City FolkHandwork

About the Artist

My love of art a= nd of creating things began as early as I can remember. In kindergarten other kids would a= sk me to draw pictures of bunny rabbits for them, I guess I= was good at that. I started takin= g art lessons in the second grade from a college student who lived up the street = from me in my home town of Corning, New York. About the same time I started experimenting with my mother’s old Kenmore sewing machine and began to make doll clothes and other small treasures.

We= had an exceptional art program in our public school system and I had exposure to many different = art media and I loved them all. I adopted different skills and ideas from each of these classes. For example, in eighth grade I took a cl= ass in Japanese sumi painting. I liked the idea that all sumi artists sign their names using the same orange-r= ed colored ink. Today I sign my = work using a similar color.

I = knew that I wanted to be an artist but was advised by my guidance counselor that this was a bad choice. She sa= id that I should become a nurse so that I would have job security and a steady income. I took the advice of = the all-knowing adults and became a nurse.&nbs= p; Our nursing theory discussions often centered around the question “is nursing an art or science?”. For me it was a happy mix because = I have a natural curiosity that fosters a love of science and I was able to use my a= rtistic abilities to creatively solve problems in the clinical setting. I stuck with nursing long enough to complete a Master’s Degree, become a research fellow for the American Cancer Society and have a few articles published.

As= a quilt artist I am primarily self-taught but I did take some quilting lessons from a nearby Amish quilter and studied the Amish style of using color & geometric designs. I find Ami= sh quilts to be amazingly sophisticated in their simplicity. I was taught that “blue is blue” to an Amish quilter meaning that any color of bl= ue, regardless of tone, is used where a blue piece of fabric is called for in a quilt without concern that it isn’t the same color of blue to the res= t of the blue pieces in the quilt. This provides so much interest to a piece in my opinion This stands contrast to the overly-matched solids & prints, that in my opinion, spoil many modern q= uilt styles. This color tech= nique was difficult for me to adopt as it often meant choosing colors that I thou= ght were unattractive or clashed with neighboring colors. Learning to use what the Amish call “sparkle colors” opened my eyes to a new perspective on choosing and using col= or in my work. Sparkle colors are clear, pale pastel colors that are only a few shades off white. Colors that I = would never have chosen because they reminded me of Easter eggs. But when these colors are sparingly & skillfully incorporated into a quilt they add a great deal of life. They are in fact called sparkle co= lors because if you view a quilt containing them by candle light the colors appe= ar bright and seem to sparkle.

I = also began taking pottery classes from Markels Lorini at t= he Diving cat Studio, another artist whose work I admire. Here I learned more about de= sign, constructing an idea in 3 dimensions and advanced my understanding of the u= se of color. My ideas and inspir= ations for quilting quickly spilled-over into making pottery. People began expressing an interes= t in purchasing my work and an artist was born.

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Why City Folk?

City folk is a name that describes my approach to life. “City” beca= use I am a born explorer who loves exotic travel outside the USA and who frequently makes expeditions into near-by Philadelphia & New York City= . “Folk= 221; because, in my mind I have created my own little fantasy world. I imagine a place out in the count= ry where everything is peaceful, beautiful, and made by hand. Through my artistic endeavors I as= pire to bring that place into reality.

Inspiration

Wh= ile digging through a messy pile of bargain books at a local book store I found= a book called The Passionate Quilter by Michele Walker. I happily paid $2.95 for my treasu= re and discovered the inspiration that I needed to pursue my dream to become an artist. The book featured a q= uilter named Janet Bolton who made quilts that were tiny little pictures. It was this technique of creating = an illustration using fabric that was a perfect combination of skills to suit me.=

Design Process

&n= bsp; I need to be busy and have always felt that the best use of my time is creati= ng something. I am a student of observation and enjoy interpreting what I see in my everyday world into something beautiful and hand made. Somehow things I see are often translated into little stories that m= ake great subject matter for little quilts.

My husband , our two daughters and I enjoy a peaceful life in the count= ryside of Chester County Pennsylvania. As a result, farm animals and country life are favorite subjects and recurring themes in my quilts.

I have a great adoration for early quilts and will often interpret design elements from Ci= vil War era = and slave made quilts in my own work. &nb= sp; One of my favorite quilts “Lilith = Plays Devil’s Advocate” and a series of Garden of Eden quilts were inspired by a story about red heads that I heard on National Public Radio.<= /p>

When creating= my picture quilts I am minimally concerned with straight lines and precise measurements. It is these asp= ects of traditional quilting techniques and styles that I find too confining. I choose to focus completely on the visual impact of the finished project which I believe gives my work a folk = art appeal.

My butterfly brooches were inspired by the beautiful insects that visit my garden. I enjoyed the challenge of develop= ing a construction technique that allows me to bring my inspiration to life. Now I can wear these beautiful cre= atures as a personal adornment. Ironically, I have an irrational fear of insects and could never all= ow a living butterfly to crawl on me!

My quilts are constructed of cotton fabrics with cotton batting and backing. The pictures are hand appliqu&eacu= te;d and hand quilted. I sometimes embellish my quilts with vintage buttons & beads. My quilts are usually sold mounted in a simple frame using archival techniques. Quilts can also be purchased mount= ed on acid-free foam core and without a frame.

My butterflies are constructed totally by hand. I carve the bodies, assemble the w= ings and hand paint each piece. I = use 23k gold leaf and Swarovski crystal rhinestones= to add a jewel-like quality to the pieces.

I am frequently asked to create custom pieces and am happy to do so. I prefer to work on these pieces a= fter being given a request for a particular design element or color, a grey horse for example, as a starting point.

Butterflies can be created to realistically match a certain species or to coordinate wi= th the wearer’s outfit for a special occasion.