Hello, I'm Stacey.
I grew up in rural Virginia where a favorite family outing was going to antique malls, auctions, and yard sales. I was always intrigued by the history and the mystery of discarded, lost, or abandoned objects. Channeling that into my work, I have found great satisfaction in creating something lovely and new from what others may see as useless. The art of creating patchwork mimics the art of life: creating the most beautiful thing you can with what you have at hand.
A little about me...
Inspiration
The work of Rosie Lee Tompkins, Nancy Crow, Denyse Schmidt and the community of quilters in Gees Bend as well as the curatorial work of Eli Leon and Roderick Kiracofe have been deeply impactful in my life and on my work. I was also heavily influenced by the creativity of my family, who dressed me in handmade clothes, made me handmade toys, and always encouraged me to be resourceful and creative. Having grown up surrounded by vintage quilts, much of my work is based on very traditional American quilt block design and often incorporates vintage textiles. Some pieces are very literal. Some are stretched beyond recognition.
Bio
Hmmm, are you really still reading this? Oh, well then, I guess I'll continue. While my formal education was in something other than art (English, if you must know), I have always been doing something with needle and thread. My quilts have been included in books and magazines. They've been shown at museums and nationally juried quilt shows. I've even been a quilt judge at those shows. I was one of the founding members of the East Bay Modern Quilters and helped put on the locally famous, Stitch Modern quilt show. For almost 20 years, I specialized in antique rug restoration and had a side hustle on Etsy, selling thousands of quilted and hand-sewn things. Most lately, I was a co-founder of Hello Stitch Studio in Berkeley, CA, a textile based maker space and art gallery. I like to keep busy.