About Kris

Hi! I'm Kris and these are my muses Woody and Arty,

also known as the ART HOUNDS!

My Art Quilt Adventure

Here is my art quilt adventure after closing my Art Gallery  Artistically Bent in the Short North (Columbus, Ohio) in January of 2005

I had been a painter of watercolors the past 20 years either working in the abstract or impressionistic style. 

On vacation in June of 2005 in Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan I discovered Art Quilts.  I was inspired and awestruck by 2 fiber artists, Sue Holdaway-Heys and Chris Roberts-Antieau.I

I couldn't stop thinking about their work and then I started dreaming about designs and colors.  I knew I had to start doing something.

So I went to JoAnn's bought a palette of fabric, got some advice from the ladies who work there, pulled out my $80 Kenmore machine and started cutting and sewing.

I've never been much of a seamstress - straight stitching like napkins was about my biggest accomplishment.  I'm not good at measuring and putting things together - attributes needed for traditional quilting.

And I've never liked the sewing machine - it seems like they broke a lot or the thread shredded or clogged up. the experiences were just frustrating and not much fun.

Since starting this adventure I have upgraded my machine twice, taken lessons, learned important things about needles and thread and now my machine is my friend.

And I am in love with Art Quilting - it is magical!  I can spend hours cutting and putting pieces of fabric together and then sewing them together and the end result is Wonderful!!!

I have had the fortune of meeting 2 significant art quilters, Sue Cavanaugh and Marie Wiley.

Sue is an accomplished and recognized art quilter.  She works in the Shibori style which requires hand dyeing and hand quilting.  She has been very encouraging and introduced me to the Art Quilt Alliance.

Marie who not only makes incredibly beautiful quilts, she is the most creative fabric dyer using the techniques of batik and potato dextrim.  She is a generous teacher and is working with me in the guidance of watercolor on fabric.  She has introduced me to the Quilt Surface Design Symposium.

I took my first class at Quilt Surface Design Symposium in June & it was amazing!

What I love about art quilting is that there are no rules or boundaries.  There are so many things for me to learn and try, it is a never-ending adventure.  I simply get to be creative.

The "Dungeon" is where I work, it is the basement of my over 100 year old home, the walls are stone, the floor is cement and the ceilings are low.  It provides me with a space to tune out the world and work without interruptions.

I can hardly believe that I have the opportunity of having my 1st Solo exhibit at the Sharon Weiss Gallery in the Short North for the month of July!!!!