Heraldsburg, California
1. What year did you make your first quilt? Traditional or art? I made my first quilt back when I was in high school, in the early 1970's. My sister and I collaborated to make a gift for a cousin. She drew cats on fabric (remember Liquid Embroidery?!) and then we alternated the cat blocks with traditional squares. I suppose that means it was an "innovative" first quilt!
2. What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts? Venue? I'd shown quilts in local guild shows, but the first significant show in which I entered an art quilt was Pacific International Quilt Festival, in 2003 or 2004.
3. What is your artistic style? I ponder this question myself, because sometimes I feel like I'm all over the place. I am drawn to a more graphic style, and tend to use a lot of color. I also tend to use more realistic imagery in my art quilts, rather than pure abstraction. I consider my style to be always evolving.
4. Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts? Yes, definitely. I started out making traditional quilts, although with contemporary and usually bright fabrics. As I discovered the fun of making art quilts, I started trying a lot of different things. I hope my style continues to change as I grow and learn.
5. What other style in quilt making piques your interest? It's easier for me to define the few things that don't appeal to me in working with fiber art than the ones that do. There are so many wonderful avenues to explore! I am increasingly drawn to painting on fabric and using whole cloth as a base for a painted quilt. I would love to explore the concept of abstraction more, too.
6. What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist? Drawing and painting definitely influence me. I'm doing a lot of watercolor painting and I can see that starting to creep into the way I think about fiber art.
7. What do you have coming up? Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc. I am one of the twelve quilt artists in the Twelve by Twelve International Art Quilt Challenge group, and I'm pleased that the Twelve by Twelve collection quilts are continuing to travel for upcoming exhibits. The Colorplay set of 144 quilts will be exhibited at Midsomer Quilting in Bath, England in July, 2013, and the original set of 144 quilts will be exhibited at the Northwest Quilt Expo in Portland, Oregon in September, 2013. I am also one of 30 American quilt artists participating in an international invitational fiber art challenge between Japan, France and the United States, in which each artist is interpreting a painter's work. Those quilts will debut in Japan in 2014. I am also a newly certified quilt judge, with the mission to help other judges and show hosts understand art quilts, and I will be judging in several Northern California quilt shows this summer and fall.
8. Where will your art take you from here? Who knows! I consider art my adventure, my therapy, my expression, my experiments, my fun.
9. Describe your studio space: For several years I have had one small 10x12 foot bedroom which both my housed my work materials (desk files, books) and my sewing and art materials. A few months ago I was finally able to move my work office into another room, so I now have one room dedicated to sewing, quilting and fiber art. It's still 10x12 feet, but those extra feet make a huge difference.
10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?" The size and the unusual shape. I had many ideas that, to my mind, required a horizontal orientation. Because of the space constraints in my studio, and the fabric collage technique I was using, it wasn't always easy to step back from the quilt to see its full effect. But those sorts of challenges are good lessons and present opportunities for problem solving, I find!
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