Refracted Memory

(based on a painting

by Aaron Troyer)

Aaron is an incredible local artist and friend, and when i saw this painting for the first time, i could immediately visualize it as a quilt - his techniques transfer so well to cloth. he kindly gave permission for me to reproduce this, but you can see the original on his website. 
available for purchase

A Preschooler’s Guide

to Hocking Hills

This piece came about after a trip to Conkle's Hollow with my son - experiencing hocking hills with a 3-year-old is truly something else; the sense of wonder that he had for everything around him brought me so much joy.
not for sale
This was the very first quilt I made. It started as a repair project, covering the cigarette burns in an old wool blanket of my grandparents, and morphed into a vision of the old cabin i spent years in, north of duluth on a lake, with the (rather treacherous) sunfish anchored by the rickety wooden dock we would put out every summer.

The North Woods

available for purchase

Markham Sunrise

A view of the sunrise from the cabin, looking out over the lake. in the summer the sun is up by 5am, and just before it peeks over the horizon, the lake is covered in a thick coating of mist. what's missing here are the sounds - loons calling to each other, the slap of a beaver's tail calling an alarm, the pair of bald eagles bickering as they start their morning fishing trip.
available for purchase

Tom of Finland,

reimagined

if you know, you know.... tom of finland was an incredibly influential gay artist, and this is a reproduction of one of his drawings. 
in this case, the work carries a certain meaning as almost all of the fabric comes from the dresses and skirts I no longer wanted to wear when came into my own as a trans and nonbinary person. this work holds a lot of personal symbolism for me as i've gone through the process of embracing my own masculine side.
available for purchase

The Tornado

i don't think anyone was surprised when i was finally diagnosed with autism at age 41. one of my special interests is the weather, particularly tornados. 
This is a quilt i made in the depths of a depressive episode a few years ago. one thing i enjoy about tornados is their "apathy" - meaning, they do not care what they hit. they don't seek out any particular thing, but they have no interest in your standing in society, in your success - they destroy without regard, and there's nothing we can do about it. i find a certain peace in that lack of control.
available for purchase

My Neighbor Totoro

my "day job" for decades was in pediatric hospital social work, and i still maintain my license. When i left my most recent social work position, i had to say goodbye to my director, who i cared for deeply as a mentor and friend. we have a shared love of studio ghibli, and so i made her this as a goodbye gift.  
not for sale
i created this specifically for my son, at his request. kids are weird, and mine is obsessed with pufferfish, probably because they are adorable.

The Cutest Pufferfish

not for sale