Good Vibrations—50H x 46W 2010

Artist Statement—Good Vibrations was the first quilt I made in a Nancy Crow workshop. It was the beginning of what is now. It also might be the only quilt I have ever finished during the actual workshop!  It's a favorite piece that normally hangs in my studio entrance. During the making of Good Vibrations, it truly felt like my eyes were opened for the first time, and I absolutely, for real, saw color for what it is—RELATIVE.

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard

I took my first workshop with Nancy Crow in the fall of 2009. I was fortunate enough to receive a Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award, and I used those funds to spend three weeks immersed in color and improv piecing. My life and quilt making trajectory were forever changed.

Over the years, I returned to study with Nancy but never in a systematic way. My children were still young, and I was trying to make a living as a traveling quilt teacher. Time, money, and discipline were in short supply. 

Then Covid hit and I was stuck in the far north for a very, very long time. Remember those days? About a year into the longest hunker down ever, I learned that Nancy would be teaching in Tucson, Arizona for the Madeline Island School of the Arts. I impulsively called their office and signed up. Tucson in January, a fresh start with Nancy, and an opportunity to leave the house. It seemed like a far fetched fantasy. Would I really get on a plane again? 

That was 2022, and I am back here in Tucson for round three. This particular two week workshop is Nancy’s beginner class. It is the same class I took in the fall of 2009. I am starting over from the beginning. People ask me why I would do this, and I don’t have a real answer beyond this is what I want to do. I want to take advantage of studying with a living legend. I want to be the good student who checks her ego at the door. I want to do it right this time—complete the course work, commit to the homework, and follow through from the beginning to the end.

And so I am here in the sun stitching away. The environment is so inspiring!

WHAT’S HAPPENING
ROUND & ROUND—IMPROV MEDALLION QUILTS—NEW WORKSHOP!
2PM-5PM Alaska Time (6PM-9PM Eastern Time)
Wednesdays, January 24 & 31, February 7 & 14
This workshop is all about playing with concepts of radial symmetry within the classic medallion quilt structure. Students will learn about medallions and how many cultures use this structure in their societies, how to piece improv units so that they are approximately the same size and will fit together to form a border, how to do intuitive math, and how to create asymmetrical symmetry, while stitching a super satisfying medallion masterpiece. 

KITCHEN SINK QUILTING—The ART of Making Do
9AM-1PM Alaska Time (1PM-5PM Eastern Time)
Sunday, February 11 & 18
All leftover fabric, UFO’S, orphan blocks, and random strips of fabric are welcome in this class. We’ll take those pieces of what not and make them into fun improvisational masterpieces. The focus of this workshop is on using up left-overs, bit making (creating small improvisation-ally cut and pieced traditional quilt blocks and units), and composition.

MOROCCO with AMAZIGH CULTURAL TOURS
I am going to Morocco with Amazigh Cultural Tours, and I would LOVE for you to join me! The tour is happening April 13—27, 2024. 

STUDIO SNAPSHOT
This is my pop up studio here in Tucson. Oh how I wish I had a design wall this big at home! 

May your bobbin case be lint free, and your tension be perfect.

Maria