I am honored to announce that I will have an invitational exhibit at the Philips Museum of Art, on the campus of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, for the spring semester. The exhibit, The Enduring Beauty of the Susquehanna River, will run from January 21 to April 24, 2025.
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| In Dreams I Saw the Rift |
The exhibit will feature 4 of my large-scale quilts I've made over time as my response to living near the river. From my statement: "A major source of inspiration for my work, bordering on obsession, is the Susquehanna River. I grew up in a house on a hill overlooking the river and took its presence for granted. When I moved to Lancaster to attend Franklin and Marshall I began to explore the river hills in earnest, hiking the trails and learning about all the best overlooks. My enthusiasm was deepened during the decades I spent living near the Northeast Lancaster County River Trail and exploring it on my bike. I’ve enjoyed learning about the important historical impact of the river on the region. Most of all, I’ve come to appreciate how incredibly beautiful, and everchanging in its aspects, the Susquehanna is. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to spend time interpreting my impressions using the art quilt medium."
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| In Dreams I Saw the Rift, detail 1 |
Today I am highlighting In Dreams I Saw the Rift. The different panels combine several of my current fiberart obsessions, with cyanotype prints of bamboo and ferns, a needlefelted and heavily embellished river panel, and hand stitched hexagons. I began working with the hexagons, which are a very traditional motif in quiltmaking, after first utilizing them to make the golden mirror in my James Webb Space Telescope quilt, Luminosity. (If you are new here, I invite you to visit Luminosity on my site and read about my amazing in-person experience with the telescope under construction.)
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| Luminosity |
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| In Dreams I Saw the Rift, detail 2 |
At the time I was working on the design and construction of this quilt, I was immersed in the perception that much of what I took for granted in the world was potentially being reshaped and reformed.
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| In Dreams I Saw the Rift, detail 3 |
There's a lot that can be swept away in the current.
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| In Dreams I Saw the Rift, detail 4 |
However, I am congenitally unable to make a somber artwork, so this one is also brimming with color and a sort of guarded optimism. As always, I leave it to the viewer to draw what conclusions they will while viewing my work, and also as always, it really is best enjoyed in person. I hope some you of you are able to visit the Phillips Museum during the exhibit.
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| In Dreams I Saw the Rift, detail 5 |
This work measures 66"h x 59"w.
About the Susquehanna: Archaeology of the Lower Susquehanna River reveals that American Indians had utilized its resources for thousands of years. Around 1550 AD, the people we know as the Susquehannock moved from higher up the river to the Lower Susquehanna Valley. The Susquehannock were Iroquoian speakers and shared many similarities with the Iroquois in New York. Learn more here.
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