My desire to sew began when I was young and wanted to make my own Barbie Doll clothes on the sewing machine. My mother said I had to wait until I had sewing in junior high, and I was frustrated because I did not want to wait. I continued to hand sew and finally, at the age of thirteen, was able to use a sewing machine. I have not stopped since. I sewed most of my clothes through high school and college.

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie WI with a degree in Clothing, Textiles and Design. I took a Fiber Arts class while in college and was first exposed to quilting. I never finished that quilt, but my love of quilts grew. I have made lots of quilts but became bored with the traditional process in 2003 and quit because nothing inspired me. I got my groove back when I realized I could combine my love of illustration and fashion design, the history of fashion, and my hairdressing profession and make contemporary quilts of my own designs.

I favor portraits of women because of my interest in hair design and love of cosmetics. I challenge myself to make the images as realistic as possible using fabric and thread. I found embellishing my quilts went right along with adorning the fashion and hair in my quilts.

I have lived forever in Appleton, WI, and raised my daughter Jordana on my own while working full time as a hairdresser. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in History from St. Norbert College. She felt a passion to go to culinary school and did so after college. She is currently a sous chef at an upscale restaurant in Green Bay, WI. In 2007, I moved with my three cats to Menominee, MI, to be with my significant other Ken. Ken is also an artist and is inspirational and supportive of my quilting passion. I continue to work as a hairdresser but have more time in my studio to pursue my love for quilting. I find my hairdressing career lends itself to inspirations for my portrait quilts. Whenever weather permits, I enjoy gardening and creating garden art.

I create art quilts because it is rewarding to combine my love of figure drawing and my love of colorful scrap quilts. I am a hairdresser and the photos of hairstyles have inspired me to design quilted wall hangings with portraits of women. I put the greatest emphasis on the hair whether spiky, wavy or curly. I overlay different prints to duplicate the highlights and lowlights in the hair plus some embellishing such as yarns and beads to accentuate details. Next in importance is the shading of the face to create contours and highlights. I achieve this by looking at the facial features in value first then color to develop dimension. I find batiks works the best for the face because of the beautiful gradation of colors.

Some of the women in my quilts are influenced by my favorite decades for pop culture and fashions-the 1960s and 1970s. Others are created by a fun trendy hairstyle or a certain pose in the hair magazine. I enjoy creating images that are as realistic as possible. I begin by drawing my design on paper then I enlarge the paper with a grid design. I figure out the color scheme, and then I draw the separate pattern pieces on fusible webbing. I prefer a pieced background because it is more interesting than a solid piece and I can use more fabrics!   I fuse, then cut out all but the small pattern pieces. I begin to layer and overlap the fused pieces, then I fuse everything together. I sew the pieces to the pieced background before I prepare the batting/backing to secure them.

I like to use several borders used like a mat with a picture frame. I often run the appliqué pieces beyond the border “frames” similar to drawing outside the lines. I enjoy embellishing my quilts. Women wear jewelry and quilts are embellished. I enjoy this part of the process because I draw attention to a particular part of the quilt by having something shiny or fuzzy catch the viewers eye. Embellishing also creates texture and a three dimensional look. I do not over plan my quilts because there is always room for change in the creative process.

2009
Treasures of Tomorrow Quilt Show, Marshfield, WI, "Violetta", Pictorial Wall Hanging Category, 3rd Place.

American Quilt Society Quilt Expo, Des Moines, IA, "BIBA 1", juried in Pictorial Wall Hanging Category.

Michigan Quilt Network, "Show Your Colors" Quilt Show, Lansing, MI. “The Blue Wig” in Color Challenge Category. 1st Place.

Wisconsin Quilt Expo, Madison, WI, "BIBA 1', juried in Pictorial Wall Hanging Category.

World Quilt Show-New England, Manchester, NH, “Purple Rain”, juried in Pictorial Quilt Category.

Minnesota Quilt Show, Duluth, MN, “Purple Rain”, juried in Pictorial Quilt Category.

Quilt Arts Magazine, April/May, 2009 Issue, “Quilts That Rock” Challenge, “Tina Turner”

2008
Northern Exposure Exhibit, Bonifas Art Center, Escanaba, MI, “Purple Rain”, juried into Gallery Exhibit.

Piece, Love and Quilts! Challenge, Benartex Fabrics, New York, NY, “Peace, Love and Flowers”, placed 1st in Best Original Design.

2007
Keepsake Quilting, Center Harbor, NH, Black, White and Red Challenge, “The Woman With Red Lips”, won 2nd Place.

2006
Children of Haiti Exhibit, Bergstrom Mahler Museum, Neenah, WI, this untitled piece was used for museum postcard for marketing/advertising.

Quilt Groups and Affiliations

Studio Art Quilt Association
American Quilters Society
International Quilt Association
Michigan Quilt Network
Northwood’s Quilters

Education

IBA College of Cosmetology. Appleton WI
University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie WI. Bachelor of Science Degree in Clothing, Textiles and Design.