Beyond Flagstaff

 Dianne Ayres 

Bio: February 10th, 1959 - February 3rd, 2025. Dianne was a well-known quilter, quilting instructor, fabric artist in the San Francisco Bay area, and a member of the Studio Art Quilt Association. 

Artist Statement: I was motivated to make this piece in response to SAQA rejecting censorship and standing up for the rights of artists. We all grow stronger when we stand together. It includes denim with discharge, block-printed blossoms, and linen embroidery.

 Earamichia Brown 

Bio: Earamichia Brown has been sewing since childhood and quilting since 2000. She writes “Quilting has introduced me to an entire new world of creative options and opportunities. I have spent the past five years growing and creating using this wonderful medium.” She is a member of the Studio Art Quilt Association.

Artist Statement: I know the reasons that motivated this piece. I have had a career in protecting government from fraud, waste and abuse. You can fill in the _______.

Frances L A Dack

Bio: Frances L. A. Dack is a quilter and quilting teacher in California and a member of the Studio Art Quilt Association.

Artist statement: Before 2019, I collected several fabric pieces use in demonstration marches. In 2019, I rust-dyed fabrics in my backyard. Now is the time to bring these treasures forward in my art. All the threadwork is handwork.

Alicia Gonzales 

 Bio: I am a self-taught artist, mostly doing drawings, but would love to work with paints. Living in Laramie, Wyoming, I am proud of my Hispanic heritage. My family Immigrated from Spain to New Mexico and Wyoming before the USA and Mexico were countries.

Artist Statement: The butterfly represents my freedom from addiction, from jails, institutions and death from an overdose. The purple ribbon represents recovery.

 Jacquelyn A. Hobson

Bio: Jacquelyn A Hobson is a quilter in Maryland and member of the Studio Art Quilt Association.

Artist Statement: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This art quilt represents the (often) long-standing and reverberating plea for justice that may be heard in a “court” of the moral universe. The quilt is composed of one block, courthouse steps, and quilted with off-set concentric circles.

 Emanda R. Johnson 

Bio: Emanda R. Johnson is an art historian, a quilter and a quilt instructor in Texas and member of the Studio Art Quilt Association. As an Art Historian my work is strongly influenced by my spirituality and my travels. I studied Medieval Stained Glass and when starting my journey as a fiber artist, I used fabric in the same way a glazier would use colored glass. It is unusual for me to work in the abstract, but my love for these colors and particular fabrics prompted me to respond to Studio Art Quilt Associates call for entries. SAQA has pushed me out of my comfort zone to express myself in a non-pictorial way. I have learned many things in my 30 years as a fiber artist and love to share them in workshops and classes.

Artist Statement: Our planet is in crisis. The alarms have sounded. Climate Change has already reached the global temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius more than once this decade. We don’t have a back-up planet, and Mars is even more inhospitable. We need to take care of the Earth. The title, “this fragile Earth, our island home,” is a prayer or petition from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. “Lord God of the Universe, Creator of all things, of galaxies, stars and planets, this fragile Earth, our island home.