I have sewn since childhood and have been a quilter for more than 30 years, a dyer for almost 20. I discovered art quilts in 1986 and was immediately inspired to work in this exciting medium.
My primary art medium is pieced and quilted wall hangings.
My work is inspired by the geometry of the world around me. It is abstract, but often suggests architecture, influenced by my having grown up in New York City and by my travels. I love color, visual texture, and spatial ambiguity.
I dye and print white fabric using a wide range of surface design processes, such as low-water immersion dyeing, screen printing, and various resist techniques. I start each quilt by selecting a palette of colors and fabrics and proceed intuitively and interactively, adding or removing fabrics and shapes until I’ve achieved a pleasing composition. I stitch these fabrics together, further modifying the design as I proceed. I add batting and machine quilt my work using a wide range of thread colors to add texture, reinforce the composition, and provide a further layer of interest. I hope the viewer can enjoy the work as a whole from a distance and discover new delights when they come closer.
I began working with Procion MX dyes about 20 years ago, first dyeing cotton for my quilted wall hangings, then working with silk. I’ve taken many workshops to learn the basics and such specialized techniques such as screenprinting and discharge.
I dye silk scarves, napkin sets, and tea towels as well as cotton sateen for use in needle cases and other small works.
I generally start with a “blank”—a pre-hemmed white scarf. Sometimes there is one dye process, such as is the case with the tray-dyed scarf at the left. Sometimes there are two processes, as in the center scarf. This scarf was first dyed pale green, then folded and clamped with plexiglass circles and immersed in blue dye to get the darker green. The scarf on the right was dyed in shades of gold using an interfacing stencil. The circular motifs were later stenciled using an original Thermofax screen and orange thickened dye.
For me, the joy in surface design is working with color and a range of techniques. There seems to be an endless number of techniques to master, so the learning always continues.