sue Nylander workshop.
Technique: Discharged with bleach and discharge paste, raw edge appliqué, hand embroidery and free motion stitching; mounted on hardboard panel. Material: Cotton, whole cloth and commercial; rayon, cotton, and metallic thread.
This cast paper composition was completed while I was exploring the shape and color abstractions of artists at the Bauhaus in Germany, particularly Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee
Technique: Design made with clay; handmade abaca paper cast in mold with layers of watercolor to finish Material: Handmade paper, silk noil fabric, watercolor
This design was originally intended to be completed as an ikat weaving; however, it was brought to life as paper and watercolor instead.
Technique: Design made with clay; handmade abaca paper case in mold with layers of watercolor to finish Material: Handmade abaca paper, silk noil fabric, watercolor
I was inspired to make this quilt to maximize texture, color and character of each bit of cloth I used. The three bowls and three cicles tend to bring order to a somewhat chaotic background.
Technique: Machine pieced and quilted by the artist. Material: my hand dyed antique kimono silks, hand dyed vintage Italian silks, hand dyed cottons
My signature fabric, paisley, appears in most of my quilts. In a variation on Reynola Pakusich’s “Meandering Paths" I featured them exclusively. Included are 135+ fabrics: quilters cotton paisleys, pieces from garments, a few that aren't truly paisley, some donated by fellow quilters, and all the paisleys I had on hand at the time.
The back features a diagonal color-block, in paisley.
Technique: Machine pieced, hand quilted Material: Woven quilter cottons, rayon and cotton cut from garments, cotton binding and batting
Starting with a jackalope, the “spirit animal” of Wyoming, I created an homage to my childhood with my only sister. Two months earlier, she had died. As I sat in a friend’s cabin, in the middle of the night, back in my home state, with my high school reunion days away, I finished the collage. This is how I will remember Lynn.
Technique: Paperboard collage Material: Product packaging from beer, butter, chocolate, crackers, dog treats, edibles, meatballs, socks, toner…
So many women have forever influenced and inspired me: some young, others beautifully aged, some famous, others not.Their common threads are extraordinary character, willingness to share ideas and talents, compassionate natures. I feel honoured and blessed to have known many personally. This is my tribute to them.
Technique: Paint on canvas, machine and hand stitching, textiles and paper to create "women" Material: Acrylic paints, textiles, paper, vellum, acrylic finish
This is one of two quilts where I've used the same format of undulating seams and strips to suggest organic forms. This one has a slightly whitened look, as if parts of the the forest floor were covered with frost.
I made this quilt as an example for a class I teach on improvisational piecing. I challenged myself to use as many pieces of indigo-dyed fabric as I could. It includes indigos I dyed myself as well as some from Senegal, Guinea, China, Japan, India, and Indonesia.
Weaving fabric and then making wearable clothing connects me with my weaving ancestors. Making this jacket was a challenge for a few reasons. The end result is warm and cozy, and next time I’ll weave a little more fabric.
Technique: Woven in broken twill, variegated hand dyed warp yarns Material: Hand dyed wool, wool boucle, mohair
Vibrant hand-dyed cottons were cut freehand and pieced into colorful units. These were stacked to create a joyful composition surrounded by a field of yarn-dyed linen.
When I began hand dyeing fabrics, I felt like a kid again with a new box of crayons. This quilt was created using each and every hand dyed fabric in my stash. The quarter log cabin units were improvised, using free form cutting techniques. Each quadrant was machine quilted with straight lines and 90-degree angles.
Inspired during a walk at low tide, I took photographs of amazing patterns of sand and seaweed left behind by the receding water. In this piece I’m seeking to enhance the textures in the image by drawing and stitching over the photograph. The vertical stitched lines refer to a woven grid, and in my mind add structure and order.
Technique: Drawing and stitching on a photograph by the artist Material: Pencil, ink, oil pastel, colored pencil, bamboo yarn and cotton thread on paper
An abstract photograph of stitches becomes the background for a textile fragment with vertical and horizontal elements. A stitched diagonal grid attaches the cloth to the surface of the paper. The stitching casts tiny shadows and creates a layer that hovers slightly in front of the photograph.
Technique: Combining handwoven fabric with stitching and painting on a photograph by the artist Material: Textile of linen, rayon, and bamboo by the artist; waxed linen on paper; paint