Beneath the spectacle of graceful athleticism, a pair of skaters share an intense connection and absolute trust.
The pairs skating events at the recent Milan Olympics mesmerized me with the breathtaking beauty of their intense connection, effortless grace, and absolute trust. This piece attempts to express the awe I felt watching the skaters move perfectly synchronously with speed, power and unspoken communication. I used intense colors to contrast the cool of the ice with the pure fiery energy of the athletes.
Hand-dyed cotton fabric, machine-pieced, needle-turn hand appliquéd, layered, and free-motion quilted.
The pieces in my series, “Conversation”, capture the fleeting dialog between clouds and waves at twilight, where reflected color and mirrored forms reveal a quiet exchange of light and motion. The rectilinear forms suggest a desire to capture the moment as it slips away toward night.
These art quilts are composed of hand-dyed white cotton fabric. I used arashi shibori dying techniques with fiber reactive dyes to achieve the rippled designs, sometimes over dying 2 or 3 times to apply several colors. Various sections are raw-edge appliqued in an overlapping pattern, layered with cotton batting and backing, and machine free-motion quilted.
Above: “Conversation I”, 45″x26″
Conversation II, 11″x14″Conversation III, 11″x14″Conversation IV, 11″x14″
Clarity. Hand dyed cotton, silk organza, ink wash, machine piecing, raw edge applique, cotton batting, free-motion machine quilting. 30″w x 48″h
A triptych emerged from my participation in an excellent class at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts called The Pursuit of Growth.
Growth, for me, is often inward — taking root in deeper layers of understanding. Clarity became my guiding aim for the semester, as I sought a sharper vision of my artistic path in this new chapter of retirement. And connection — strengthening bonds within this vibrant community of artists — proved to be both an unexpected gift and an ongoing source of inspiration.
Growth, clarity and connection are nuanced, layered, and sometimes fragile concepts – fitting subjects for fiber. I dyed cotton fabric with fiber-reactive dyes, using an ultra-low water technique to achieve fluid and organic textures. The foundation of each piece is comprised of a different classic quilt block, a nod to my origin as a quilter. I chose silk organza for its transparency and fray to represent the delicate nature of each idea. I added dimension with ink wash and quilted the layers using a free-motion thread drawing technique.
Growth, Clarity, Connection triptych on display at Ninth Wave Studio September 2025
Hand dyed cotton, silk organza, ink wash, machine piecing, raw edge applique, cotton batting, free-motion machine quilting. Each section measures 30″w x 48″h
This whole-cloth art quilt is made of hand-dyed cotton fabric, embroidered by hand with perle cotton thread. It reflects my sometimes dark, always shifting journey through the early months of the COVID pandemic in 2020-21.
Frank is my nephew and niece’s blue whippet. I did his portrait as their wedding gift. Based on a photograph taken by my niece, it is constucted of fused raw-edge applique in monochromatic kona cottons. Approximately 48″ x 48″
Frank, 2019Frank, detailFrank and namesake
Process
Inspiration photo. Credit: Kellie ZinnPosterized to 5 shades of grey, using photo editing software.Traced edges on freezer paper
I made this quilt for a dear friend who recently relocated to a small town in the Sierra foothills northwest of Sacramento. It’s approximately 12″ x 12″.
I started with a base of varied rectangular pieced of hand-dyed cotton. I fused sheer silk organza over three areas that would eventually represent the urban areas.
Ribbons become highways and river. Foothills are drawn in with Inktense pencils.
Roads, buildings and other features are next.
Place names are hand-embrodered onto sheer organza to be fused in place.
A final touch is the hand-embroidered compass rose is sewn onto the lower right.
This is the second self-portrait in s series. Like “Hope”, it is a study in values and was constructed in the same way, each block individually pieced before being sewn together as in traditional quilt construction.
This is a study in value. I pieced each of the 108 squares as infividual blocks before sewing them together, in the manner of traditional quilting. Hand-dyed cotton, machine peiced and quilted.
Thread Dance 