BIOGRAPHY
First, Ann learned to sew, then she learned to dye fabric. In between, she earned a degree in Literature from Stanford University, and a Masters in Geography at the University of Oregon. She taught new math in Lima, Peru, raised two sons in Oregon with her husband Jim, and started quilting. Ann’s years of experimentation with dye and fabric have led to piles of quilts, worldwide travel, numerous shows and exhibitions, five books, and not a few aches and pains. Her collectors respect her viewpoint and her students admire her generosity and skill in teaching what she knows.
For more information about Ann, see her resume, and look at excerpts from her books: Speaking in Cloth, 6 Quilters, 6 Voices (AJ, 2006), Color by Design: Paint and Print with Dye (AJ, 2001), The Quilter’s Book of Design (QDP, 2000), Color By Accident: Low Water Immersion Dyeing (AJ, 1997), and Dye Painting! (AQS, 1992). Ann teaches workshops, lectures, and exhibits her fabric and quilts both nationally and internationally.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The impetus for my work is the world around me, its shapes, patterns, colors and textures. I work toward a goal in each quilt I make, having a particular concept in mind that is sometimes specific, sometimes broad. I also usually have a task, something “new” I want to try. I use many different construction techniques, traditional and contemporary, depending on the idea of the quilt, so my quilts are often very different from each other. I may start with a rough sketch, a scale drawing, a computer printout, or a paint brush and a white piece of fabric. In making the quilt, I allow the design to evolve according to the physical processes, that is, how the dye flows on the fabric, where the last curved piece ends, or how the last line of quilting makes the fabric lay. Mastering dyeing and painting fabric has allowed me to expand the kinds of quilts I can make and now, more and more frequently the fabric I dye is itself a source of inspiration for the design and structure of a quilt. I consider each piece to be a step in my growth as an artist, something I had to try, a process to learn from, never an end. I am currently pursuing several interests, for example, the action of a wave, steps and ladders, cranes and chimneys, and the spaces they create. This year I have begun to look at some of my fabrics, dyed over and over again as art cloth, finished works in themselves. You will see some of these presented in the gallery pages.
RESUME
> Please click here to view resume
