ARTIST STATEMENT_______________________

Making my own fabrics is truly like chocolate cake, without all the calories, just delicious beyond words! It is glorious fun to dye fabrics!

I definitely belong to the Wabi Sabi thinking which sees beauty in imperfection. With an unpredictable silk screen approach, I make the most delicious organic markings, and my "scarred aspen tree bark" fabric is made by using shibori pole wrap dyeing techniques.

These unique fabrics inspire my fabric collages, which are fragments from our Colorado landscapes and living in our mountain town of Estes Park. My ideas come from the lights and shadows of the day, the seasons of the aspen trees, the amazing rock colors, reflection scribbles, and, of course, the amazing majesty of the Rocky Mountains.

I had earlier worked in watercolor, and could only paint "great" skies. It was monumental for me, years back, to see Nancy Crow's and Michael James' quilts mounted high in the Denver Art Museum, looking like stained glass windows. I quickly switched to creating "IN FABRIC". Growing up, my Mother shared her enthusiasm and sewing talents with me, so I was off and running.
MY RESUME . . . of sorts!___________________________________________


My passion for creating art quilts has been an amazing adventure.
Equally delicious is my constant search to draw new motifs
found in ordinary surroundings.
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I share my enthusiasm by teaching design in my class, Open Your Eyes, Patterns Everywhere, at Quilt/Surface Design Symposium (QSDS) in Ohio,
Art Quilt Tahoe (AQT), and Quilting-By-The-Lake (QBL) in New York,
and many venues around Colorado.
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In 2005, at the Longmont Colorado Cultural Center and Museum, an exhibition featured 20 of my art quilts and 30 of my husband Wes' handcrafted small wooden chairs. It is such a treasure to exhibit together and show our friends what fun we have making art together! (See photos in the Personal Gallery)
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Also in 2005, I was privileged to serve an Artist Residency in the
Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
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Visions and 5 Quilt National exhibits are among many of the exhibitions in which I have been juried. My work has also appeared in several
invitational exhibitions including Full Deck, Pot Luck,
and Oxymoron: Absurdly Logical Quilts!
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It is so gratifying to nurture and encourage people new to the
art quilt expression. As one of the 6 who founded
Front Range Contemporary Quilters 16 years ago (now 200 members),
I am always excited to see younger quilters gain recognition.
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You will now and then find me in a segment on HGTV's program Simply Quilts.
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I always like to tell people that
"I am only as GOOD as my NEXT NEW QUILT".

I welcome purchase inquiries and teaching opportunities.
Click HERE to CONTACT


© 2005 - Patty Hawkins
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