Sun Temple, 2009
56" x 50"
Inspired by travels in the Southwestern United States (New Mexico and Arizona). The colours represent the dramatic rock formations and the turquoise jewellrey I love so much. Many of the ruins of ancient peoples contain a sun temple.
Free-hand curved piecing, fusible applique. All hand-dyes by artist. Free-motion machine quilted..
Solstice, 2008
43" x 55"
$3,700
Juried into 2008 World Quilt Competition. 2008.
Juried in the the Canadian Quilters Association National Juried Show, 2008
This quilt was made in honour of the Winter Solstice. Because of the earth's tilt during the latter days of December (usually around the 21 - 23) our hemisphere is leaning furthest from the sun and therefore daylight is shortest. The Solstice marks the return of the sun and the lengthening of the days. Many ancient cultures world-wide marked this event, which was later taken over by Christianity (the coming of the Son rather than the Sun). I wanted this piece to feel like a burst of light in the night. The materialism and hype of Christmas can leave one feeling jaded and sad, and I think it is gratifying to honour a natural event and find meaning in it as ancient peoples did.
This entire quilt was cut and pieced free-form. Strips were cut without a ruler, strip pieced, and then wedges were cut and sewn together to form the radial design. The radial "burst of light" was then machine-appliqued to a dark-blue background. All fabrics hand-dyed by artist. Free-motion machine quilted by artist.
Drift, 2008
29" x 48"
$1,700
Juried into "O Canada", a special juried exhibition of Canadian quilts, International Quilt Festival Chicago, Long Beach, and Houston, 2009.
Winter 2008 was a harsh one in many parts of North America. In Ottawa, the snow drifts were so high that my snowblower couldn't blow the snow that high anymore. I felt I needed to make a quilt to commemorate a memorable winter. I had always intended to make a winter quiltt where I could showcase the free-motion snowflake that I designed. I began cutting the curves (or drifts) free-hand with a fabric that inspired me. I also wanted to try my Fast & Fun Fused Designs technique with snowflakes. Each snowflake started with a circle cut from fused fabric using a wave blade. From there, all the cuts were made free-hand using a scissors. Snowflake smotifs were bobbin couched with a thick shiny thread, with a regular weight thread used in the background. All fabrics hand-dyed by artist.
Moon Time, 2008
22" x 40"
$1,350
Moons, trees and women share seasons and cycles in common. Like the moon, women have a monthly cycle. "Moon Time" is an aboriginal (Ojibway) expression that refers to a woman's menstrual cycle, and the female energy known as "Grandmother Moon"is said to govern a woman's cycle.
This quilt started with a gnarled fantasy tree that I sketched, then traced onto fabric and painted using thickened dyes. The tree was cut out and fused on top of a dramatic piece of hand-dyed fabric. I added a moon and then was stumped for a while until I heard the expression "Moon Time". This is when I decided that the quilt needed the specter of a woman's face. I used a close-up photograph of my profile as my guide for creating the face, which is stitched with an opalescent thread.
Moon Over Naikoon, 2006
30-1/2" x 22"
Not for Sale
Juried into The Grand National: Fantasy, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, 2007. This quilt was also featured on the front cover of the Gallery's promotional brochure for Summer 2007.
Inspired by a visit to Naikoon Provincial Park on a trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands, a magical series of islands off the northwest coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is named after a little gem of a cafe situated down the road from the cabin we stayed in. Just beyond the reach of electricity, all cooking and baking is done using propane.The quilt represents many of my impressions of Queen Charlotte: the wild winds and waves, and the tall skinny sitka spruce trees with their bare and broken branches. I put a little bit of a Haida feel into the moon because of the rich Haida culture and history on the islands.
A sketch was prepared of the basic design, and the pieces making up the design were cut free-hand from hand-dyed fabrics (by artist). A pattern was prepared from a sketch for the face on the moon. Fusible applique, Prismacolour artist pencils, free-motion machine quilted by artist.
Aurora Moon, 2004
30" x 38"
$1,100
Humans have long been fascinated by the aurora borealis (northern lights). As a small child I used to see them on cold winter nights because I lived in the country where no artificial lights competed with them. This is my rendering of the aurora, using left-over strips of my hand-dyed fabrics.
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Moonscape, 2005
19-1/2" x 21-1/2"
$350
Free-form curved piecing, fusible applique, free-motion machine quilted. A dramatic combination of opposite colours.
Greet the Dawn 2005
18" x 45"
$750
Free-form curved pieced, fusible applique, free-moton machine quilted and hand-beaded.