Category: fused

TEXTILES_00076_WaterLife II_2026

RG-8_TEXTILES_00076
WaterLife II
PIECED Series
pieced
18″ square
Abstract design; mosaics; commercial fabrics
2026
QUILTS, WaterLife Series, 2026, pieced, blues, greens, purples, turquoise

Artist Statement

Water. Life giving. Constantly moving. Ebbing and flowing. Captivating. Immersive. With this series, I desired to paint with mosaic cuts of fabrics. The quilts use many fabrics used to ebb and flow throughout an immersive canvas. For instance, Water Life I uses 35 different fabrics – some commercial, some I’ve digitally created myself. The lighter blues in the quilt represent the ebb while the darker blues represents the flow of the deep waters. The center area of the quilt denotes the flurry of activity from a uniform school of water life that travel in unison through the depths of the see.

Process

Fabrics. There were many fabrics chosen for the Water Life series. Mainly cottons of different weights – from lightweight to heavier weight canvas. The fabrics are commercial screen-painted and printed; as well as dyed solid color Kona and mottled fabrics.

Colors.  Sections are made to look like one color from a distance, up close there are many colors making up that area of the quilt. The colors in WaterLife II are bolder and more dramatic. The intent is to show schools of chaotic frenzy in the depths of the mesmerizing sea.

Fusing. The quilt was created on a substrate muslin backing fabric with the handcut mosaic squares and rectangles are fused down onto the backing fabric. The handcut pieces create an irregularity and perfect imperfectness to represent the movement in the deep sea.

Backing the quilt. The quilt is then sewn as a whole cloth onto a muslin backing. Traditional quilt batting was not used to keep the quilt sandwich as thin and tapestry-like as possible. The hand of the quilt is sinewy like water.

Quilting. Stitching was done to enforce movement. Thread colors in the turquoise was chosen for an eye-catching, dramatic effect which differs slightly from the more tranquil WaterLife I. Repeated wavy patterns with cotton threads with stitches of varying lengths were used.

Orientation. The quilt is meant to be oriented horizontally or vertically. This flexibility in viewing is present in most of my quilt designs as it allows the viewer control over the experience.

Stretched on Canvas. It was decided early on to present this quilt in a standard picture size that could be stretched on an 18″ square canvas.

Details

TEXTILES_00068_Nature’s Abound_2022

Nature’s Abound
MOSAICS Series
26″-w x 34″-h
Abstract design; mosaics
2022
QUILTS, 2023, mosaics, various colors, patterns

Artist Statement:

This mosaic quilt is representative of the vibrancy, evolution and activity in nature throughout the seasons.

Process

This quilt uses 27 different pieces of fabric – commercial cottons, raw silks, and my own digital fabric. Pieces are cut leaving raw edges and then carefully positioned on a whole piece of interfacing to form the mosaic top. The quilt sandwich is the mosaic top, organic acrylic felt and backing cotton fabric. The sandwich is sewn together using cotton thread and then binded with mitered corners.

Details

TEXTILES_00067_Seasons_2022

Seasons
MOSAICS Series
26″-w x 34″-h
Abstract design; mosaics
2023
QUILTS, 2022, mosaics, various colors, patterns

Artist Statement

Inspired by Like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Through abstract representation, this quilt explores the spirit of each season from an emotional level, from bottom to top and back around.

  • Winter (cold hibernation)
  • Fall (a bit of time for grounding)
  • Spring (head in the clouds)
  • Summer (warm, connected to Mother Earth)
  • Spring (head in the clouds)
  • Fall (a bit of time for grounding)
  • Winter (cold hibernation)

Process

This quilt uses 20 different pieces of fabric – commercial cottons, raw silks, upholstery and my own hand-dyed and digital fabric. Pieces are cut leaving raw edges and then carefully positioned on a whole piece of interfacing to form the mosaic top. The quilt sandwich is the mosaic top, organic acrylic felt and backing cotton fabric. The sandwich is sewn together using cotton thread and then binded with mitered corners.

TEXTILES_00056_Rise Up!_2020

Rise Up!
FUSED Series
fused, whole cloth
16-1/2″w x 27-3/4″h
2020
QUILTS, 2020, fused, whole cloth, red, orange, black, white
 

Artist Statement:

When you look at a flower head on, the leaves flow out from the center. But if you look the flower from the bottom then the leaves flow out and up from the center. Thus the name Rise Up!. This quilt is hand-painted with Derwent dye blocks and drawn on with fabric-marked Kona cottons. Making this soulful floral quilt was always in the plan. Unlike other quilters, I’ve waited a long time to do florals; always waiting for that unique way of looking at a subject that so many have looked at and covered. Rise Up! is appropriate for these times as we seek new looks, new perspectives to disappointingly familiar scenarios. Constantly creating, praying and rising up to elevate myself and the world around me.

Details

TEXTILES_00064d_Leveling Up_2022

Leveling Up
MOSAICS Series
fused
16-1/2″w x 27-3/4″h
Fused commercial cottons
2022
QUILTS, Tales from the Innervision, 2022, fused, yellow, orange, brown
 

Statement:
The 4th work in the Tales from the Innervision quilt series, Leveling Up represents the ascension in one’s personal life. Leveling up is the elevation to reach the next chapter, next stage, next phase, next plateau in one’s existence. This is a personal exercise for each human being and means something different to each one.

View the Tales from the Innervision series statement.

TEXTILES_00064c_Crossing Roads_2022

Crossing Roads
MOSAICS Series
fused
15″w x 30-3/4″h (each piece)
Fused commercial cottons
2022
QUILTS, Tales from the Innervision, 2022, fused, yellow, orange, brown
 

Statement:
The 3rd work in the Tales from the Innervision quilt series, Crossing Roads is the personal discovery of the terrain of life. Like traveling over different terrains, life’s journey consists of crossing many roads that are full of turns, ups, downs, stops, starts, rough patches and smooth ones.

View the Tales from the Innervision series statement.

TEXTILES_00064b_Seeing My Way Out of Blue_2021

Seeing My Way Out of Blue
MOSAICS Series
fused
16-1/4″w x 20″h
Fused commercial cottons
2021
QUILTS, Tales from the Innervision, 2021, fused, yellow, gold, blue
 

Statement:
The 2nd work in the Tales from the Innervision quilt series, Seeing My Way Out of Blue represents the eventual transformation of a human being out of the muck and mire of life’s visceral levels into a deeper, psychic realm of existence.

View the Tales from the Innervision series statement.

TEXTILES_00064a_Searching for Inner Code_2021

Searching for Inner Code
MOSAICS Series
fused
13-3/4″w x 20-1/4″h (each piece)
Fused commercial cottons
2021
QUILTS, Tales from the Innervision, 2021, fused, brown, black
 

Statement:
The first work in the Tales from the Innervision quilt series, Searching for Inner Code represents the inner work that every person goes through to discover their own “code”.

View the Tales from the Innervision series statement.