Commissions
These quilts were made for specific clients who wanted a quilt for a particular need or space. Some of Barbara's commissioned works hang in public spaces such as clinics or schools; some are in private residences. Below are a few examples. If you are interested in a commission, please email Barbara for more information. Click or tap on quilt images to enlarge.
YASUKO'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN
Bed quilt, 86” x 88”. Made of silks, brocades, and cottons; machine quilted at New Pieces by Kathy Ritter.
This quilt was commissioned by a curator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, so I felt challenged to create a truly fine art quilt for her and her husband. She provided me with two bags full f Japenese fabrics, many of them gorgeous shibori silks and kimono materials. These I supplemented with hand-loomed Cambodian silks, fabrics from Thailand, and some Japanese cotton. I used the abundance of scraps to piece together a series of odd-shaped, curvy-sized trapezoids that I then grouped over the surface of the bed. When I'd achieved a satisfying arrangement, I figured out how to piece them into the dark background material so that they could create a single regular shape while preserving their individual irregular outlines. Kathy's fan-shaped quilting further complements the Asian feel of the piece.
CLOSET PANELS
Two quilted panels, each one 30” x 62” with tabs at top to allow them to slide along upper rods. Made of commercial cottons; machine quilted by Sue Fox of Textile Dream Studio.
The design was composed using the "cutting double" technique taught by Sandi Cummings. This piece solved the question of how to curtain off a closet area without taking up door space.
ELIZABETH'S OCEAN
Wall hanging 60” x 60”. Made of commercial, hand dyed, and over-dyed cottons; machine quilted at New Pieces.
This quilt was commissioned by a woman who had recently moved from the northern California coast to Seattle. While her new home has a beautiful view of Lake Union, she misses the ocean and wanted a quilt to remind her of the Mendocino coastline. I generally avoid representational imagery and found the work slow going at first. But after several false starts, I was able to evoke the ocean with figurative and abstract elements. Both artist and client are happy!
BRANCHING OUT
Wall hanging 36” x 84”. Made of hand dyed cottons from Senegal and Gambia, assorted other hand dyed and commercial cottons; machine quilted by Angie Woodman.
I made this piece for an unusually narrow wall in a house whose owner wanted something dramatic for a space facing into a large living area. My client wanted images suggestive of nature rather than a purely abstract work, so I "branched out" from my usual purely geometric shapes into forms similar to the lush plant life that surrounds her hillside home.