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I attended college at
Morehead State University and Graduate School at Eastern Kentucky University. I am certified in TMH and Learning and Behavior Disorders K-12 and elementary education 1-8. I taught special needs children for fourteen years and am currently retired. My quilt journey began in 2000, with hand quilting. I am a self taught artist. Art has always been an important aspect of my life, even from an early age I loved to draw and write poetry. That early spark has continued to flame my love for all aspects of art. Although, I have worked in pen and ink, oil and water color, and graphite portraits, my work in fabric has elevated my work to a higher level. Still all art needs not only the creator, but also someone to experience it. My current artistic endeavors have taken me on a journey of discovery through fabrics and quilting. I use many design and construction methods in my quilting, but all are constructed of at least three layers. Then they are thread painted, beaded and quilted. Each piece starts with a small idea that ignites my creativity, such as a social issue, or a biblical passage, or maybe a memory. Next I do research on the subject and sketch some general ideas. My favorite part is laying out all the fabrics and trying to choose just the right ones. I often use the computer to see how a fabric would look in my design. I never give up on my ideas, but some quilt pieces may smolder on my design wall for up to a year before I find just the right fabric to flame it to fruition. I use spontaneity and happy accidents in the majority of my pieces. I work intuitively trying to incorporate color, line and texture in my pieces. I use a lot of unusual fabric, such as upholstery scraps, mesh fabrics, dryer sheets and my own hand dyed, rust dyed or painted material. Even small scraps are stashed away for later use. When working with colorful scraps my studio space is often filled with a creative disarray of enthusiasm. I like to try to create fluidity in my pieces and incorporate dimension with trapunto and free flowing objects. My current work is intermingled with my love for Haiku and poetry. Many pieces are a visual interpretation of my one of my poems. Mixed media and found objects are also finding their place in my artwork. This is only the start of my artistic journey as I continue to experiment with new sewing and fiber techniques. |
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"To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan
but also believe" French novelist Anatole France |