Glimpse of the Grotto

Grotto -detail

GLIMPSE OF THE GROTTO

58” x 65”

 Snorkeling at Sting Ray City off Grand Cayman Island provided the inspiration for this piece.  The underwater scenes are beautiful but fleeting and change dramatically as the sun travels through the water.  Glimpse of the Grotto gives a sparkling glimpse into a dark underwater grotto as the sun pours through water, ferns, and seaweed, magically illuminating the brilliant colors hidden there---for just a moment in time, as it passes through.

Hand dyed fabric was used for the background and various commercial and hand dyed fabrics were used for the freely cut ferns and underwater shapes. Techniques used were an organza overlay, couching, and painted and stamped bubbles.  The quilt was finished by free motion quilting with rayon threads and embellishment with various yarns.

Hot Spots

Cyber Connection

Cyber Connection -Detail

Cyber Connection

87"x87.5"

Cyber Connection portrays a huge computer chip floating in space making all of those “connections” that allow us to communicate on the internet and through email.  The stitching and embroidery is done to give the look of a circuit board within the “chip” and the blue sky/space areas are quilted by the “connections” between these chips and the phone lines.  This is very much a quilt for the new millennium depicting all of the new technology that is affecting out lives.

 Techniques:  Improvisational piecing, and a great deal of free motion quilting and fancy embroidery to create a circuit board look, along with “connections” by using sating stitching and fancy stitching to create this illusion.  This quilt is also interesting viewed from the back because all of the stitches show up well against the plain black backing.

Shattered

Shattered - detail

SHATTERED

 80" X 80"

This quilt is part of Quilt National 99 
and currently on tour.

Improvisational techniques and curved piecing have inspired my creativity and encouraged further experimentation with my own designs.  A result of this experimentation is a quilt with a powerful electric center that emits charged black lines seeking to ignite combustible colors.  Contact creates the illusion of a multicolored fabric explosion, as if tiny pieces of fabric are being ripped from the quilt, propelled toward the dark edges and blown onto the floor.

Autumn in New York - Full View

Autumn in New York - Detail View

Autumn in New York

42.5 "x 51"

Autumn in New York!  Picture yourself walking on a brisk November day, early snow crunching in rhythm under your footsteps where the sidewalk used to be.  Leaves brilliantly scattered and tangled in their own natural patterns.  The wind, crackle of the leaves, crunch of the snow, and smell of the dried leaves combine with your frosty breath in the air to create the feel of autumn.

Spring Blossoms

detail

SPRING BLOSSOMS

60.5" x 88.5" 

Spring Blossoms is my attempt to recreate a larger-than-life arrangement of flowers in a pewter pot with the first blossoms of Spring. I made the quilt specifically for my sunroom which has jade tile, hot pink and mauve accents, sky lights and lots of windows and plants.  It takes up a whole wall as you enter the hallway.

There are many techniques used on this one.  Hand dyeing, hand painting, and discharging of all the fabrics, appliqué of the flowers, and lots of free motion quilting and embroidery.  I created 3D leaves in many places and the pewter pot incorporates the use of foil as well as lots of stitching.  My embroidery on the flowers, stems, and leaves was done using a free motion zigzag stitch. I did all of the quilting and embroidery through all 3 layers on the full size quilt. (something I have not done again because it’s too unwieldy!) The free motion stitching is done in patterns echoing the branches, leaves and flowers.

This quilt was voted Viewer’s Choice at the Perinton Quilt Show in 1999.