My quilt Healdsburg Oaks was is one of 41 pieces that jurors, Katie Pasquini Masopust and Karen Holmes, selected out of 78 submissions for Stitching California: Fiber Artists Interpret the State’s People, Life, and Land. The Studio Art Quilt Association (SAQA) call for entry was an invitation for quilt artists from members from the Northern California & Northern Nevada region to explore and reflect on the diversity, illusions, realities, and hopes that define — or at least help us better understand — the richness and contradictions of the Golden State.
The initial venue is from August 17, 2019 – January 5, 2020 at:
Grace Hudson Museum
431 S Main St.
Ukiah, CA
Reception: August 17, 2 – 5 pm
Healdsburg Oaks was inspired by the oak trees at The Bishop’s Ranch during a recent quilting retreat in Healdsburg, CA. Just about anywhere you look in California, you’ll see oak trees. The resilient oak has withstood droughts and made comebacks after fires, so for me it is a symbol of strength and rebirth. It rained almost non-stop during my visit, and when I finally had a chance to walk on the grounds, I took a photo of this group of these glorious oaks backlit against the morning sky. I played up the blue and gold in the photo when I prepared it for printing. I used trapunto to give it a sense of depth and hand embroidery and machine quilting to suggest the texture of the bark and twigs.
Detail of hand stitching before the trapunto. I found that contrasting color and value showed up much more than the more subtle stitching I started with.
Priscilla Read - Art Journey 