Artie-Cycle

I spent a year taking photos of my artichokes in all of their stages of development, and this is the resulting project. I used all hand-dyed fabric and some novelty embellishments.

2021. Approx 32" w x 41" h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, novelty synthetic fabrics, selvage edges, digitally printed photos, novelty trims, acrylic paint, ribbon, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by artist

Heirloom Apple

I love the gnarly old apple trees on a local farm where I teach quilt classes in the fall.

2020. Approx 22"w x 28"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

White Village

This is a remembered vision of a long trip to southern Spain, where I was enchanted by the ancient Moorish white villages. All the fabric is hand-dyed.

2020. Approx 27"w x 39"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Say His Name

I just had to do something after George Floyd was murdered. The background is woven of strips of cloth in all the colors of people in the world, creating shapes that look like protest signs. George's portrait is made of transparent black netting, so he belongs to both worlds... the living and the no longer living. I hope people who see this will say his name.

2020. Approx 29"w x 37"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Rise and Shine

This piece is just plain crazy. I woke up one morning and got a notion to machine-quilt as many extemporaneous portraits on old coffee filters as I could before having breakfast. I got exactly this many done, and they ended up forming this perfect mandala.

2020. Approx 32" diameter.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Granary Oak

I made this quilt after a walk in our oak woodlands, where I found this ancient granary oak tree full of acorns.

2019. Approx 28"w x 42"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Wild

This was a fun experiment with textural novelty embellishments to create the prolific jumble of weeds in the foreground.

2019. Approx 44"w x 30"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Precarious Balance

I created the front quilt of the beautiful cranes doing their mating dance and then literally slashed it to reveal the threat to their habitat from oil drilling. The piece is created so that the front panels can be lifted up to reveal the scene of destruction on the quilt behind them.

2019. Approx 51"w x 43"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Lost Coast

I used lots of cheesecloth and organza to depict the shimmering air and water in this scene.

2019. Approx 32"w x 42"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Fogged In

I love our foggy northern California coastline, and made these three panels with multiple layers of tulle and organza to try to replicate the shimmery effect of fog.

2019. Approx 60"w x 60"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

California Cuisine

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.

2019. Approx 50"w x 39"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

One Person's Junk...

I was fascinated by the reflections and transparent dimensions in a stack of recycled doors, and challenged myself to see if I could reproduce them in a quilt.

2019. Approx 33"w x 60"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Contaminated

This three-panel piece is made entirely of plastic bags from my own trash bin. I am deeply concerned about plastic pollution of our land, our water and our air. The quilting contains written statements from scientific papers about the negative effect sof plastic production

2019. Approx 60"w x 50"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Summer Morning

I woke up early while teaching at a retreat on the Eel River, and couldn't resist capturing the scene in a quilt.

2018. Approx 24" x 36"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Turkey Tails

I found a rotting piece of firewood covered with Turkey Tail fungus, and used hand-dyed fabrics, cheesecloth and white chenille yarn to replicate them in this little quilt.

2018. Approx 20"w x 38"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Winter Oak

The gnarled oak trees of the inland coastal valleys take on a haunted life of their own when they are dormant in the winter.

2018. Approx 20"w x 42"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Spring Veggies

These are little veggie studies using denim and fabric scraps.

2018. Approx 12" x 22" each.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Bodega Sunset

This I used a variety of shiny and transparent fabrics to replicate the light of the setting sun on the water.

2018. Approx 19"w x 55"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

Destiny Manifested

Flying over the Southwest, I was enthralled by the beautiful patterns on the landscape. It wasn't until I returned home and looked at my photos did I realize that they were all images of man-made environmental destruction; paving over the landscape, irrigation of the desert, oil drilling, urban sprawl and illumination of the night sky.

2018. Approx 54"w x 98"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist

DENIED

By 2018 I was feeling demoralized by the direction our country's administration was taking in regard to human rights. I chose these five groups of people who were being especially victimized and placed them over a background with quilted words about their plight. Over each image I placed a barrier that symbolized their unfair struggle.

2018. Approx 59"w x 100"h.
Materials: commercial cotton prints, metallic and novelty synthetic fabrics, novelty trims, Sulky variegated thread, tulle

Photo by the artist