Stitching is its own kind of refuge for me. The rhythm of needle and thread slow me down and get me into a sense of place. The sensory texture of fabric, soothing repetition, and the quiet concentration is what I crave. A reminder that making something with my hands is one of the most reliable ways I know to reconnect with myself. Never mind to take out stitches, if I don’t agree with them.

When I worked on this quilt, I saw a kind of tropical garden — not a literal one, but the feeling of it. Figurative landscapes are usually not my kind of fiber art, and I wasn’t trying to recreate palm leaves or flowers. I wanted to capture the warmth, the lushness, and the layered color that a tropical place brings to mind. The deep blues, bright greens, warm golds, and shifting patterns all felt like sunlight moving through dense foliage. Abstraction and color will hold the mood of a place.

Part of why I chose these colors was to get away from the heaviness of current events, politics and the war in the Middle East. Everything around me feels tense and draining, and I need a break from that weight. Working with these lively, uplifting colors became a small act of relief — a way to remind myself that joy still exists and that I can choose to spend time in a space that feels lighter.

The colors helped me shift my focus from what felt overwhelming to what felt nourishing. I let the pieces overlap, the way colors do in nature — unpredictable, organic, and full of small surprises. It’s not about accuracy; it’s about emotion.

In the end, this quilt is a celebration — of color and stitch, of the joy that comes from creating something bright in a heavy time. This quilt became the place where I could breathe again.

5-5 Celebrate
Living Earth, Still Breathing
30″x 40″
Improvisational, free-form construction, machine quilted.
Materials: Pima Cotton screen-printed with fiber reactive thickened dye (by the artist), hand dyed cotton. Quilted with cotton, silk, polyester, rayon threads.