Our SURROUNDINGS QUILTS were born through a group process that involved finding an inspiring word that would give broad creative license and inspiration for a series of quilts produced by each member of Mendocino Quilt Artists.

In this case, “SURROUNDINGS” became a guiding narrative to represent a place each of us felt drawn and emotionally connected to. It became our well-used transitional subject to compose art quilts that had a sense of place and purpose. Furthermore, it provoked an opportunity to explore a place that is meaningful to us as individuals, igniting our creative juices, and mixing the outer and inner felt experiences into an alchemy of stitched stories.  Here you can witness the story of a Ukiah foggy morning, a cartographer’s view of a local neighborhood, songbirds singing, the rolling hills and vineyards of Redwood Valley, a cougar prowling near a trail head, bridges and “mystrees” along the Shakota trail at Lake Mendocino and the human connection as a grandmother sits reading to her grandchildren. These SURROUNDINGS QUILTS represent the culmination of deep reflection and reverence for these daily moments of chosen connection that surround us. Quilts are a historically feminine utilitarian art form, where women repurposed old fabric into tactile works of beauty and warmth. Like our quilt sisters of the past, stitch by stitch, we encourage one another and once our stitched story is complete and surrendered to textile form, we breathe a sigh of relief and take in what surrounds us.