Art Quilts: Open Books
Scroll down for artist statement and links to process posts. Click on quilts for larger images.
When in Drought (June 2018)
17.5" x 19.5"
Letterpress from photopolymer plate, stencils on denim, sashiko thread
There Goes the Neighborhood (May 2018)
32" x 74"
Solar prints on silk organza, cotton
Mirror Mirror: Two Black Cats (April 2018)
40" x 68"
Solar prints, sashiko thread, family clothes, cotton, velvet; hand and machine quilted
They Know Which Way to Go (March 2018)
21" x 50"
Letterpress printing from wood type, embroidery thread; hand quilted
Almost Cherry Season (March 2018)
30.5" x 77"
Letterpress printing from wood and metal type, single color linocut, reduction linocut, embroidery thread; hand quilted
Conversation (March 2018)
19" x 20"
Scraps pleated from previous quilts. Printed from solar-dyed cloth,
letterpress printing from wood type and linoleum blocks, embroidery thread; hand quilted
What Are We Becoming (February 2018)
26.5" x 59.75"
Letterpress printing from wood type and linoleum cut in various colors, embroidery thread, cotton; hand quilted
Becoming (January 2018)
30" x 62"
Letterpress printing from linoleum reduction cut; hand quilted
Nightlights on the Bay (December 2017)
31" x 51"
Letterpress printing from wood type and photopolymer plates,
hand-dyed solar prints from
screen shots from www.sfbayospreys.org web camera;
embroidery thread, hand-stitched text;
sashiko-style hand quilting
When Birds Sleep (December 2017)
33" x 54"
Letterpress printing from wood type and photopolymer plates,
hand-dyed solar prints from
screen shots from www.sfbayospreys.org web camera;
embroidery thread, hand-stitched text; hand and machine quilting
Sweet Osprey Dreams (November 2017)
30" x 53.5"
Letterpress printing from wood type and photopolymer plates,
hand-dyed solar prints from photo by the artist and
screen shots from www.sfbayospreys.org web camera,
embroidery thread, hand-stitched text
and sashiko-style quilting (waves, fish scales), patches
Where Is My Passport? (October 2017)
31" x 48"
Letterpress printing from wood type, hand-dyed solar prints, linoleum block, machine stitched drawing, embroidery thread
Hand Gun (September 2017)
45.5" x 39"
Letterpress printing from wood type, hand-dyed solar prints, embroidery thread
Seraph (the Holy Quilt) (August 2017)
40" x 68"
Letterpress printing from wood type, photopolymer plates, and linoleum blocks, embroidery thread
Hope Rants (August 2017)
43.5" x 69.5"
Cyanotype, letterpress printing from wood type and linoleum blocks, embroidery thread
Water & Power: Ripples (June 2017)
49.5" x 69.5"
Family jeans, letterpress printing from photopolymer plates, embroidery thread
Water & Power: Pipeline (May 2016)
51" x 72"
Family jeans and pants, embroidery of "pipeline" and "river" Orienteering symbols
Let Us Reach to the Edges (Jan. 2016)
72" x 48"
Letterpress printing from linoleum blocks and collagraph on cotton cloth, embroidery thread
Strength (Oct. 2015)
44" x 66"
Letterpress printing from linoleum blocks on tea-dyed cotton cloth, embroidery thread
Act Now (2012-2015)
29" x 27.5"
Gesso stenciled imagery on canvas dropcloth, linen pants, sherry sack, flannel sheet, linen thread
Undone (2008)
25" x 36.5"
Letterpress printing from handset metal type on dyed cotton cloth, velvet, linen thread
ARTIST STATEMENT
Quilting snuck up on me. I made my first quilt when I was thirteen and dabbled more as our family needed coverings for our beds. Seeing the Gee's Bend quilts in The New York Times article in 2002 was a significant source of inspiration for the quilts to come, although I did not foresee my upcoming immersion then. My process took a turn five years after my young son died, and I printed a poem on cloth to heal. I ripped the material—as one does in mourning—and layered and sewed it. What was this thing I had made? I now know it is called an Art Quilt.
Having worked small for decades making books and cards, I find that making quilts allows me to continue to pay attention to each small part, while at the same time working toward a much larger whole. After choosing a subject, making a rough plan, and deciding the colors and materials, I piece intuitively, letting the quilt's pattern emerge. I quilt with a plain running stitch, sashiko patterns, and often use my own handwriting and sew freehand, enjoying the organic letterforms as they contrast with printed type and sharp-edged stencils.
As a printmaker and writer, I am fascinated with marks and traces and how they become symbols for and signs of the people who were there before. Each piece functions as a page where I can print from linoleum blocks, photopolymer plates or type, and then embroider and quilt a longer text. The photographic possibilites for solar printing from my own photographic imagery appeal to me as well. Many of the blocks were first used in my books, many pieces of cloth were first worn by family members. I like the space between images and words where the viewer must interpret or fill in the gap, a little mysterious leap of inference.
I work in many sizes, and I've found that working with half of a twin size is perfect. It's also my height and wingspan. In these quilts I embody the other half of the twin, the facing page, an open book.
Blog posts about my process
An Art Quilt Called Strength
Let Us Reach for the Edges: Art Quilt #2
Pipeline: A New Quilt
Piece-Quilt-Bind—Water & Power: Ripples
A Quilt as an Open Book: Hope Rants
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Seraph (the Holy quilt)
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Hand Gun
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Where Is My Passport?
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Sweet Osprey Dreams
New Art Quilt/Open Book: When Birds Sleep
New Art Quilt: Nightlights on the Bay
New Art Quilt: Becoming
New Art Quilt: What Are We Becoming
Conversation: A New Art Quilt
More posts listed on individual quilt pages.
Quilting snuck up on me. I made my first quilt when I was thirteen and dabbled more as our family needed coverings for our beds. Seeing the Gee's Bend quilts in The New York Times article in 2002 was a significant source of inspiration for the quilts to come, although I did not foresee my upcoming immersion then. My process took a turn five years after my young son died, and I printed a poem on cloth to heal. I ripped the material—as one does in mourning—and layered and sewed it. What was this thing I had made? I now know it is called an Art Quilt.
Having worked small for decades making books and cards, I find that making quilts allows me to continue to pay attention to each small part, while at the same time working toward a much larger whole. After choosing a subject, making a rough plan, and deciding the colors and materials, I piece intuitively, letting the quilt's pattern emerge. I quilt with a plain running stitch, sashiko patterns, and often use my own handwriting and sew freehand, enjoying the organic letterforms as they contrast with printed type and sharp-edged stencils.
As a printmaker and writer, I am fascinated with marks and traces and how they become symbols for and signs of the people who were there before. Each piece functions as a page where I can print from linoleum blocks, photopolymer plates or type, and then embroider and quilt a longer text. The photographic possibilites for solar printing from my own photographic imagery appeal to me as well. Many of the blocks were first used in my books, many pieces of cloth were first worn by family members. I like the space between images and words where the viewer must interpret or fill in the gap, a little mysterious leap of inference.
I work in many sizes, and I've found that working with half of a twin size is perfect. It's also my height and wingspan. In these quilts I embody the other half of the twin, the facing page, an open book.
Blog posts about my process
An Art Quilt Called Strength
Let Us Reach for the Edges: Art Quilt #2
Pipeline: A New Quilt
Piece-Quilt-Bind—Water & Power: Ripples
A Quilt as an Open Book: Hope Rants
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Seraph (the Holy quilt)
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Hand Gun
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Where Is My Passport?
New Art Quilt/Open Book: Sweet Osprey Dreams
New Art Quilt/Open Book: When Birds Sleep
New Art Quilt: Nightlights on the Bay
New Art Quilt: Becoming
New Art Quilt: What Are We Becoming
Conversation: A New Art Quilt
More posts listed on individual quilt pages.
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