I came to art quilts in a roundabout way.  In elementary school I was just “satisfactory” in art classes, and in high school I didn’t have time for art classes – I was way too busy with academics and music.  Music was my artistic outlet, and I even took my freshman year at the University of Michigan School of Music before deciding that, while music might be my thing, music education definitely wasn’t.  So I transferred over to major in English and  then went on to law school (also UM) and to practicing law for longer than I care to think about.

But at the same time I was always doing something with fabric and yarn.  I learned to sew in junior high, and I learned to knit and cross stitch from my mother, and I learned to do crewel embroidery and needlepoint from books.  I loved the the colors and the textures, and I loved making things with my hands.

I also loved quilts – my mother had half a dozen or so dating from the 1930’s – but I didn’t have the time or opportunity to learn to quilt until the fall of 2000.  I took a hand piecing class and then a hand applique class at the local community center, and then discovered the local quilt shop and the local quilt guild, where I took more classes in traditional techniques and made more traditional quilts.

But with traditional quilting, I never quite felt that I was making my own quilt.  After a few timid attempts at art quilt techniques, I finally encountered Pamela Allen at Fabrications Retreat 2006.  That workshop with Pamela truly introduced me to art quilting and convinced me that this is the kind of work I want to pursue.

Since then I’ve attended workshops with Laura Cater-Woods, Fran Skiles, Cherilyn Martin and Els Van Baarle, and Laura Wasilewski. I’ve now exhibited at a number of shows across the country, and even tried my hand at teaching a few times. I’m a member of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Running With Scissors here in Michigan and Art Quilters Unlimited in Florida.

I love working with fabric, thread, texture and color, and I make art quilts now because in the freedom of discovery, I am making my own quilt anew, in each and every piece.