Last week, I wrote about a book called Fearless Design for Every Quilter, written by Lorraine Torrence and Jean B. Mills (C&T Publishing 2009).  The book contains exercises designed to develop and practice the principles and elements of design.  It also encourages growth through self-evaluation and group critique.  Over the next year, a group of fellow quilters will be completing exercises from this book and I will be sharing our progress here with you.  Let me introduce the members of our group.

Marnie Mascioli

As a child, Marnie always loved arts and crafts and dabbled in many things until, at the urging of a friend, she tried quilting in 2003.  She was hooked!  Within six months, she had not only bought a sewing machine but also a Gammil long-arm machine and started her own quilting business.

In 2007, Marnie was invited to join the Northern Ontario Fibre Artists where she could combine art and stitch.  Her quilt “John’s Feathered Star” was juried into AQS Nashville and IQA Houston as well as taking a teacher’s ribbon at MQS Overland Park Kansas in 2007.  In 2009, Marnie began the Judge Certification Program through the Canadian Quilters Association and continues to strive toward completion of that program. 

Marnie lives in Timmins, Ontario with her husband Greg.  They have been married 34 years and have four grown sons.

Karen Menzies

A quilter for 30 years, Karen has moved from traditional work and hand quilting to contemporary interpretations on the sewing machine.  From many summers studying at Haliburton School of the Arts she discovered her niche as an experimentalist.  As a fibre artist she specializes in Wearable Art and decorative Wallquilts, applying several of her favourite techniques to one-of-a-kind pieces.  She puts her own spin on quilted work using embellishing techniques borrowed from Wearable Art.  

Her work has been displayed in the Canadian National Juried Show, Scugog Shores Spring Studio Tour, the Whitby Station Gallery, and Horizons Open Studios as well as at the Distillery District and in private collections. Karen is a member of the Scugog Council for the Arts, Fibre Art Studios, Horizons Studios as well as the Canadian Quilters’ Association and Durham Trillium Quilters’ Guild.

Karen divides her time between teaching workshops, experimenting with new ideas and her never ending quest for ways to use found objects in fibre art.

Joyce O’Connell

Joyce is an International Award winning Quilt Artist who has a broad knowledge of both traditional and innovative quilting designs and techniques.  She has been juried into many competitions and shows, and her work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and England. She had a solo exhibition of her work “Bargello Inspirations” at the Waterloo Quilt Gallery in St. Jacobs, Ontario, where she exhibited many of her original bargello designs. 

She has studied with many renowned Fibre Artists to develop her expertise in  Color Theory, Texture in Fabric, and Fabric Collage.  In 2008 she was granted The London City & Guilds Diploma in Design & Craft – Stitched Textiles and Quilting and has completed many technique courses to further her knowledge in Design, Fibre Art and Embellishment. She is currently working on becoming a certified Judge through the Canadian Quilter’s Association.

To view her work, go to her website at www.joycequilts.com.

Hilary Rice

Hilary Rice, a textile & mixed media artist, has an experimental approach to her use of a multiplicity of techniques and unusual materials.  She has received numerous national awards for her colour filled, skilfully embellished, flowing textile-based works.  Her artwork, described as a type of ‘fused tapestry’, often relates to the artist’s sense of the holy.  She has a line of art quilt designs published under the “Mother Earth” label.  Hilary continues to develop a presence across Canada, teaching textile art technique and design.  She has been developing a body of work for gallery exhibition while working towards full certification with the Judging Certification Programme through CQA/ACC.  Currently living in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, she welcomes the opportunity to share her knowledge in workshop situations and presentations.

Click here to read more about Hilary or view her work at www.mestudios.ca.

Kathy K. Wylie

Kathy is a multiple international-award winning quilter specializing in appliqué techniques in a “contemporary traditional” style.  She began quilting after she resigned from her marketing career at IBM Canada to stay home and raise her family.  She has turned her passion for quilting into a new career.

Kathy lectures and teaches all over the country at guilds, shops and quilt shows.  Her work has been published in magazines, including Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Special Issue Fall 2009, and in her first book with C&T Publishing, called Sewflakes.  She is also in the process of becoming certified as a quilt judge by the Canadian Quilters Association.

Click here to read more about Kathy or view her work at www.kathykwylie.com.