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Virginia • North Carolina Regional Showcase
Virginia • North Carolina Regional Showcase
Artists inspire. Their creations move us and inspire our self-expression. Rather than copy what other artists have done, we can use elements of their style, lean into our response to their works, and reinterpret their subject matter in ways that hold meaning for us individually and collectively.
We asked our regional members to consider an artist (in any medium) whose work inspires them and to reflect on how that inspiration shows up in their work. We hope you enjoy their responses as presented in our Regional Showcase: ArtistInspired.
Sharon Carrier ArtistInspiredExhibition Curator
Ellen Lindner She Has a Great Personality
Artist’s Statement
This self-portrait was done in the style of abstract painter Jane Davies. Although saying that someone has a great personality is usually an insult about their appearance, I take it as a compliment. I’m outgoing and really enjoy interacting with others. I’ll take the label!
Arlene L Blackburn
Natasha's Pastel Box
Artist’s Statement
These are the pastels of the award-winning painter and pastel artist, Natasha Isenhour. I photographed this magical box (with her permission) as she set up to work in a Ghost Ranch casita in the New Mexican desert. Mesmerized by the intense spectrum of color contained in this large wooden box...all I thought was "Quilt" to capture the 3-D effect of the individual pastel pieces.
Jenny Perry Thread Painting
En Plein Air
46”h x 39.5”w
Artist’s Statement
I photographed an artist who was thread painting enpleinairalong a city street in Oaxaca, Mexico. He was using assorted threads at his feet to recreate the scene in his line of sight down the street. He stitched by hand onto a large piece of fabric stretched onto stretcher bars. My photos became the inspiration for this whole cloth piece.
Artist’s Statement
Robin J Hamill A Place to Rest
A number of years ago, I had the opportunity to hike at Ghost Ranch. My friend and I then had a picnic, joking that we were lunching with Georgia. A photo of the door and bench, both with peeling paint, by Rev. Peter Frazier-Koontz inspired me. I imagined O’Keeffe walking the trails near her home, then returning to her home to relax in the sun. Then I realized that I had the perfect ombre fabric for the adobe designed by Jennifer Sampou. I couldn’t deny the invitation. And how could I not add Georgia’s iconic hat and walking stick?
x 27”w
Debbie
Gebbie
Rebellious Hope
2025
20”h x 20”w
Artist’s Statement
There are too many artists who inspire my work to mention only one. But first and foremost, my art is inspired by nature, which speaks hope and joy to me from the Divine Creator.
Artist’s Statement
Paula C Dean Silence and Nothing Else 2025
26”h x 43”w
This piece is an act of stopping. Truly existing inside a moment. Inspired by “Nothing Else Matters” (Metallica) and “The Sound of Silence” (David Draiman), it invites you to pause, listen, and let the stillness etch itself into memory.
Annegret Fauser
Stele #3
42”h x 6”w
Artist’s Statement
When nature and music both serve as inspiration, they merge in often unexpected ways. In recent months, I have been re-listening to Igor Stravinsky’s neoclassical compositions, such as his Octetfor wind instruments from 1923, with its sharply delineated sound blocks and muted color palette. Stele#3takes inspiration both from the colors of the Albemarle Sound (NC) and from Stravinsky’s sparse but elegantly honed soundscapes. My narrow oblong form is also neoclassical, forcing the eye in a different direction just as Stravinsky does the ear.
Judy Pearson Hope 2023
Artist’s Statement
Emily Dickinson's poem “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers" inspired this quilt. The lyrical play of light and dark in Dickinson's poem is reflected in these Japanese Yukata fabrics.
In the storm of COVID, we reached for solace in poetry, art and nature. Creativity lifted our spirits and gave us hope.
Christie King Eckardt Accretions
40.75”h x 31”w
Artist’s Statement
The nautilus shell symbolizes growth and resilience through gradual accretions—layers built slowly over time, each marking a step in an inner journey. Inspired by Debra Spence’s intimate, close-focus style and her reverence for nature, I zoomed in on the shell’s spiraling chambers—each a quiet record of this layered process. Her use of rich, dusty hues inspired my palette of pinks, oranges, and blues, reflecting both emotional warmth and the hidden drama of the natural world. This quilt is a meditation on how our personal journeys and quiet strength unfold in small, layered increments.
Karin Tauber
The Biggest House in the World
2020
47.25”h x 36.25”w
Artist’s Statement
A little orange snail, unhappy about her tiny house, soon finds a way to enlarge, adorn, and color it.
Admired by many she discovers too late that her big house prevents her move to the next cabbage plant. Sadly, she fades away and soon her majestic house crumbles. Many years later a wise snail tells the story to a small, purple snail to convince her that a compact, easy-to-carry shell might be better suited than the biggest house in the world for a life of adventure and exploration. Inspired by Leo Lionni’s children’s book.
Emma Allen Griselda’s Choice
50”h x 44”w
Artist’s Statement
The king paid handsomely for that whole-castle invisibility spell, but Griselda’s dragon eyes saw right through it. Now she must decide: plunder and incinerate, or protect and exploit?
Inspired by Gustav Klimt’s gold leaf paintings circa 1901 to 1909.
Joan Rutledge Still Waters 2024
30”h x 24”w
Artist’s Statement
I have always been drawn to the Impressionist movement and specifically the work of Claude Monet.
I find the use of color mixing in the eye and the attention to light inspiring. I enjoy art that both reveals and hides the subject matter, so a viewer can add the rest. StillWatersbegan as I was covering up a previous painting with gesso. The painting revealed itself as I worked. I saw the trees and became interested in the bark with its texture and soon the water emerged and the light shining through the trees created the pathway. When complete I decided to print it on fabric and enhance the textures with quilting. I find a completed piece often influences a piece in another medium.
Sarah Bolduc Lily Pond 2025 21.25”h x 31.14”w
Artist’s
Statement
Monet's paintings of water lilies were the inspiration for this piece. Incorporated in this work is the depiction of Monet's multiple overlays of color and fine brush strokes as well as a harmonious color palette.
Artist’s Statement
Kathleen P Decker
Iris Garden
x 29.5”w
Spring brings prolific blooms of irises. Irises symbolize faith, courage, valor, hope and wisdom. This work was created from a photo of irises in a garden and altered in Photoshop to create an Impressionist work, similar to Van Gogh’s early style. Van Gogh used irises in painting as studies in color and form, and they also represented spring, renewal and the passage of time to him.
Gwen E Goepel ZipADeeDooDah
37.25”h x 23.75”w
Artist’s Statement
Vincent van Gogh’s work has inspired much of my art. His vivid personal style and striking colors have been apparent in my art quilts, drawings, paintings, floral arrangements, and home decor. ZipADeeDooDah’s sunflowers simply shower me with happiness. I choose to create art that is uplifting, bright, cheerful, and playful versus the too often reality of the world’s lack of enlightenment.
Rachael Logsdon Flowers for Ukraine
32”h x 24”w
Artist’s Statement
I created this quilt as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh's StarryNightand Sunflowers. I wanted to recreate his bold style using fabric, while asking questions about the war in Ukraine. Are we, as a country, doing enough? Or are we just sending sentiments? The "starry night" turned out to look more like bombs raining down, while the girl clutches a bouquet of sunflowers and weeps.
Mary A Ritter
Portrait of a Farmer
27”h x 24”w
Artist’s Statement
In Van Gogh’s PortraitofaPeasant, the weathered peasant—depicted in vibrant stripes of blue, green, red, and yellow—gazes intently. Van Gogh explained, ". . . I use color more arbitrarily, in order to express myself with force.”
My father, the pictorial model for this PortraitofaFarmer, labored as a farmer for long days. He was darkly tanned, rugged looking and a fitting subject for this project.
Artist’s Statement
Margaret James
The Garden of the Waxhaws
2024 / 24”h x 30”w
TheGardenoftheWaxhawswas inspired by the work of Dorothea Lange and other FSA photographers who documented people living through the Depression. Beauty can be found even in the bleakest circumstance. Humble homesteads flourished amid necessity and traditions that inspired strength and creativity.
Aynex Mercado
What are we losing?
2025
37”h x 35”w
Artist’s Statement
The world is changing, but I can’t help wondering—are we moving forward or slipping backward?
Lately, there’s so much pushback against diversity and inclusion, even though that’s what makes this country unique. The idea has always been that no matter where you come from, if you work hard, you can belong here. Inclusion isn’t about giving anyone special treatment—it’s about fairness. It’s about leveling the playing field, not tipping it. Lincoln’s greatest concern was keeping the country united, but today we seem more divided than ever. With all this fighting, what are we really gaining? And more importantly—what are we losing? It’s interesting that the only coin of color is the penny. Hmm...
Eva Saunders
The American Scream
Artist’s Statement
As a German immigrant, I was shaped by my grandparents' stories of the 3rd Reich. I promised them never to let those atrocities happen again. With democracy unraveling, fear and urgency grows. Inspired by Edvard Munch's 1895 lithograph TheScream, this quilt is a look in the mirror and a cry for awareness.
Janice Walker Van Gogh Picassoed
2019
27.25”h x 27.25”w
Artist’s Statement
Piecing together small pieces of fabric to make a larger design is as basic to quilting as the reduction and fragmentation of natural forms into abstract, geometric shapes is to Cubism. Since Picasso’s early work was heavily influenced by Van Gogh, it seemed natural to use Picasso’s style to interpret Van Gogh’s RedPoppiesand Daisiesas an art quilt.
Darlene Khosrowpour
Every Thorn Has Its Rose 2024
20”h x 20”w
Artist’s Statement
Every rose has its thorns, but the opposite is true as well. Pain centers us. Pain grounds us.
Pain helps us to find beauty.
We spend our lives toiling in order to create beauty and comfort.
Every thorn has its rose.
There's a future in our darkest hours.
The inspiration for the quilting was Cubism, but the inspiration for the piece could be considered Surrealism. The song “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” played a role in the title, and music is a definite influence in creating most of my pieces.
Paula B Entin Homage to Matisse 2002
Artist’s Statement
Matisse described his paper cuts as the essence of the object, and he worked to distill a leaf or bird down to the very basics. I encountered these works late in my life and fell in love with them. My homage is in fiber, but is nonetheless a celebration of his paper art.
25”h x 21”w
Sharon Carrier Green Apples
x 27”w
Artist’s Statement
With its limited palette of greens, blues, and reds, this still life features a bowl of apples on a four-legged stool. The
influence of three pioneers of modern art—Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, and Georgia O’Keeffe—can be seen in the flattened perspective, simplification and abstraction of forms, and emphasis on color and composition.
Jane Herlihy
Pit
Artist’s Statement
Always inspired by solid chunks of bold color, I find Wassily Kandinsky's work to be very joyful and uplifting. His paintings with circles remind me of playing with children in a ball pit.
Cindy Grisdela Taste of Summer 2021
50”h x 40”w
Artist’s Statement
TasteofSummerwas inspired by the painting Senecioby Paul Klee. I used a similar color palette and the idea of curved shapes to create an original design that referenced the painting without trying to represent it in any way. The curves were cut freehand without a pattern or template and I allowed the colors to "break the block" to define new shapes. Vertical stitching lines integrate the design into a cohesive whole.
Artist’s Statement
Fran Bents
Tribute to Lichtenstein
36”h x 52”w
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was an American artist who produced over 160 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and collages. His work ranged from classical styles to Pop Art, romance, and war topics. During one period, his paintings were composed of strong graphic designs and primary colors created mainly using dots. This quilt reflects that style using only dotted and boldly colored ombre fabrics. I gravitate toward geometric designs and found a kindred spirit in his work.
Michelle Wilkie Study no. 3
Artist’s Statement
An exploration in color and placement, Studyno.3 allows the viewer to move around the quilt. The play with large scraps in a color block style was inspired by works of Stanley Whitney.
Artist’s Statement
Susan Price Rhythm and Blues
x 22”w
Rhythm and Blues as a musical genre features a strong back beat and smooth, steady rhythm.
Aretha Franklin’s “You Send Me” is light and bubbly with a syncopated rhythm. “Chain of Fools” has a toe-tapping bass beat. “Bye, Bye Love” by Ray Charles is upbeat and bubbly. Repetition of elements in visual art creates its own rhythm that echoes the staccato and legato rhythms of music. Repetition is an element of design that I use frequently in my work. This piece combines the rhythm of repetition with indigo blues to represent my interpretation of the Rhythm and Blues genre.
Leah Cooke Billie (A Moment Lost in Sound)
2024
20”h x 20”w
Artist’s Statement
A woman sings the Blues. Her face is etched with passion. Her soulful voice echoes through the fabric, pulling you into her world. Abstract patterns ripple outward, representing the music that surrounds her, the music that is a part of her. This quilt is a tribute to the iconic Billie Holiday and the timeless power of the Blues.
Carly Mul Rhythm 2025
53”h x 42”w
Artist’s Statement
This quilt is my response to the intensity of the Presidential Election of November 2024. I was wondering how to put all that massive campaign noise we all heard everywhere in a quilt. This is my third quilt inspired by the work of the sculptor Yaacov Agam.
Artist’s Statement
Kevin Womack Group Dynamics
GroupDynamicsdraws inspiration from Ellsworth Kelly’s technique of cutting a page of brushstrokes into squares and rearranging them by chance, reimagined here with my own surface-designed and printed fabrics. Each fabric began as an individual exploration of color, pattern, and mark. Unlike Kelly’s chance method, the placement in this work was carefully considered—a deliberate process of arranging and rearranging, to create visual balance, dynamic interactions, and a sense of cohesion. The resulting grid transforms these diverse elements into a stronger, harmonious whole, reflecting how distinct voices within a group can intermingle, find common ground, and create a vibrant community.
Emma Allen - Griselda’sChoice
Fran Bents - TributetoLichtenstein
Arlene L Blackburn - Natasha'sPastelBox
http://www.ArleneBlackburn.com
Sarah Bolduc - LilyPond
www.sarahbolducdesign.com
Sharon Carrier - GreenApples
@sharoncarrier.art
Leah Cooke - Billie(AMomentLostinSound)
@artbyleahcooke
Paula C Dean - SilenceandNothingElse
https://www.studioonthebluff.com/
Kathleen P Decker - IrisGarden www.KathleenDeckerAuthor.com
Christie King Eckardt - Accretions http://www.instagram.com/nomadicquilter
Paula B Entin - HomagetoMatisse www.fibersong.com
Annegret Fauser - Stele#3 https://www.afauser.com
Participating Artists (continued)
Debbie Gebbie - RebelliousHope Instagram.com/debbiegebbieart
Gwen E Goepel - ZipADeeDooDah (IG) @gesgmia
Cindy Grisdela - TasteofSummer www.cindygrisdela.com
Robin J Hamill - APlacetoRest
FB Robin Hamill-Ruth
Jane Herlihy - BallPit
Margaret James - TheGardenoftheWaxhaws FiberandFamilyStudio.com
Darlene Khosrowpour - EveryThornHasItsRose
Instagram: @stitcherninja
Ellen Lindner - SheHasaGreatPersonality http://www.adventurequilter.com
Rachael Logsdon - FlowersforUkraine dragonflyquiltdesign.net
Aynex Mercado - Whatarewelosing? https://aynexquilts.com
Carly Mul - Rhythm www.carlymul.com
Judy Pearson - Hope
Participating Artists (continued)
Jenny Perry - ThreadPaintingEn Plein Air
https://jennyperry.net/
Susan Price - RhythmandBlues
Mary A Ritter - PortraitofaFarmer
http://www.maryritter.com
Joan Rutledge - StillWaters
https://www.artfolios.shop/joan-rutledge
Eva Saunders - TheAmericanScream
Instagram: @GingerlyQuiltCo
Karin Tauber - TheBiggestHouseintheWorld
www.KarinTauber.com
Janice Walker - VanGoghPicassoed
Michelle Wilkie - Studyno.3
https://www.instagram.com/ml_wilkie/ Kevin Womack - GroupDynamics
www.KevinWomackArt.com