When I was first introduced to and inspired by the art of Nancy Crow in the 80’s, I set out to see what I could create with cloth and color.  I wanted to create bold, asymmetrical compositions with lots of energy and contrast.  Initially, like other quilt artists, I made big color shapes by piecing together many smaller shapes.  However, it wasn’t long before I became frustrated with the limited range of colors and designs available in commercial fabrics.  Years before, I had worked for a textile designer painting dye on heavy silk for upholstery. I began to experiment with dye on cotton, to try to produce the colors and effects I wanted in my work.

Over the years, as I have become more proficient with the dye process, my work has become more “painterly”, using larger single pieces of dyed cloth.   Painting with dye and sketching with stitch, I enjoy creating abstract designs that showcase the delights of dyed cloth:  the saturation and depth of color possible,  the way the dye spreads like watercolor, crackle effects, and many varied textures.





People often inquire: “Do you form an idea for a piece, and then dye the fabric? Or does the inspiration for the piece come out of the process of dyeing fabric?” My answer is: “Both!”  Similar to the medium of watercolor, dye is an elusive medium.  I often do start out purposefully to express an idea that I have in my mind.  I can set up all the conditions for what I envision, but because dye is influenced by many variables (temperature, humidity, thickness, etc.) there still exists the element of surprise as the dye does what it decides to do.

This is what I love about using dye: the mixture of control over, and surrender to, the process required. Sometimes I am crushed with disappointment at the results, and sometimes I am exhilarated beyond awe. And sometimes a random dye of fabric using excess dye at the end of a project yields fabric so achingly beautiful and suggestive that it would be impossible not to create with it. 

I have always been drawn to psychology, and fascinated by the soul and spirit within each person. Over the last twenty years I have lived in Ohio , California , New Mexico , Massachusetts , West Virginia , Arizona and Virginia . The dramatic changes in location have each time reminded me of the differences in culture, but the universality of the human soul and spirit.  Questions and ideas about the soul and spirit come to me in abstract images, sometimes in dreams, and my hope is to share these images through my art.

Some of the teachers I have had the privilege of learning from are Michael James, Linda McDonald, and Ruth McDowell.  I have studied dye chemistry, artists, and art extensively, and have completed formal coursework in fine arts at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst , MA .

I exhibit my art though shows and galleries and currently live in Charlottesville, Virginia, with my husband Wes and teen children Julia and John, where we enjoy music, reading, and karate.






SOLO and DUO EXHIBITIONS  

2007  Artisans Center of Virginia , Waynesboro , VA
2007  Beverley Street Studios Gallery, Staunton , VA
2004  Wingspan Gallery, Lexington , KY
2003  St Marks Presbyterian Church, Tucson , AZ
2003  St. Gregory College Preparatory, Tucson , AZ
1998  National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank, WV
1995  Liberty Presbyterian Church, Green Bank, WV

SELECTED JURIED and INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS

2007
Wish You Were Here, Shenandoah Valley Arts Center , Waynesboro , VA
Wish You Were Here, Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO
Member’s Show, Artisans Center of Virginia, Waynesboro , VA
Solo Exhibit - Beginnings, Artisans Center of Virginia , Waynesboro , VA
Duo Exhibit - Reality Check, Beverley Street Studios Gallery, Staunton , VA

2006
Body of Art, Willoughby & Baltic Fine Arts, Cambridge , MA

2005
Quilt National, Dairy Barn, Athens , OH

2004
Solo Exhibit - The Face of Homelessness, Wingspan Gallery, Lexington , KY

2003
Duo Exhibit - The Face of Homelessness, St Marks Presbyterian Church, Tucson , AZ
Duo Exhibit -  The Face of Homelessness, St. Gregory College Preparatory, Tucson , AZ

1998
New Image, National Quilt Museum , Paducah , KY
More Than Surface, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram , TX
Solo Exhibit – First Light, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank, WV

1997
Together and Apart, Juried Group Show, Hood College , Frederick , MD
Contemporary Fiber Arts from the Mid-Atlantic Region, Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, Farmville , VA

1996
Recent Work by New Image, The Mansion Art Gallery of Rockville , Rockville , MD
New Image, Valentine Museum , Richmond , VA

1995
Collaborative Works by New Image, Rockville Arts Place , Rockville , MD
New Image, George Washington Memorial Hospital , Washington , DC
Solo Exhibit - Spiritual Stories,  Liberty Presbyterian Church, Green Bank, WV

1994
Resident Artist Show, Brush Art Gallery , Lowell , MA

PUBLICATIONS

2007 Fiberarts Magazine, April/May Issue
2006 Body of Art , Willoughby and Baltic
2005 Quilt National, The Best in Contemporary Quilts, Lark Books
1998 Review of More Than Surface, Surface Design Journal, Summer Issue
1996 Collaborating with New Image Group, Art Quilt Magazine, Spring Issue

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Fiber Transformed (Professional Fiber Artist Group), VA 
Surface Design Associates, Kansas City , MO LINK
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Storrs , CT LINK

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

1993-2007  Workshop Instructor, adults and children, various settings
1993, 1994  Artist-in-Residence, Brush Art Gallery and Studios, Lowell , MA
1991, 1992, 1993  Gallery Staff, Ferrin Gallery, New Art Forms Exhibition, Chicago , IL



 

 

    

 

Surface Design Association

Studio Art Quilt Associates

Artisans Center of Virginia

David Walker

    

 



CONTACT PAMELA BELOW FOR FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HER WORK AND AVAILABILITY