New Work - Under the Flying Up Moon

Under the Flying Up Moon

I am happy to share my latest work, Under the Flying Moon. It's part of an ongoing series, preceded by Under the Thunder Moon, and Under the Pink Moon.

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 1

This quilt references a colloquial name for the full moon of August, when fledgling birds leave the nest and take to the blue skies. It serves as a metaphor for seasonal change, both in the yearly path of the earth around the sun, and in the stages of our lives as we experience them. I included vintage needlework as a homage to my aunts and grandmothers, whose farm chores left them little time for personal goals, yet they found a way to “keep their hands busy” and express themselves artistically. The patterns they chose often portrayed the flower gardens they meticulously maintained.

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 2

 This work continues my long fascination and with and practice of cyanotype printing on fabrics, using botanicals directly and printing from photographic negatives.

Materials: cotton and silk fabrics, vintage needlework panel

 Techniques: traditional and wet process cyanotype prints, patchwork, stitching

Size: 48"h x 33"w

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 3

The vintage embroidered panel I acquired long ago as a gift from a lovely friend who knew I collected these beauties. The side panels are cyanotype images from pictures I took on an early version of a digital camera, in 2008, of a magnificent catalpa tree in the Lancaster PA Central Park. The leaf prints are a selection of wet cyanotype prints from the past several year's experiments. Obviously I am a firm believer in having a wide and deep library of self-produced imagery to work with when inspiration strikes!

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 4

I am honored that Under the Flying Up Moon is one of two pieces selected for the SAQA Exhibit Connecting with Nature, which will be at the Strathmore Mansion in Rockville MD from June 20 to July 31, 2026. The other work selected is Under the Pink Moon, which is a wonderful companion piece.

Under the Pink Moon

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No Boundaries Acceptance

 I am pleased to announce that my quilt Flash Flood Warning has been accepted for the No Boundaries exhibition at the Virginia Quilt Museum.

Flash Flood Warning

This quilt is part of my ongoing series addressing the effect of climate change on weather events. A flash flood warning is issued when a flood is imminent or occurring, may necessitate fleeing and moving to higher ground, and can result in extensive damage and subsequent cleanup. I’ve witnessed several such events along the Susquehanna, beginning with Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

Flash Flood Warning - detail

Materials: wool, silk, and mylar fibers; wool, silk, and cotton fabric.

Techniques: wet process cyanotype prints, needlefelting, hand embroidery, stitching.

Size: 59h x 49w

Flash Flood Warning - detail

The exhibit runs from 3/31/26 to 6/27/26, with an opening reception on 4/4/26 from 3:00 to 5:00. I haven't been to the Museum since their move to the new facility and I am really looking forward to attending.

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New Work - Flash Flood Watch

 
I am happy to present my newest work, Flash Flood Watch.

Flash Flood Watch

Flash Flood Watch, detail 1

Alarmed by global climate change and frequent dramatic weather events, I’m working on a series of weather-related quilts. Summer storms are now events fraught with potential peril, with time spent taking refuge, checking unreliable weather reports, and watching the sound and the fury play out.

Flash Flood Watch, detail 2

Materials: Cotton, wool, and silk fabric; wool and mylar fibers, altered vintage textile.

Techniques: wet process cyanotype, needlefelting, monoprinting, hand embroidery.

Flash Flood Watch, detail 3

Size: 60"h x 48"w

Flash Flood Watch, detail 4

I am honored to share that Flash Flood Watch has been juried into OH+5, at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, OH, from January 16 - March 29.

From the website: The OH+5 exhibition celebrates the creative pulse of the Midwest and Appalachia through a dynamic survey of contemporary artwork by artists living in Ohio and its 5 bordering states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Now in its fifteenth iteration, this juried exhibition invites submissions across all media, offering a platform for both emerging and established artists to share work that reflects the diversity of thought, technique, and innovation in our region.

As we look to the future of regional artmaking, OH+5 aims to capture the spirit of experimentation and the relevance of place. This is an opportunity to showcase work that speaks to personal or collective experiences, questions tradition, and expands the conversation about what contemporary art can be – here and now.

Flash Flood Watch, detail 5

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Celebrating American Craft 2025 Acceptance

Greenhouse Effect

I am delighted to share that Greenhouse Effect has been juried into Celebrating American Craft 2025 at the Sarratt Gallery at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. This juried exhibition features the work of 34 craft based artists from across the USA. With clay, fiber, metal, wood or glass these works demonstrate the skills, voice and heart of contemporary craft art. The exhibit opens September 8th and runs until October 31st.

Greenhouse Effect, detail.

My statement for this work: Alarmed by global climate change and frequent dramatic weather events, I’ve been working on a series of weather-related quilts. The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat. This makes the Earth much warmer and contributes to extreme weather, wildfires, droughts, and agricultural disruptions. For this quilt I made prints of leaves from species native to my micro-environment in Pennsylvania, as many are showing stress related to these changes.

Materials: Artist painted and commercial cotton, silk, wool fabrics

Techniques: Wet process cyanotype and solar dye prints, monoprints, patchwork, stitching

Size: 62"h x 48"w

I am always particularly pleased when my work is included in a fine craft venue; to me it represents the best of contemporary art.

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SAQA Journal Gallery Acceptance

 I'm thrilled to be one of the 40 SAQA artists selected by juror Marcia Young for the 2025 SAQA Journal Gallery. This exhibition in print will be included in the SAQA Journal 2025 Issue #4. My Greenhouse Effect will be featured along with the extraordinary work of other textile artists worldwide.

Greenhouse Effect

I have been a member of SAQA - Studio Art Quilt Associates - for a long time, and a Juried Artist since 2009. I have reaped countless benefits, contributed where I could, and continue to be very grateful for this organization which has been instrumental in promoting the art quilt as a fine art medium.

Greenhouse Effect, detail

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Treasures of Our Local Watersheds Acceptance

 I am happy to announce that I've had two quilts, Flash Flood Warning and In Dreams I Drifted Away,  accepted for the SAQA Regional Exhibit Treasures of Our Local Watersheds.  

Flash Flood Warning

Local watersheds, especially the rivers of Pennsylvania, are a recurring motif in my work so I am especially pleased to be included in this themed show. It will premier at the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Eppig Gallery, located at 1103 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44116, August 20, 2025 through October 31, 2025.

In Dreams I Drifted Away

About Flash Flood Warning: The newest in an ongoing series addressing the effect of climate change on weather events. A flash flood warning is issued when a flood is imminent or occurring, may necessitate fleeing and moving to higher ground, and can result in extensive damage and subsequent cleanup. I’ve witnessed several such events along the Susquehanna, beginning with Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

Materials: wool, silk, and mylar fibers; wool, silk, and cotton fabric.

Techniques: wet process cyanotype prints, needlefelting, hand embroidery, stitching.

Size: 59h x 49w

About In Dreams I Drifted Away: The imagery of drifting away on the river represents a scenario that is always tempting me. To escape day to day realities and responsibilities, to float through a dreamscape into an indistinct calm void, is a mental escape valve in stressful times. But the alternative to abdicating one’s obligations is also possible—I can use the metaphor of the river to drift away from rigid dichotomies, to flow easily into a new existence, to form new connections, and to gather a tribe of progressive, like-minded thinkers. The only constant is change, and we are collectively responsible for making that change a positive one as we drift, or forge, ahead.

Materials: Wool, silk, and mylar fibers, silk and cotton fabric

Techniques: monoprints, needlefelting, hand embroidery, hand patchwork, couched threads, stitching.

Size: 60"h x 45"w

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New Work - Flash Flood Warning

  Today I am debuting a quilt I made specifically for my upcoming exhibit, The Enduring Beauty of the Susquehanna. Flash Flood Warning is the newest in an ongoing series addressing the effect of climate change on weather events. A flash flood warning is issued when a flood is imminent or occurring, may necessitate fleeing and moving to higher ground, and can result in extensive damage and subsequent cleanup. I’ve witnessed several such events along the Susquehanna, beginning with Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

 Flash Flood Warning

 The exhibit at the Philips Museum of Art, on the campus of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, will run through the spring semester, from January 21 to April 24, 2025.

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."

 Flash Flood Warning, detail 1

 Flash Flood Warning, detail 2

It features a needlefelted and extensively hand embroidered river panel, and wet cyanotype prints of two native Pennsylvania plants, snake root and Solomon's seal.

Flash Flood Warning, detail 3

It measures 59'h x 49'w.

Flash Flood Warning, detail 4

 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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Franklin and Marshall exhibit - In Dreams I Saw the Rift

  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.

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."

 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.)

Luminosity

 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.

In Dreams I Saw the Rift, detail 3

There's a lot that can be swept away in the current.

 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.

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.

 I'm now on Bluesky! Pick your platform to find and follow my content, and as always, thanks for reading.

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Franklin and Marshall exhibit - Ice Jam

Today the focus is on my artquilt Ice Jam.  It's part of my invitational exhibit at the Philips Museum of Art, on the campus of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. The Enduring Beauty of the Susquehanna River will run from January 21 to April 24, 2025.

Ice Jam

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."

Ice Jam, detail 1

This is a good season to be thinking about ice jams on the Susquehanna. They don't occur every year, but when they do, they are momentous both in visual appeal and potentially deleterious effects. The river is deep, windy, and has swift currents. Ice can form on the surface in a series of freeze/thaw cycles, then be broken up and swept downriver, where it gets caught up and swept up on the shoreline in big chunks. The worst cause scenario is flooding in the river towns like Marietta, PA.
 

Ice Jam, detail 2

Here's a few photos of one of the events that inspired this quilt.

The challenge with this one was to keep to the subdued, largely monochromatic palette, while also including the details of the surrounding landscape. I enjoyed making collagraph prints to use in the borders.

Ice Jam, detail 3

 Ice Jam, detail 4

It measures at 43"h x 52"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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Franklin and Marshall Exhibit - 52 Ways to Look at the River

 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.

52 Ways to Look at the River

The exhibit will showcase 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."

52 Way to Look at the River, detail 1

I'll be sharing these quilts here, over four posts, finishing with a new quilt I made specifically for the exhibit. Up first is my tour-de-force, 52 Ways to Look at the River. 

52 Way to Look at the River, detail 2

Beginning on the 2015 summer solstice and continuing uninterrupted for a year, each week I visited the Susquehanna River somewhere along its course and took pictures. Back in the studio, I chose an image and interpreted it in a 6” x 12” fiber art panel. The panels are on a wool/rayon felt base and are primarily needlefelted with wool and silk fiber, with some added applique, and were machine and hand stitched. I wrote about the process and illustrated it extensively here on my blog, click the "52 Ways" tab above to read more (in reverse chronological order).

 52 Way to Look at the River, detail 3

It took some schedule juggling, and braving some extreme weather, but I never missed a week. In the beginning my thought was to create a quick, impressionistic panel, but as the project progressed the panels became more and more detailed, and I greatly enjoying creating them.

 52 Way to Look at the River, detail 4

At the end of the 52 weeks, I began assembly of the panels. I handpainted fabric and quilted it to form a background. Each panel was appliqued onto black felt and then stitched on the quilt. I added hand beadwork with glass beads and semi-precious stones. The finished work measures 72”h x 82”w".

 52 Way to Look at the River, detail 5

Like a lot of my work, but especially with this one, the level of detail involves really invites a close, in person viewing. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to share 52 Ways to Look at the River with the Lancaster community and visitors to the area.

 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.

 I'm now on Bluesky! Pick your platform to find and follow my content, and as always, thanks for reading.

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