ABOUT MY ART
Stepping up to my design wall, with fabric in hand, is always an exciting prospect for me. My fabric art is created almost entirely by an intuitive process, supported by many years of training and experience. With particular attention to established design principles such as composition, color and values, textures and visual impact,
I build my designs fairly quickly and joyfully.
All of my creations are my original designs. I learned traditional methods of piecing by hand when I began this journey with fabric, but soon began to enjoy the design phase of fabric artistry.
My style has evolved over time utilizing extensive curved piecing, generally with warm colors from nature. The green, gold, rust and brown palette frequently makes its way to my design wall. Extensive machine quilting follows, much of it free-motion. Some hand stitching generally enhances my pieces as well. I feel that good design does not require elaborate embellishment; likewise, bad design cannot be remedied with embellishments.
My large collection of fabrics includes a great many hand-dyed pieces made by my own hand, and by other dyers. Much of it is altered by over-dying, discharging, painting and other surface design techniques. I also collect unique pieces from around the world including various African batiks, home decorator fabrics, and some commercial fabrics, including cottons, silks, wools, etc.--anything that strikes me as interesting.
Many years ago, I began to dye and paint fabrics for quilters, selling it at quilt shows and shops under the name of "Dyers' Delights". Now I produce pieces only for friends and for my own work.
I am a founding member of Mountain Art Quilters, a 50-member organization in the Northern California foothills. I show and sell my art mainly though the five-member group ARTful Women, Contemporary Fiber Artists (www.artful-women.blogspot.com).
BACKGROUND
I spent my first 19 years in southern Wisconsin before following my family to southern California. I attended the University of Wisconsin for a year, and then transferred to UCLA. Long standing illness prevented me from completing my education and developing a career. Marriage and the birth of two wonderful daughters filled my life, along with many artistic pursuits. Pottery came first, then quilting in 1979. I rapidly became hooked on color and fabric. In 2001, my retired husband, Jim, and I relocated to Grass Valley in Northern California, where we reside with our little dog, Riley. We are privileged to have three splendid granddaughters, as well as our daughters and their wonderful husbands.
MUSEUM AND GALLERY SHOWS
MAQ at Lucchesi, Grass Valley, CA, October-November, 2018
New Directions: 2018, Wilber May Museum, Reno, NV, July-September, 2018
Visions Art Museum, on line exhibition, It Matters to Me, April-June, 2018
7th Annual Nat'l Juried Exhibition, Marshall University School of Art, Huntington, WV, January-February, 2018
Visions Art Museum, on line exhibition, Just Say It, October 2017
Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College, Rhinelander, WI, September-October, 2017
Award of Excellence, with $1,000 prize for "Side By Side"
Strata, NorCal SAQA show, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA, June-August, 2017
On the Fringe, NorCal SAQA, Harrington Gallery, Pleasanton, CA, March-April, 2017
Strata, NorCal SAQA show, Reno Metro Museum, Reno, NV, September-November, 2016
Lasting Impressions: Art Quilts 2016, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA, August-September, 2016
On the Fringe, NorCal SAQA, Texas Quilt Museum, La Grange, TX, May-July, 2016
ARTful Women show, Wilbur B. May Museum, Reno, NV, May-July, 2016
A Shot of Fiber, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA, 2016
Small Works, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY, November-December, 2015
ARTful Women show at Arthouse, Sacramento, CA, November-December, 2015
Going Home, at the Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO, October-December, 2015
Strata, NorCal SAQA show, Harrington Gallery, Pleasanton, CA, October-November, 2015
Visions Art Museum, online exhibition, Moving Parts, October 2015
Olive Hyde Gallery, Fremont, CA, June-July, 2015
Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Navato, CA, May-July, 2015
ARTful Women show, 48 Natoma Gallery, Folsom, CA, January-March, 2015
ARTful Women show, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA, November-December, 2014
ARTful Women show, Main Street Gallery, Weaverville, CA, October 2014
ARTful Women show, Vacaville Art Gallery, Vacaville, CA, October-November, 2014
Contemporary Art Gallery Online, September, 2014
La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum, 2014 Int'l Juried and Judged Show, Quilt and Fiber Arts Festival,
La Conner, WA, October 2014
Crocker Museum Store, Sacramento, CA, ready-to-hang original pieces available for purchase
"Abstracts in Fiber and Paint", a two-person show at The Gallery at 48 Natoma, Folsom, CA,
January 24 to March 6, 2014
"Ellene Ashcraft Membership Medley", Blue Line Gallery, Roseville, CA, July 17, 2014 to August 16, 2014
ARTful Women show, Seven Voices in Fabric Art, Theatre Art Gallery, Danville, CA, March through April 2014
ARTful Women show, Shenandoah Winery, Plymouth, CA, September through January 2014
ARTful Women show, Grass Valley Wine Company, Grass Valley, CA, August 2013
"Layered and Stitched", SAQA Show at Blue Line Gallery, Roseville, CA, June 2013
Annual Textiles Exhibit, Olive Hyde Gallery, Fremont, CA, May 2013
"Fantastic Fibers 2013", Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY, April 2013
ARTful Women show, Main Street Gallery, Weaverville, CA, January 2012, 2014
ARTful Women show, Center for the Arts, Grass Valley, CA, 2012
SAQA Show, Cinema Place Gallery, Hayward, CA, 2011
Solo show at Nevada City Winery, Artist of the Month, August 2006
Textile/Fiber Arts Show, Arts Building Gallery, Auburn, CA, February 2006
Textile/Fiber Arts Show, Arts Building Gallery, Auburn, CA, February 2005
Quilts on the Wall: Fiber Artists, Cypress Community Center Gallery, Cypress, CA, June 2000
In addition to many years of teaching, my work has been shown in major quilt shows, and won numerous awards, including:
NorCal SAQA show, THAT'S a Quilt?!, with San Francisco Quilt Guild, San Francisco, CA, March, 2015
"Redirecting the Ordinary", SAQA challenge, IQF Houston, TX (2014), IQF Chicago, IL (2015), Quilt! Knit! Stitch!, Portland,
Oregon (2015), Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork, Alsace, France, (2015), Vicenza Festival, Vicenza, Italy, (2015),
Abilmente Autunno, Rome, Italy (2015), International Patchwork Festival in Sitges, Spain, March 2016, German Quilters
Guild AGM, Celle, Germany, June, 2016
"Sense of Scale" SAQA challenge, IQF Houston, TX (2011), IQF Long Beach, CA (2012), IQF Cincinnati, OH (2012)
QuiltFest Oasis, Palm Springs, CA
International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival IV, Williamsburg, VA
Road to California, Ontario, CA
National Quilting Association show, Riverside, CA
Pacific International Quilt Festival, Santa Clara, CA
American Quilters Society, Paducah, KY
PUBLICATIONS
Strata Catalog, NorCal SAQA, 2017
1000 Quilt Inspirations, Sandra Sider, 2015
Color Play, Joen Wolfrom, 2014 (revised edition)
The Ellene Ashcraft Membership Medley Catalog, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA, 2014
Redirecting the Ordinary, SAQA Catalog, 2014
A Sense of Scale, SAQA Catalog, 2012
The Quilter's Color Club, Christine Barnes, 2011
Quilts and Nature, Ilse Iverson and Inger Gilbert, Denmark, 2010
Color Play, Joen Wolfrom, 2000
Great American Quilts -- 1998, Oxmoor House, 1998
Patchwork Persuasion, Joen Wolfrom, 1997
An Amish Adventure, Roberta Horton, 1996
The Classic American Quilt Collection -- Amish, Rodale Press, 1996
America's Best Quilting Projects, Rodale Press, 1996
The Visual Dance, Joen Wolfrom, 1995
The Magical Effects of Color, Joen Wolfrom, 1992
Scrap Quilt Celebration, Rodale Press, 1992