Printing fabric is messy and fun and freeing, especially using methods I have learned studying with inspiring quilt artist, Pat Pauly. I love to create big, bold, graphical, sometimes chaotic prints with saturated color. They are so muscular that it is a real challenge to figure out how to use them in quilts. The artistic task then becomes about composition using abstract elements. That was what I encountered the day I pulled out a bunch of fabrics I had printed, revved up my rotary cutter, and started to improvise this piece.

I should say something about the use of colors here. While any color has the potential to make or break an artwork, I have noticed I tend to shy away from certain greens—“hospital wall mint” and, well, Kelly green. So I deliberately pulled out Kelly green fabric to challenge myself to find a home for it in this piece. Without it, this would be a totally different quilt.

Materials: Hand-dyed and printed cotton