The Peninsula Gallery’s June/ July exhibition features four contemporary quiltmakers, exploring the medium of “surface design” in their quilt work. In creating these works, the artists have manipulated and changed the surface of the cloths by panting, dyeing, printing, applying resists, and stitching the fabric, as well as utilizing a traditional Japanese Shibori technique. From this, each artist is able to build a body of work that utilizes their own unique designs, allowing them to exemplify their individual artistic voice.  Each artist quilts their work, often using a dense machine or hand stitching with various threads, creating the final layer of each piece.   

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   All of the artists in this show have spent many years studying with quilt artist, Nancy Crow, one of the leading figures in the development of the art quilt movement of the 1970s and 1980s.

 

   Margaret Black, of Boswell, Pennsylvania, is a retired accountant turned full-time textile studio artist.  A sewing machine has been central to her life since the age of eight and as a 4H leader, she has taught sewing and tailoring for over 30 years.  In 2017 Margaret was honored to receive Best of Show at Quilt National at the Dairy Barn Art Center in Athens, Ohio.  Recently she received Best of Show at Biennial 2020, a regional multi-media show.  Margaret has received many awards beyond these and has work in several private collections.  Margaret identifies as an improvisational textile artist.  Using rhythm and repetition of pieced fabric, cutting pieces to create new configurations and rejoining them to create vibrant, abstract structures.  For this show, Margaret has completed several pieces using Shibori techniques.

 

   Julia Graziano, of Syracuse, New York, came to fiber art through an appreciation of traditional quilting.  The engagement of color, fabric, thread, pattern, and texture draws her into the studio every day.  In the works exhibited in this show, Julia was engaged by utilizing paint, dye, design, and finally, heavy stitching to create pattern and texture in each work.  Challenges of construction and engineering influence the underlying emotion of her work.  Julia’s work has been accepted into Quilt National, Quilts=Art=Quilts, and Circular Abstractions, a show curated by Nancy Crow.  Julia is also a long arm quilter, quilting her own pieces and for several accomplished artists.

 

   Donalee Kennedy, of Columbus, Ohio, was a jeweler for 25 years selling to Macy’s and other retailers as well as several galleries across the country.  Since she has worked as a textile artist, Donalee is known for her textural and colorful fine art quilts.  Donalee has taught workshops on meditative stitching, improvisational piecing, and quilt design.  Among many exhibitions, Donalee has been accepted into Quilt National 2021.  In this exhibition, Donalee combines three of her favorite art forms - printing, fabric, and meditative hand stitching.  The prints and patterns of her work are from her hand, either directly or indirectly.  She has created her original designs using watercolor painting, pen and ink, and mono printing.  After scanning the artwork into her computer and thoughtfully manipulating it, she then commercially prints her own fabric.  Direct handwork is also incorporated into her work.

 

   Sarah Pavlik, of Lewes, Delaware, has curated this exhibit with the support of Peninsula Gallery owner, Tony Boyd-Heron to offer the Delaware community the opportunity to view these gorgeous works.  Sarah has been juried into Quilts=Art=Quilts in New York, Form Not Function in Indiana as well as the Strathmore Art Center and additional galleries in Maryland where she previously resided and worked as a school counselor.  Currently, Sarah is working on a series of surface design quilts using bicycle tires for mark-making, as well as screen printing, painting, dyeing, and mono-printing fabric. During the pandemic, Sarah’s bicycle rides and her spin classes were her refuge.  While exploring surface design techniques she admired the varied treads indented in the soil on the trails.  And so the wheels turned, leading to vibrant works of art.