Artist Statement

One day in the early 1980s, I found myself in the midst of making a quilt, 4” squares of colorful cotton laid out in a diamond pattern across the floor of the study. Having rebuffed all attempts by my mom and grandmother to engage me in the “feminine arts,” I was flabbergasted! Thus began my lifelong passion for textile arts.

For many years I was a traditional (every stitch by hand) quilt maker, each piece a labor of love (emphasis on “labor”). I loved the sense of history, of continuity, the passing from mother to daughter that accompanies a well-loved quilt. I still sleep under one of my grandmother’s windmill patterned quilts even though it has become faded and a bit tattered from use and age. Old quilts tell stories if we are willing to listen, each different quilt pattern offering a little piece of history: Rocky Road to Kansas, Philadelphia Pavement, Arkansas Traveller, Double Wedding Ring, Flying Geese, Friendship Knot, Nelson’s Victory…. While a student at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, I studied textile design and engaged in an in-depth study of the history of quilt making. I also taught traditional quilt making classes through the continuing education department at the university and in my studio.

After a workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, with Michael James, my art quilt hero, during the summer of 2003, I stuck my betweens (the tiny needles used to hand quilt) into an old pincushion, purchased a sewing machine that has 160 fancy stitches and speaks more languages than I do, and took off in a new direction never looking back.

Traditional or contemporary, quilt making for me has always been about color: luscious reds, treasure chest golds, spicy oranges, leafy greens—rich, vibrant, playful, singing colors. Since the workshop with Michael, I have concentrated on pillows—sofa pillows, fragrant sachet pillows, and pillow books. The pillow books have become a vehicle for exploring that which is revealed within. More and more I find myself adding text to my work. One of the pillow books, made for a friend who is blind, has text in Braille done in French knots.

For a couple years my textile arts life was on hold while I pursued a Master of Arts in Social Justice in Intercultural Relations degree at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. I have always considered my textile arts to be decorative and utilitarian. Now I find myself exploring ways to use my work as a tool to educate and to raise awareness about social justice issues.