History

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I grew up learning needle arts from the older women in my family.  I watched and learned early to embroider, knit, and sew garments.  Hand-made quilts were on our beds at home, and the pillowcases were decorated with stitched flowers.  Literature, reading and storytelling also surrounded me.  In retrospect, it seems inevitable that I would combine thread and stories to create my embroideries yet that realization unfolded gradually .  

 

I spent my working career as a teacher and a librarian, graduating with advanced degrees in both fields from UNC-Chapel Hill.  It was while working as a librarian that I had the chance to study many art books.  Some dealt with technique, some showed an individual artist's unique vision, some offered a gallery-like experience.  All of them stirred a response from me so that I came to know what I did and did not like, and that shaped my vision about how I wanted to express myself artistically.  As my stitch technique evolved, that vision became clearer.  The result is the work you see today.  

 

I was juried into the Southern Highland Craft Guild in 2008.  My work can be seen at the Folk Art Center and at the Guild Crafts Shop in Asheville, NC.  I was juried into the Piedmont Craftsman in 2010.  My work is displayed at the Piedmont Craftsmen Shop in downtown Winston-Salem, NC. 

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In addition, my work has often been included in curated gallery shows.  Below is a partial list of exhibitions in which I have participated.

 

Featured Artist, Focus Gallery, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC, 2018.

Transcendence, Tryon Arts and Crafts School, Tryon, NC, 2018.

Wabi Sabi, the Art of Imperfection, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC, 2018.

Instructor, "Painting with Stitches," John C. Campbell Folk School, 2018.

Through the Needle's Eye, Embroidery Guild of America, a traveling exhibition, 2017-2019.

STITCH, Claypool-Young Gallery, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, 2017.

Featured Artist, Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville, NC, 2016.

Bugging Out, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Winston Salem, NC, 2016.
STITCH, Claypool-Young Gallery, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, 2015 Fiber Celebration, Tointon Gallery, Greely, CO, 2015. Juror’s Award.

Featured Artist, Focus Gallery, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC, 2015. I

t Is a Small World, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC, 2015
Featured Artist, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, July, 2014
Fantastic Fibers, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY, 2014

Fiber Celebration, Fort Collins Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO, 2014
Handcrafted 2014, Maria V. Howard Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC, 2014, Juror’s First Place Award
Art Quilts XVIII-ARTrageous, Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, AZ , 2014 ArtQuiltsFreezeFrame, Page-Walker Arts Center, Cary, NC, 2013
7Stitch, Claypool-Young Gallery, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, 2013
In the Mind’s Eye: 2013 Chattahoochee Biennial of Textiles, Marietta/Cobb Art Museum, Marietta, GA, 2013
Fiber Celebration, Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland, CO, 2013
ArtQuiltsWater, Cary Arts Center, Cary, NC, 2013 and Wellington B. Gray Gallery, East Carolina University, 2013
Art Quilts XVII – Integrating a Paradox, Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, AZ, 2012; Purchase Award
Inspired Globally, Created Locally, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, Winston Salem, NC, 2012 Animal House, Cabarrus County Arts Center, Concord, NC, 2012
Fantastic Fibers, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY, 2012
Narrative Threads, Page-Walker Arts Center, Cary, NC, 2012
Things with Wings: Beyond Birds, Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, NC, 2012
The Art of Fiber, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA, 2011
Indian Summer, Southeast Community College Gallery, Whiteville, NC, 2011
Hands, Hearth and Home, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, Winston Salem, NC, 2011 ArtQuiltsMovement, Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC, 2011
Extraordinary Things: 2011Chattahoochee Biennial of Textiles, Decatur, GA, 2011
The American Still Life, The Bascom Visual Arts Center, Highlands, NC, 2011
Handcrafted 2011, Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC; Juror’s Award ArtQuiltsNoFear, Page-Walker Arts Center, Cary, NC, 2010Art QuiltsIlluminations, Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC, 2010 

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