The Masai are semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress, the Massai choose to reside near the game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well known of the African ethnic groups.They speak Maa, a local dialect., as well as Swahili and English.

They are live stock farmers, and I have always been intrigued by their unique appearance, the stretching and piercing of the their ear lobes, including the thorns they use for piercing, as well as twigs, stones, the pieces of elephant tusks, and empty film canisters they wear in their earlobes. Red is the most favored color of the Massai men.

I created this abstract work to communicate to the viewer the beautiful story of the Masai people of East Africa.

Artist Statement

Fabrics used are hand dyed fabrics and Kente prints.

Work is machine appliqued and quilted.

Work is lightly hand painted.

Beautiful Nonsense is the name of this latest art work which was a picture so stuck in my mind because I had watched so much of the oil spill in the Gulf on television. I thought of using some of the leak shots I had saved in an abstract fiber art work, and I decided to change things a little by giving a background that looked more like relief features.

Our environment has been so heavily impacted by this unfortunate oil spill, but I decided to tap into that negetive energy and turn it into a positive work of art.

Artist Statement

Fabrics used were African print and black Swiss linen.

Work is machine stitched, heavily trapunto’d, and machine quilted.

Work is also hand painted and meticulously hand beaded.

This is my latest artwork,  and again its an under water scene,  I got my inspiration from a whole bunch of under water pictures I looked at lately,  and it is amazing to discover that under the ocean  is a whole new world of its own. I see fishes that fly,  some that look like humans and animals,  others look like insects, and I realize  that every thing on land has its type in the ocean. Isn’t God wonderful ?

Artist Statement
This work is hand beaded,  painted,  machine appliqued,  machine stitched and quilted.
Fabrics used are hand dyed cotton and organza fabric.

This quilt is my idea of under water water life. A lot of the fabrics I used came from African prints, using hand dyed batiks felt  so unleashing, plunging me into a water world of color. This quilt is glass beaded all over to give that illusion of bubbles which the fish blow while they breathe,  with lots of thread painting I gave it lots of character.  I believe this is how the under water life of the West African coast of Africa looks like.

Artist Statement.
Work is raw edge machine appliqued and heavily reinforced with silver thread painting all over the art work to give it a lot of shine, it is meticulously hand beaded.
This work is the winner of the ‘Sharon Guthrie 2010 Award for Innovative Arts’ at the ‘2010 Festival of Quilts Expo’ in Portland Oregon in March.

These newly weds are captured from the eye of a camera lens  at sunset, it depicts a traditional wedding scene from West Africa.  The bride is richly dressed in pearls and gold, and the use of Kente fabric on this day is traditional, royal, and very original.
A lot of gold and pearl beads have been put into this art work  making it so enriching to look at and touch, but I prefer to leave it in silhouette form in order to leave a lot to the imagination. The bride certainly feels like she is worth a million on this day.

Artist Statement.
Fabrics used are hand dyed fabrics, Kente prints, and a meticulous hand beading technique to enrich the art work. Work is machine appliqued and quilted.