My artwork is currently grounded in the textile arts, focused on quilt making and fabric dyeing.  I am trained as a painter and I have always been interested in pattern and color and how these elements can evoke emotional and political responses. A few years ago, I encountered modern quilting and loved the idea of making a “utilitarian painting.” I learned to quilt and accidentally discovered improvisational quilting, an intuitive, spontaneous process I call "dancing with the wall.” The technique opened up a new-found creativity for me. This work is entirely intuitive and visceral.  

 

I begin by placing a scrap of fabric in the center of my design wall and then grow the quilt one element at a time, responding to each “step” until it feels balanced, interesting and joyful. When I begin, I do not know  what is going to happen but create through trial and error, literally dancing between the wall, the cutting mat, the sewing machine and the iron. Through this act of making, I have learned to embrace the joy of creative intuition, spontaneous expression, and a blind trust in process.

​

My book, "Improv Quilting" gives you step-by-step instructions on how to "Dance with the Wall."