Layers of Meaning

Bernie Rowell : Contemporary Quilt Artist

Bernie Rowell describes her work on her homepage: "I create highly textural contemporary art quilts from my studio in the magical mountains of western North Carolina. My mixed-media canvases are painted, pieced and then quilted. This quilted presentation gives tactile references to home, family and the whole history of women's work."
image: 'Shield for a Toxic Planet' by Bernie Rowell"

Rowell was a painter before becoming a quilter. As a result, all of her quilts have a very painterly feel to them. Her work explores the beauty of her gardens and the North Carolina Mountains, where she lives. She also creates 'shields' for herself, other women ('For the Tribe of One-Breasted Women') or nature ('Earth Shield / Oceans'). Her repeating patterns and motifs are stylized, but never rigid. In her Computer Scrap Quilts, Rowell literally pushes the boundaries of her quilts by playing with the binding/edging processes. Curves turn straight, then zigzag, and ease back into a curve. The pieces push outside the rectangular box.

Rowell has further expanded the notion of quilting by producing a series of prints on paper, which she then quilts and embellishes.