Abstract Quilts — The original inspiration for my abstract quilts came from the work of Deirdre Amsden, a quilter in England, who sews what she calls colorwash quilts. The almost seamless transition from one fabric to another to create an overall wash of color in her approach intrigued me. As a painter, I would never be happy following a pattern and therefore had never thought to sew a quilt. I began by making one small blanket, and let that lead to another and the next until the combination of fabric squares and their color was as interesting to me as making a painting or a print. Finally my small blankets gave way to larger quilts.

It is hard to think about these quilts without thinking about the process of creating them. They evolve organically, through trial and error, revision, reworking, rather than a pre-set pattern. In that way they are closer to paintings than what I think of as traditional quilts. I hand-cut and place each square, checking that it fits in with every adjoining piece, looking at color, value and pattern texture. I place and re-place squares, often re-working a particular section a dozen times or more, slowly bringing the whole together. The result I am looking for is a painterly wash with an overall feeling of movement and energy. When all the squares are set, I sew them together and quilt the layers by hand.

The greatest challenge of these large pieces (approx. 5 x 6 feet) has been composition. The images are abstract, but representing a connection between the physical world and a greater spiritual existence. Our lives are fleeting, but the world is a beautiful place, and I am grateful to have my place in it.