Sandra is a top internationally awarded and recognized Master Applique Artist and is known for her masterpiece quilts that showcase her unique illustrative approach with hand appliqué and hand embellishment techniques. Combining an art background with years of working with textiles and fibers, Sandra creates stunning Artisan quilts that are both art and traditional in style with breathtaking quality visually and technically.
Her work has consistently won major juried national and international awards including several major international Best of Show awards as well as the RJR Best of Show Wall Quilt and the Brother Best Machine Workmanship Wall Award at the AQS quilt show in Paducah and two Master Awards for both Art and Traditional categories at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Her work is included in the permanent collections of two national quilt museums including The National Quilt Museum.
Sandra has also appeared on Ricky Tim's and Alex Anderson's, "The Quilt Show" episode #1701, three PBS specials and The American Quilter television program. Sandra and her quilts have been published in many sources worldwide and is the author of the book, "Hand Applique with Embroidery" published by AQS in 2010.
Teaching Engagement Experience:
- American Quilter's Society Show in Paducah,KY
- The Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy in Williamsburg, VA,
- Empty Spools Seminars Asilomar in Pacific Grove,California
- Berrima Patchwork-Quilting in the Highlands, Australia
- Road To California Quilter's Showcase Ontario, California
- The National Quilting Association Show in Columbus, OH,
- Dixie McBride's Quilter's Escape on the Northern California Coast
- Hudson River Valley Art Quilt Workshops, New York
- and at other venues domestically and international.
Sandra is also an experienced Art and Quilt Judge with in-depth and demonstrated knowledge of various techniques and art principles.
National/International quilt show judging experience includes:
- The International Quilt Association's Show/ Quilt Festival Houston
- The Road to California Quilt Show and Conference
- The American Quilter's Society (AQS) Des Moines quilt show.
Served on the Board of Directors for:
- The International Quilt Association-Houston, Texas
I design and create one of a kind hand applique artisan quilts that remain true to the original definition of a quilt with careful attention to detail and expert workmanship. I am continually challenging myself with each new work to elevate the artistic impact to a more painterly level incorporating my illustration and painting skills through the use of fabric and thread expressed in original compositions.
Although I work with the traditional form of the quilt, I am always pushing the possibilities and boundaries of what can be achieved artistically within those traditional parameters. I love the tactile nature of these materials and the additional opportunities they present to insert layers of texture with a variety of techniques that go beyond painting's two dimesionality.
