Fabrics dictated Sea Struck. I first painted the watery image on satin and then chose fabrics to accompany it. Before I knew it, a leopard eel appeared. I then finished Sea Struck up as an imaginary underwater seascape, carefully balancing colors and forms to make a united visual whole.

Creating Sea Struck

Sometimes it just takes the inspiration of great new teachers to send your work spinning off in new directions. I took Valerie Hearder's class at the Houston International Quilt Festival this year and was delightfully surprised at the impact her methods have had on my work. Although Hearder is famous for her tiny, matted and framed textile works that are hand-sewn, I was able to incorporate many of her provocative applique, painting, and composition techniques into my larger, more abstract machine work. Thank you, Valerie.

Sea Struck began in Valerie's class, where she provided a large variety of fabrics for her students. I began looking at fabrics in a new manner, understanding how the fabric could create my work, rather than creating the work from fabric.

I also learned to paint the shiny, watery area of this piece in her class. Note the large, foreground images which give the composition greater depth -- another Hearder ploy.

When I got back to my studio, I added fabrics from my own stash to finish the artwork, basically around the edges and at the bottom. Netting was used in areas to shadow the ocean depths.

This work was also enhanced by free-form quilting techniques I learned at the Festival from consummate UK Quilt Maker Philippa Naylor and famed US freeform stitch artist Caryl Bryer Fallert. In Sea Struck, you can see these techniques illustrated in the leaf form on the shiny satin area and the large green leaf at the bottom left. Thank you, Philippa and Caryl.

Did the classes improve my work? You judge ....

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