Concrete & Grassland (SAQA Global Exhibition)

concrete grassland

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This catalog is made possible due to the generosity of SAQA’s members.

ISBN: 978-0-9966638-2-3

Cover artwork: Maryte Collard, Elizabeth Barton Catalog design: Deidre Adams Contents copyright Š2016 Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. Images copyright the individual artists.

Images may not be reproduced or used in any way without written permission. All rights reserved.

PO Box 572 Storrs, CT 06268-0572 860.487.4199

www.saqa.com

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Foreword

by Kristin La Flamme

Concrete & Grassland explores the juxtaposition of the natural landscape with the human-built cityscape. SAQA artists were asked to submit works that explored either the openness of natural landscapes, or the more confined spaces formed by urban structures, or a combination of both.

This exhibition focuses on contrasts.

Not only do urban spaces contrast with nature’s scenery, but some of the elements of design used in the artwork, such as color, line, and shape, form artistic contrasts as well.

The beauty of a landscape, be it rolling prairies, the colors of a sunset, or lush surrounds of a tranquil lake, is undeniable. But there is also beauty in a soaring skyscraper and the way the sky reflects in its glinting surface, or in the repeating patterns of bridge or tower.

The majority of the pieces included here don’t choose between concrete or grassland, but celebrate the perseverance of one within the realm of the other.

Consideration of the effect of people on nature has long been a topic of conversation and debate, even more so now in the 21st century when humanity fills the world exponentially and climate change can be tangibly observed. Understandably, many of the pieces in this exhibit present statements or questions about our influence upon our environment: Are we pushing wildlife to extinction? Are we squandering precious resources?

Are we building where we shouldn’t?

Are we considering long-term consequences?

Yet overall, the exhibit is uplifting.

Scenes of nature contain hints of the manmade, just as images of the manmade leave room for a bit of nature. A number of the artworks highlight nature’s perseverance despite people’s insistence on paving and building over all that they survey.

Greenery pops up in cracked cement, floral fabrics form built structures, birds perch on a road sign, and ultimately grasslands rise around the fall of oncegreat buildings.

Concrete & Grassland offers beauty, reverence, and contemplation. Exploring this catalog for themes and variation, comparison and contrast, for color, design, and concept, will undoubtedly enrich and inspire readers, whether one appreciates the bustle of the city or prefers the calm of nature.

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications. Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now has over 3,400 members worldwide: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators, and corporate sponsors. Since its establishment, the organization has grown alongside the evolution of the quilt as an art form. Today, SAQA defines an art quilt as a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.

One of the many member benefits SAQA offers is to bring beautiful, thought-provoking, cutting-edge artwork to venues across the United States and around the world. The exhibits not only give artists the opportunity to show their work, but also expose the public to the variety and complexity of the art quilt genre. In addition to mounting museum-quality exhibitions that travel the world, SAQA documents the art quilt movement through exhibition catalogs such as this one. These catalogs serve as not only as preservation and educational tools, but also as sources of inspiration and beauty to be returned to again and again.

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Juror’s statement Concrete & Grassland has provided me with the most intense and exciting experience I have had as a juror. Not only were the incredible number of entries impressive but the predominant quality of the work was gratifying. With so many excellent choices, I held my standards high and chose only one piece per artist to allow space for the work of more individuals to be accepted. My objective was to produce an exhibit showcasing outstanding art utilizing the techniques of quilting instead of a themed exhibit of quilts. Therefore, my primary criteria in making selections was whether the pieces included the dynamic elements found in good art of any medium. Concrete & Grassland does have a specific theme relevant to this time and culture, so quilts were chosen that best represent in a direct and meaningful manner the issue of man’s impact on the natural environment.

To SAQA: I sincerely wish to thank you for the opportunity to be involved in this exhibition.

To every artist using a needle to produce significant art: I encourage you to keep moving beyond perceived limitations and to explore your potential with each creation.

To the viewer: be amazed, be engaged, and enjoy this stunning exhibition.

—Susan Eileen Burnes Susan Eileen Burnes has been a professional artist working with fiber for 24 years. Her artworks have been featured in exhibitions, art galleries, and collections in eight states as well as in Europe. She is curator of exhibitions at Grants Pass Museum of Art and has served as President of the Board of Directors at the museum for several years.

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Naomi Adams Pocatello, Idaho, USA I am fascinated by the way we constantly adapt to change and are continually reconfigured by our experiences and influences from the world around us. For this piece, I used shibori processes, dye baths, paint, and thread to layer an abstract landscape obscured by grass burs. I recently moved from concrete to grassland in the rural west, and the layers of landscape are still a novel and beautiful change.

Artist hand-dyed cotton, textile paints, fiber reactive dyes Hand-dyed using shibori resists, painted, machine-quilted

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Cenchrus enchinatus 38 x 40 inches 2015

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Natalya Aikens Pleasantville, New York, USA The core of my art is deeply rooted in my Russian heritage and the architectural imagery of St. Petersburg and New York City, coupled with the use of recycled materials such as paper, plastics, and vintage fabrics.

Vintage linen, vintage lace, thread Collaged, computer manipulated, thread sketched, hand-stitched

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City Love Affair 2 52 x 19 inches 2011

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Elizabeth Barton Athens, Georgia, USA Industrial architecture has beauty...but so often the environment suffers.

These are the cooling towers at Ferrybridge Power Station in the UK as seen from a train across the fields.

Cotton, silk AppliquĂŠd, pieced, hand stitched

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Electric Fields 34 x 44 inches 2009

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Allegra Brelsford New York, New York, USA Rising is about the structures we build and what comes back in return—from nature or human interaction with the natural environment. I look out onto New York City’s East River at the end of the day and see the western light reflecting on water, windows, and buildings.

Cotton Pieced, layered, machine-stitched

photos by Adam Reichardt

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Rising #23 – East River Winter Dusk 36 x 17 inches 2014

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Donna Brennan El Dorado Hills, California, USA I spent a lot of time on the subway in the 1980s when Keith Haring’s drawings joined the usual graffiti. I researched Haring’s work and then drafted my own version. As far as I know, he didn’t do a person dancing on top of a dog.

T-shirt purchased at Manhattan street fair in the mid-80s, NYC subway token circa 1989, cottons Raw edge appliquéd, painted, machine-quilted

photos by Bill Brennan

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NYC Subway 17 x 12 inches 2014

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Kathy Brown Modbury, South Australia, Australia Far away, in the beautiful and dry landscape of the Mallee scrub in southeastern Australia, you might be blessed with the sight of a Mallee Emu-wren, a tiny bird weighing less than 6 grams. They live in this grassland of spinifex grass and mallee trees, where the grasses can grow up to 3 feet in height. This little bird is a ground dweller. It nests in the spinifex (which is highly flammable) and flutters around searching for insects—it cannot fly far at all.

Reduced funding and inappropriate fire regimes threaten many endangered species. Such was the fate of the Mallee Emu-wren. When funding shortfalls meant an inability to fight controllable fires, these birds went from ‘endangered’ in 2011 in South Australia to ‘extinct’ in 2014. We were too late for these birds!

Cottons, organza, tulle, hand-painted visofix, silks, webbing spray, acrylic paint, feathers, embroidery threads Collaged, machine-pieced, machine and hand appliquéd, reverse raw-edge needleturned appliqué, photo manipulation and transfer, hand-woven, hand and machine embroidered, stumpwork, hand-quilted

photos by Tracey Hardy

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‘Are We Too Late?’ Bird Series #3, The Mallee Emu-wren 27 x 34 inches 2011

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JoAnn Camp Greenville, Georgia, USA This tree has seen many winters. It is bent and scarred— no leaves remain. But it is still standing.

Commercial cottons, fabric paint, puff paint, tyvek, tulle Painted, raw-edge machine appliquĂŠd

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Still Standing 34 x 30 inches 2011

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Sharon Casey Bakersfield, California, USA The Country is an abstract image of a corral with a grassy hill in the background. It is sparse, containing only the corral and the hill behind it. All it needs now is for a horse to wander into the scene and begin grazing.

Cotton, permanent fabric marker Machine pieced, machine quilted, quilting threads colored

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The Country 12 x 16 inches 2015

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Georgie Cline Columbus, Ohio, USA On any given day, nature can be a beautiful flower or fallen trees. Water that is blue one day is brown and mucky on another. The change of seasons gives a completely new look to the same area. And then people come along. As the cement barriers in the piece were used to add artwork in the form of graffiti, somehow people and nature have come together and become one.

Hand-dyed cotton and silk, silk organiza painted with acrylic paint, torn yarn, fusible interfacing, tulle Hand and machine-sewn

photos by Meloney Buehl

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Olentangy 2 31 x 39 inches 2010

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Maryte Collard Siauliai, Lithuania The lust for life of a modest dandelion flower breaking through the concrete of city pavement.

Hand-dyed cottons Machine-pieced, raw-edge appliquĂŠd, machine-quilted

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Elizabeth Davison Washington, D.C., USA This is my concept of the uniquely American metropolis. It spans the rural farmhouse to the downtown of the city, as well as the suburbs and parkland in between. As an urban planner, I have studied the city and its growth over many decades, and I wanted to capture the relationships and essence of each part of our metropolitan areas. This is no city in particular, but represents the layout of many American communities.

Hand-dyed and commercial cottons, paint, beads Machine-pieced, machine and hand-quilted, embroidered, stamped, beaded

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Celebrating our Communities 35 x 24 inches 2010

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Christel De Vrij Schoten, Antwerp, Belgium At first sight, a big city may look dull, grey, cold, and straight, but in its apartments are children ‌ being children! They are having fun, dancing, moving, and acting crazy. The knowledge of this contrast gives me a warm feeling.

New cotton, parts of old cotton sheets, silk Machine-pieced, machine-quilted, free motion machine-quilted, hand-sewn, hand-colored

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Janis Doucette North Reading, Massachusetts, USA The natural world is phenomenal and so much of the manmade world — our architecture, our cities — is a stunning accomplishment. They exist hand in hand in both beautiful expressions and disastrous and ugly manifestations, but are elementally joined together.

Just as the disparate photos hold together as a whole, they seem to merge naturally with my snow-dyed fabrics.

Our entire existence contains the natural and the invented intertwined — each dependent on the other, each breathing in the wake of the other.

Cotton and silk on eco felt backing Digital photography printed on snow-dyed fabric

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All’s One Under The Sun 2 14 x 23 inches 2011

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Aileyn Renli Ecob Walnut Creek, California, USA Man imposes his will on nature, but nature works unceasingly to reclaim its own.

Cotton fabric, fabric paint Hand and machine-quilted, fused, machine-appliquĂŠd, painted

photos by Kerby Smith

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The Grasslands Are Winning 50 x 29 inches 2015

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Mita Giacomini Dundas, Ontario, Canada This piece is one of a series contemplating the paths at our feet—how subtle and fleeting patterns on the ground convey an expansive feeling of place. Aurora is inspired by the shadows that late summer grasses and wildflowers cast on a paved seashore road.

Cotton and linen canvas, wool, silk, cotton, and synthetic fibers Hand-stitched and woven, reverse couched, free-motion machine-quilted

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Aurora 27 x 22 inches 2015

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Lynne Goulette Grants Pass, Oregon, USA Where else is the juxtaposition between urban and rural more evident than in New York City’s Central Park? There are ponds, lakes, trees, and green amid the skyscrapers. Based on the many photos I took when visiting, this is my mind’s eye view of the park.

Hand-dyed and commercial cottons Machine-pieced, free-motion quilted

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Central Park 26 x 30 inches 2015

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Terry Grant Beaverton, Oregon, USA A cross-country road trip took us across the United States. Watching the transition from farmland to city, from mountains to desert, from forest to prairie, gave me a new understanding of the land. Idaho’s Camas Prairie was like an inland sea of gentle waves and swells.

Cotton Fused appliquĂŠ, hand-painted, machine-stitched

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Camas Prairie, Idaho 25 x 40 inches 2015

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Jo Griffith Del Mar, California, USA A much needed freeway sat unusable for about 10 years because of political and financial wrangling, hence there are no vehicles on this concrete overpass.

Hand-dyed cotton, commercial silk, rayon, printed cotton, commercial batik Machine-pieced and appliquĂŠd, couched yarn, machinequilted

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Route 56 in Limbo 33 x 40 inches 2015

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Jennifer Hammond Landau San Francisco, California, USA Natural and human-made systems are positioned side-by-side, one grounded in the concrete grid and the other in topographic meandering. Peel away the outer layer of urban structures and peek beneath the streets. There is a branching infrastructure of pipe and wire that maintains human life, just as roots and branches sustain trees in the natural landscape. Roots may curve as they delve into the soil and pipes may stretch straight beneath the pavement, but both allow water and energy to flow where needed. Streams wind through the landscape, small branches joining into rivers, while neighborhood streets connect to cross-town arteries. The relationship of the two worlds is not always benign, yet on good days we experience them seamlessly, two halves of our existence neatly zipped together.

Hand-spun custom dyed wool, repurposed clothing, commercial fabric, spun newsprint, acryclic paint, ceramic buttons, zipper Knit, felted, pieced, appliquĂŠd, surface designed with paint and roller, handpainted, embellished

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Root & Branch 39 x 35 inches 2015

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Karen Hansen Overland Park, Kansas, USA Center-pivot irrigation systems create unique designs as they alter the face of the prairie. On a flight over western Kansas and Nebraska, I noted their imprint on the land. Years of pumping water from the Ogallala Aquifer has drastically depleted it, and I wonder how much longer it will be possible to continue this method of farming.

Commercial cottons, paintsticks Pieced, embellished, shaded with paint sticks, free-motion quilted

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Delta Flight 4770 from Calgary 25 x 25 inches 2013

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Phillida Hargreaves Kingston, Ontario, Canada The line between urban and rural is becoming increasingly blurred. This is evident when thinking about digital communication. Once you start looking for them, cell phone towers are everywhere.

Assorted cotton, silk, linen, and synthetic fabrics, yarn, embroidery floss, stabilizer Machine appliquĂŠd, quilted, hand-embroidered, hand-stitched

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From Coast to Coast 15 x 24 inches 2014

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Georgia Heller Scottsdale, Arizona, USA The saguaro cactus is unique to the Sonoran Desert and thrives in the 100+ degree heat. The vertical lines direct your eyes to the sky. Its arms reach up to touch the heat of the sun.

Commercial and hand-painted fabrics, acid-free inks Painted, machine-appliquĂŠd, machine quilted

photos by Douglas Spurlock

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But It Is a Dry Heat 31 x 26 inches 2015

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Susan Hotchkis Guernsey, Guernsey Channel Islands, UK The original photograph that inspired this piece was taken in the old town section of Goa, India. Soft grasses grew high up a wall on a ledge, finding a way to survive. The delicate nature of the grasses sharply contrasted with the hard concrete black and grey wall, the surface of which was being transformed, stained by nature, creating a transient abstract patina.

Cotton, digital print Digital fabric printed, quilted, embroidered

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Flourish 38 x 27 inches 2015

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Laura Jaszkowski Eugene, Oregon, USA Although I live in the city, it is vast, open spaces of land that truly inspire me. Undeveloped and untouched land makes me think about how our earth looked to earlier inhabitants. As time passes and these vistas disappear, they seem even more precious. I like to imagine what people long before me felt when they first saw the same landscape. There are still some places on earth that can awaken that collective memory.

Silk and hand-dyed fabrics, commercial cottons Free-motion stitched, pieced, raw edge appliquĂŠd

photos by Jon Christopher Meyers

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Rift Valley 40 x 43 inches 2014

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Bella Kaplan Kfar-Giladi, Israel The south part of Israel is the Negev. This area is a desert. There are mountains, small rivers, craters, and very little population. I love this area very much. My quilt describes one part of the Negev — the Ramon Crater.

This crater has colorful layers of rocks, many cracked stones, and a lot of dry plants.

In the last few months, the Israeli government has made plans to build a new city in this area, but the Green Movement is fighting these plans. I hope nobody will interfere with the beauty of our Negev.

Cotton fabric, Japanese paper Hand-dyed, screen printed, fused, collaged, machine-quilted

photos by Dror Miller

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Negev View 3 45 x 28 inches 2014

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Patricia Kennedy-Zafred Murrysville, Pennsylvania, USA The agricultural landscape of rural America has changed dramatically since 1900, when nearly half of the U.S. population lived and worked on farms. That number is now just two percent, and more than one-third of today’s farmers are over the age of 65. Every week, faced with economic hardship, long hours, and corporate competition, hundreds of farmers leave their land for good. The independent family farm is an essential part of the diverse American fabric, representing strength, tenacity, patience, and perseverance.

Inspired by photographs taken for the U.S. Farm Security Administration during the 1930’s, this piece is a tribute to the American farmer.

Original images courtesy Library of Congress, antique vintage feed sacks, textile inks, image transfer materials Hand-printed silk screen, image transfer, machine-pieced, quilted

photos by Larry Berman

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End of an Era 44 x 44 inches 2014

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Jill Kerttula Charlottesville, Virginia, USA This whole cloth quilt is made with custom fabric printed with my original photography of the sidewalk by my urban home. It includes leaves (photo imaged, actual, and stitched), found objects (found on the same sidewalk), and both hand and machine stitching.

The quilting brings out the actual and the artistically interpreted textures of the concrete and the detritus found there.

Cotton custom fabrics, yarn, threads, rusted objects, leaves, dryer lint Photography, hand-stitched, free motion stitched, couched yarns, embellished with natural leaves and found objects

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Where the sidewalk ends 40 x 26 inches 2015

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Pat Kroth Verona, Wisconsin, USA Grass will grow wherever and whenever possible: in a field, a park, a garden, or through the cracks in pavement. Its persistent nature indicates its tenacity and strength even in adverse conditions.

Hand-dyed and commercial fabrics Hand-dyed, heat bonded appliquĂŠ, machine stitched

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Wild Grasses 35 x 52 inches 2015

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Susan Lane Vallejo, California, USA This original abstract design represents how I feel when I’m standing in the business district of big city, each building competing for my attention. The buildings dominate and are fabulous. They speak of the power of the human mind to dream and build magnificent architecture. The abstract patterns and overlapping angles excite me.

Commercial fabrics, tulle Machine-pieced, machine-quilted

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Sheryl LeBlanc Eugene, Oregon, USA The Bittern Building is an imaginary “low rise” situated near the foot of a mountain range bordering a plains state. While part of a cityscape, it promotes the wildness of its namesake, the secretive American Bittern.

Repurposed pleather bag, silk necktie, lace curtain, various home décor swatches, hand-dyed polyesters, commercial cotton, organza, metallic and hand dyes, reverse twist silk cord Disperse dyed, fabric transfer, stenciled, appliquéd, stamped

photos by Jon Meyers

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Across the Street from the Bittern Building 59 x 28 inches 2015

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Aurelle Locke West Granby, Connecticut, USA This piece was inspired by a poem of the same name by Percy Bysshe Shelley about a statue of a mighty king which fell into ruin. Here the grasses are overtaking a fallen mighty concrete building and reclaiming the land.

Cotton fabrics, raffia, embroidery floss AppliquĂŠd, raw-edge appliquĂŠd, hand-embroidered, machine-quillted

photos by Judy Ross

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Ozymandias 18 x 20 inches 2015

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Joanna Mack Akron, Ohio, USA If you look straight up in big cities, you can see the sky even when you’re surrounded by the skyscrapers. Sometimes the buildings help you see the clouds, a happy accident.

Commercial cottons, tulle Pieced, appliquĂŠd

photos by Diane K. Bird

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In the Clouds 32 x 16 inches 2014

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Melanie Marr Houston, Texas, USA The inspiration for Yield to Nature was a summer drive into town that I took with my daughter to drop her off at music camp. I saw these blackbirds on the yield sign near the freeway.

Fabric, acrylic paints Image drawn and transferred onto fabric, painted, quilted

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Yield to Nature 30 x 15 inches 2014

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Alicia Merrett Wells, Somerset, UK This is an imaginary map inspired by the rivers of Somerset, England, the county where I live. It is a composite of rivers such as the Avon, the Axe, the Brue, and the Parrett. Their undulating currents flow northwest through a patchwork of fields, and towards the horizon their waters disappear into the Bristol Channel. Grasslands predominate in this aerial view dotted with houses and farms and criss-crossed by roads, the manifestation of concrete.

Hand-dyed cotton sateen fabrics Freehand cut, machine-pieced, fused appliquĂŠ, machine quilted

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River Flow 59 x 20 inches 2013

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Denise Oyama Miller Fremont, California, USA One of my favorite spots is a lovely rest area along Highway 97 at about 5000’ elevation, just outside of Weed, California. At one time, it was a lake created by lava flows that blocked a drainage path on the east side of the valley. There was a hotel on the same site as the rest area. In the early 20th century, a development project inadvertently broke through the seal of the porous lava rock, and the water drained out through what is called “The Glory Hole,” which is still visible today. What is now left is a large, beautiful, “wet” meadow just east of the southern Cascade Range. It’s a quiet, peaceful spot to watch herds of cattle in the distance, nesting sandhill cranes, and the rare tiger salamander.

Cotton fabric, tulle, felt batting, cotton and rayon threads Created using small pieces of fabric randomly placed, raw edge appliquéd, free-motion machine quilted

photos by Sibila Savage

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Grass Lake 30 x 47 inches 2015

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Dolores Miller San Jose, California, USA La Grande Arche de la Fraternité, the westernmost element of the Triumphal Way in Paris, was inaugurated in 1989.

Rather than glorifying military victories (as does the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile), the hollow cubic structure with its grand staircase was designed to express humanitarian ideals and aspirations.

Commercial cotton and linen, polyester Machine-pieced, hand and machine appliquéd, fused, machine stitched

photos by Barbara Dawson

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Monument for Humanity 43 x 29 inches 2015

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Melody Money Boulder, Colorado, USA This piece was inspired by a lush meadow near my home. The windswept grasses in this rainy early summer were a sight to behold.

The way the birds swooped in and out of the grasses seemed like a celebration. I tried to capture the many colors of the grasses and how the light reflected on each blade. This piece is about the joy in that moment.

Hand-dyed cotton, commercially printed cotton and batik, beads, embroidery floss, ribbon Raw-edge fused appliquĂŠ, hand beaded, hand-embroidered, machine-quilted

photos by Les Keeney

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Sparrows in the Meadow 20 x 40 inches 2015

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Jeannie Moore Escondido, California, USA This piece was designed to explore the hard lines of urban structures. The place is New York, and the year is 1940, in the shadow of the Third Avenue elevated subway traintracks.

Cotton, silk, netting, inks Inks painted on cotton fabric, photo and newspaper transfer, appliquĂŠd, free-motion machine quilted

photos by Bob Hill

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In the Shadow of Third Avenue 39 x 24 inches 2015

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Madalene Murphy Amesbury, Massachusetts, USA Until 2014, I lived in a rural part of Pennsylvania where hundreds of gas wells, three within earshot of my home, have been drilled and fracked.

The beauty of the quiet rural landscape has been seriously impacted by this sudden industrial invasion, bringing jobs and money, but also noise, dust, pollution, and questions about the costs of fossil fuels.

Tulle, perle cotton thread, hand-dyed and commercial cotton Hand-dyed, pieced, fused appliquĂŠ, machine-quilted, hand-stitched

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Fracked 31 x 26 inches 2012

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Geri Patterson-Kutras Morgan Hill, California, USA We create urban environments not only to provide shelter, but also to satisfy economic mandates, neglecting our natural world and limited resources. Power lines march across the landscape delivering the electricity to light the cities and power industries.

Our homes are built shoulder to shoulder on concrete slabs, ignoring the fragility of the earth below. My work explores the juxtaposition between grassland and urban demands. Will the lines between the two continue to be blurred until our only memory of grassland becomes a screensaver on our computers?

Commercial and hand-dyed cottons Machine-appliquĂŠd, machine-quilted

photos by Gregory Case

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Room with a View 1 40 x 26 inches 2014

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Pamela Pilcher Portland, Oregon, USA Mid-century American agricultural policies promoted “fencerow to fencerow� farming and the goal of 300 bushels per acre.

Agriculture moved from small, diversified family farms to large single crop factories. As livestock was phased out, the fences and wildlife habitat disappeared too. Maize, the humble grain cultivated by indigenous peoples for centuries, was transformed through use of millions of dollars of fertilizer, herbicides, and genetic modification. Today, corn is used in the production of an amazing array of consumer items with only a tiny fraction used for human consumption. The soft lines of this landscape are human engineered in more ways than one.

Commercial cotton fabrics, yarns, tulle Fused collage, raw-edge appliquĂŠd, digital photo transfered, machine and hand-stitched

photos by Rebecca Pilcher-Cleland

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300 Bushels Per Acre 33 x 40 inches 2013

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Marika Pineda Eugene, Oregon, USA I became interested in old maps of London while researching family history. The earliest maps showed the initial marks of humanity on the raw landscape as neighborhoods grew along natural features. Housing became denser along the river, gradually spreading into adjacent fields and wilder areas. This piece takes its name from one of the voids in the city left by the great fire of 1666.

Commercial cottons and silks Pieced and machine-quilted

photos by Angelia Peterson

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The King’s Wardrobe Was Here 52 x 39 inches 2015

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Deborah Runnels Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA Ownership of land, a premise unknown to the Native Americans, was a driving force for the pioneers. The land was sold, parceled, subdivided, built upon, and fenced. The only freely moving elements are the birds, butterflies, and the wind.

Commercial cottons, acrylic paint, decorative threads, fused woven strips Pieced harmonic convergence technique, fused strips woven through cuts, bobbin stitched, acrylic painted

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Surveyed, Sold, Fenced 43 x 38 inches 2015

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Barbara Schneider Woodstock, Illinois, USA I think we usually tend to look up at the urban landscape, but I like all the markings and textures that you see at your feet while walking through the city. Pavement Patterns, Dancing Light, var. 4 explores the strong graphics and abstract designs created by light passing through a screen and shining onto pavement.

Cotton Digitally manipulated photograph, free motion stitched

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Pavement Patterns, Dancing Light, var. 4 60 x 40 inches 2015

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Anne Severn Loveland, Colorado, USA This piece was influenced by my time in Denver and the open spaces of eastern Colorado. The plains stretching east from the Rocky Mountains once were a vast, pristine grassland, a naturally productive ecosystem. During the past 150 years, human settlers have permanently altered this delicate community, culminating in our building of concrete towers where many work and live. Very little of the original grassland remains. Grasses included: Wheatgrass, Blue Grama, and Needle-and-Thread.

Acrylic paint, commercial fabric, perle cotton, dimensional paint Raw-edge appliquĂŠd, hand-embroidered, stitched, painted

photos by Craig Severn

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Plenary Plains, Purposefully Plowed, Perfectly Planned 31 x 19 inches 2015

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Maria Simonsson Takoma Park, Maryland, USA First came the village seen in winter. I loved stitching it and kept thinking that it needed a companion piece. It became the same village, seen in the full bloom of summer. Lots of stitches...

Various fibers, various threads Hand appliquĂŠd, embroidered, hand-quilted

photos by Greg Staley

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Village in Summer 32 x 26 inches 2013

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Virginia Spiegel Byron, Illinois, USA To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery.

The revery alone will do, If bees are few. ­—Emily Dickinson I’m inspired by my local prairie reserve — a place I visit often to walk, photograph, and perhaps indulge in a bit of revery.

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, ink Torn and sewn, painted, drawn, cut, stitched

photos by Deidre Adams

Concrete & Grassland | 97

Clover and a Bee 23 x 35 inches 2015

98 | Concrete & Grassland

Cynthia St. Charles Billings, Montana, USA As a native Montanan, I am acutely aware of the controversial impact of local energy-generating activities. My work explores the impact of energy development on the Montana landscape.

Hand-dyed and hand-painted cotton fabric, screen prints, handcarved block prints Collaged, block printed with hand carved printing blocks, screen printed, fused appliquĂŠ, hand-painted, machine-quilted

Concrete & Grassland | 99

Alternative Energy -vs- Fossil Fuels #6 40 x 40 inches 2015

100 | Concrete & Grassland

Linda Strowbridge Owings Mills, Maryland, USA Moving from tranquil Nova Scotia to the heart of Chicago a few years ago, I felt like I had been catapulted into another world. There were crowds, grit, and noise.

But there was also architecture — captivating, diverse, boundless architecture. I walked the city, soaking up the features of historic buildings, modern structures, industrial sites, homes with character, and even properties that were falling into rack and ruin. Many of the architectural features I adored were embodied in the city’s bridge tender houses — those tiny structures that contain the mechanisms that operate the lift bridges along the Chicago River. Ornate, historic, modern, decaying, and fundamentally industrial, they succinctly depicted this new world that I adored.

Commercial and hand-dyed cottons, assorted sheers Machine pieced, hand-dyed, hand appliquéd, machine-quilted, hand embroidered

Concrete & Grassland | 101

102 | Concrete & Grassland

Catherine Timm Westmeath, Ontario, Canada A photograph taken by Clayton Rollins, of the rolling plains in southern Saskatchewan, moved me to create a linear collage to communicate my interpretation of flat plains and deep gullies in the landscape. By using a simple color palette and quilting the plains in straight lines, I was able to emphasize the feeling of flatness.

Commercial and ice-dyed fabric, paintstick stencils Fused appliquĂŠ, machine-stitched

Concrete & Grassland | 103

Prairie Scape 25 x 27 inches 2014

104 | Concrete & Grassland

Jo Van Loo Phoenix, Arizona, USA This was the first in a series of cityscapes. I mixed the starkness of the buildings with color splash swishes.

Hand-dyed and commercial cottons Machine appliquĂŠd, pieced

Concrete & Grassland | 105

City Scape 1 29 x 23 inches 2015

106 | Concrete & Grassland

K. Velis Turan Earlton, New York, USA

Cotton broadcloth, dyes, textile paints Screen printed, painted, machine free-motion quilted

photos by Bob Turan

Concrete & Grassland | 107

108 | Concrete & Grassland

Carolyn Villars Apple Valley, California, USA One of the more rare sights in our California desert is snowfall.

I wanted to capture this splendid day, as it may be years before I again see snow mounded like this on Joshua Trees and Yuccas.

Dye, fabric, perle cotton Dye painted, quilted, couched

photos by Jamie Hamel-Smith

Concrete & Grassland | 109

Snow in the Desert 34 x 44 inches 2015

110 | Concrete & Grassland

Mary Williams Summertown, South Australia, Australia I live in a rural environment in South Australia, which is often described as the “driest state in the driest continent.� As a consequence, there were no tall trees available for use in carrying electricity cables. Stobie poles (named for their inventor J. C. Stobie) were constructed from concrete and steel for this purpose.

They are now as familiar throughout rural areas as the clumps of Xanthorrheoa that also dot the landscape.

Batik and commercial print cotton fabrics, spun polyester, cotton, wool/viscose, fabric paints Fused appliquĂŠ, machine embellished and quilted, free-motion stitched, dyed, printed

photos by Les Burgess

Concrete & Grassland | 111

112 | Concrete & Grassland

Janet Windsor Tucson, Arizona, USA When you look closely at everyday things, there is often beauty to be found. No matter how much we try to subdue nature, she still comes shining through.

Cotton, silk Machine appliquĂŠd, machine-quilted

photos by David Windsor

Concrete & Grassland | 113

Resilience 21 x 21 inches 2015

114 | Concrete & Grassland

Marie Murphy Wolfe Vancouver, Washington, USA Living in suburbia makes me aware daily of the lovely farms and fields of wildflowers that are lost to new construction and “growth.” I understand the need for commerce and housing. I am part of the problem, but still I mourn the loss of the quiet and open spaces, the memory of a time lost forever.

Commercial and hand-dyed cotton, kimono and dupioni silks Pieced, raw-edge and needle-turn appliquéd

photos by Kaykey Hoddick

Concrete & Grassland | 115

Little Houses in a Row, Where Did All the Poppies Go? 42 x 16 inches 2015

116 | Concrete & Grassland

Kathy York Austin, Texas, USA The rapid construction of housing developments changes the landscape, providing homes for many people and significantly altering the habitats of many animals. Will humans be a mere blip, like a daily newspaper, compared to geologic time?

Newspapers, paper laminate, silk organza, gel medium, cotton fabric Fused appliquĂŠ, machine-pieced, machine-quilted

Concrete & Grassland | 117

Development 52 x 44 inches 2015