A Perfect Day on the Eel River

I teach at an annual 5-day retreat on the Eel River in northern Mendocino County, where the swimming hole beckons at every break. While dipping in the clear water, I both saw and felt the movement of the current, and that experience was soon translated to cloth.

2014. 29"w x 45"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Travis Ruins Another Perfect Dinner Party

I made this quilt for the AQS “New Quilts from an Old Favorite” challenge, with the “Dresden Plate” block. I thought Dresden plates looked like Japanese Imari plates, so I proceeded to create a perfect Japanese table setting with lovely food and accessories. The whole thing was much too formal for me, though, so I decided Travis should enter the scene with his Big Mac and super-sized drink. We all know somebody like him…right???

2005. Approx 71"w x 71"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, rubberized shelf liner, linen napkins, chopsticks, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread

Photo credit: Janet Orsi

Tulip Fields Forever

I made this piece for a solo show at the LaConner Quilt Museum in 2008. My show coincided with their famous tulip festival, so I created this piece to celebrate the event.

2008. Approx 39"w x 45"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, silk, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Waiting

Another LaConner quilt, this one was a compelling scene in the rural countryside nearby. There weren’t any tulips in the scene that I photographed, but I took advantage of artistic license and added them because I could imagine how beautiful they would look.

2007. Approx 36"w x 43"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, novelty synthetic fabrics, Guatemalan woven belt, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo credit- Janet Orsi

Wash Day on the Farm

This is the view of the back side of the main lodge where I was teaching at a 5-day retreat in northern Mendocino County. It was the underbelly of the otherwise well-groomed summer camp grounds, but the sight of the laundry on the line made the place feel completely like home.

2015. Approx 31"w x 36"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Water Marks

My family owns a ranch on the northern California coast, where I visit as often as possible. The patterns made by the creek as it crosses the beach to the ocean always fascinate me.

2014. Approx 34"w x 47"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, silk, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Visions of Apple Pie

During breaks at the summer retreat where I teach in northern Mendocino County, I enjoy lying down on the expansive lawn in the shade of the ancient apple trees, staring up through the gnarled branches. Looking at the bursting ripe red apples made me think of all the delicious treats that I could make with them.

2014. Approx 41"w x 35"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, novelty synthetic fabrics, cheesecloth, novelty trims, thread waste, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo credit: Janet Orsi

Zucchini Glut

Every home gardener in Ukiah is blessed with a total glut of zucchini by the end of summer. I wanted to depict the life cycle of this ubiquitous vegetable, in month-by-month stages.

2011. Approx 58"w x 61"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, novelty synthetic fabrics, selvage edges, digitally printed photos, novelty trims, acrylic paint, ribbon, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo credit: Janet Orsi

Quilt of Compassion

The Quilt of Compassion was started the day after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. My friend and quilt guild partner Betty Lacy called me and said six words to me, “I need to do a quilt.” My response was “Me too.” With an agreement that the piece would be like a Mexican shrine with symbols of compassion and healing domination the carnage, we met in my dining room with piles of fabric and photos, and tearfully worked on the central collage of the horrendous scene. We didn’t speak…the piece unfolded on its own, with both of us silently recognizing the other’s direction and responding to it.

On day two we let our guild members know what we were doing, and they immediately began to trickle in, one two at a time, with fabrics, their sewing machines, images to print, food and whatever else they could contribute. They spread the word, and soon neighbors and strangers were coming by to donate something of themselves. A group of Mormon going door-to-door sang us a song. An unknown runner went back to her house and returned with her grandmother’s rosary to put on the quilt. Another neighbor, who had been in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan, gave us a T-shirt with the word “PEACE” written on it in Arabic, Hebrew and English. Another neighbor came by to offer neck massages and grilled cheese sandwiches as we worked past midnight.

By the third day we had far too many symbols of compassion to fit on our quilt, and I woke that night realizing that the piece needed to be a triptych, with two additional side panels to accommodate the treasures. That precipitated one more day of nonstop sewing. Completely exhausted and finally at peace, Betty and I finished our quilt as the sun set on day four.

BETTY AND I WOULD LOVE FOR THIS QUILT TO FIND A PERMANENT HOME SOMEWHERE IN THE NORTHEAST, PREFERABLY IN NEW YORK CITY. IF ANYBODY HAS ANY CONNECTIONS TO THE SMITHSONIAN OR SOME OTHER MUSEUM IN NEW YORK, PLEASE LET US KNOW. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS.

2001. Approx 7'w x 5'h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, novelty synthetic fabrics, selvage edges, digitally printed photos, novelty trims, acrylic paint, ribbon, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo Credit: Evan Johnson

Bad News

This three-panel piece is made entirely of recycled plastic bags that my newspapers are delivered in, plus dire headlines about climate change and sea level rise from the papers themselves. All of the quilting is excerpts from scientific papers that discuss the relationship of plastic to climate change and sea level rise.

2022. Approx 55" x 65"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

October Road

This piece was created while I was teaching at a 5-day retreat on the Eel River in northern Mendocino County. The rising sun on a summer morning backlit the water-sculpted rocks, and my inspiration couldn't wait until I got home.

2008. Approx 35"w x 45"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Haute Planet

The textile and clothing industries are second only to oil as the most polluting industries on the planet. I used a stylish tunic as the base of this quilt and depicted a shrinking reservoir surrounded by quilted words about how climate change is threatening our water supply.

2021. Approx 25"w x 32"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Super Moon Rising

On my way to spend a whole night watching the elcipse of the super moon, I drove past it rising behind a row of gnarled cypress trees. There are a lot of metallic trims and fabrics to catch the light.

2021. Approx 49"w x 61"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Entangled

This isn't even a quilt, but it is made of fibers and plastic.

2021. Approx 36" x 18" x 90".
Materials: fibers and plastic

Photo by the artist

Structure of Exclusion

News of the migrant situation at our border with Mexico was getting worse every day, and our president only talked about making his fence bigger. I stenciled shadowy images of exhausted people onto hand dyed fabric, and put them behind an impenetrable fence.

2021. Approx 43"w x 35"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Overgrown

I made this quilt of my family's coastal ranch, where the deteriorating outbuildings are totally overgrown by a proliferation of healthy weeds.

2021. Approx 48"w x 66"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

We Are What We Eat

Plastic microparticles are in the soil everywhere, so I created a bunch of different vegetables out of recycled plastic bags to point out the threat. They are mounted on a circle of hardware cloth and braced by rings from some broken tomato cages.

2021. Approx 30" diameter.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Catch of the Day

More plastic... this time with quilted words about the effect of plastic production on the health of our oceans. The fish are made of plastic too, and faced and stuffed.

2021. Approx 24"w x 34"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Light

Amanda Gorman's stunning poem for Joe Biden's Inauguration moved me to try to capture the moment in a quilt.

2021. Approx 40"w x 37"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Ribbon Dance

This is one of a series of quilts I made entirely out of plastic from my own recycling bin. I made it to point out the connection between plastic production, global warming and the decimation of northern California's once-abundant kelp forests.

2021. Approx 26"w x 42"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist