QBL teachers are nationally & internationally recognized quilt artist and teachers.  Below you will find biographical information on all of the QBL 2009 teachers.        

For class descriptions click here.

After a career as an art teacher, Bob now finds nothing more satisfying (or scary) than expressing himself on canvas or cloth... or teaching discharge, dye and stitch processes across the USA and internationally. His work has been selected for many juried and invitational exhibitions — including three Quilt National shows. His move into fiber was partially influenced by his wife Natalie. Natalie was a weekend quilt-maker and as Bob began to help out with decision-making on the quilts she was working on, he became fascinated by the flexibility that fabric offered and the quality of line that free-motion stitching generated. Discharge techniques on black or hand-dyed cloth have become a hallmark of his style, which over the years has moved away from the early inspirations of life drawing and landscape, to more abstract with an emphasis on color and line.

Read more about Bob on his website:  www.bobadamsart.com

Bob is teaching Class #16: Color, Texture, Line & Shape with free-motion (5-day Session II)

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Elizabeth was born and educated in York, England, and emigrated to the US in 1976. She has explored various art media and focused on Art Quilts since receiving an NEA grant in 1995. While her quilts reference traditional quilts she tries to push the concept much further, using the medium to its maximum — relishing its ability to reflect texture, depth and luster of color as well as hue. Reflected light, translucency, and the effects of time are recurring themes, as are repeated patterns of windows and architectural forms. Recently more ephemeral patterns such as those created by water and shadow have become a source of inspiration. She also explores formal issues of balance and color, space and light seen in landscape in her work.

Read more about Elizabeth on her website:  http://ebarton.myweb.uga.edu/

Elizabeth is teaching Class #17: Art Quilts: Working in a Series (5-day Session II)

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Judi judges, teaches and lectures internationally. Her work has been in Quilt National and Crafts National exhibits and in Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibitions at the Schweinfurth Art Center. Her quilts are in public and private collections in the US, Australia and Japan and have been published in Robert Shaw’s “The Art Quilt” and in Nihon Vogue’s “88 Leaders in the Quilt World Today.” She wrote “Fabric Postcards” [AQS] and designed the “Buds and Blossoms” fabric line for Benartex. Her quilt “The Mountain and the Magic: Night Lights” is in the permanent collection of The Museum of the American Quilter’s Society and a retrospective of her work was shown at The New England Quilt Museum.

Judi is teaching Classes #1 & #2 Studio with Teacher (2-day & 3-day Session I) & Class #18: Collage + Cloth = Quilt (5-day Session II)

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Dorothy is a graduate of Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and maintains an active international exhibition and teaching schedule. She has carried out research in Japan, India, and Australia on textile traditions and is the recipient of grants and awards including the prestigious Bronfman Award given to one Canadian craftsperson each year. Her work is included in many permanent collections including the Canadian Museum of Civilization, The Carlton and Reta Lewis collection in Washington D.C., The Canadian Consulate Bangkok Thailand, and the American Museum of Art and Design.

Dorothy is teaching Class #19: The Expressive Stitch (5-day Session II)

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Cynthia sees her work as an eclectic personal expression based on the classical quilt form. She explores dyeing and painting, intensive machine quilting, and a problem solving, “seat of the pants” approach to quilt construction. As an artist, Cynthia has devoted herself to extensive study to deepen her understanding of the processes that drive her work. As a teacher, she encourages her students in their search for uniqueness and authenticity, drawing on her passion for developing each student’s individual voice. Cynthia currently works in her home studio in Woodinville, Washington.

Read more about Cynthia on her website:  www.cynthiacorbin.com

Cynthia is teaching Class #4: New Directions (5-day Session I)

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Rosalie is a South African studio artist who has been working in the fiber art, quilt and embroidery world since 1975. Her work has been widely exhibited and published nationally and internationally, and she has won several awards. She has taught and lectured in South Africa, America, New Zealand and Germany, which has allowed her to indulge her passion for textiles, travel and meeting people.

Read more about Rosalie on her website:  www.rosaliedace.ca.zo

Rosalie is teaching Class #5: Earth, Wind and Fire (5-day Session I), Class #20 African Motifs in Design (2-day Session II) & Class #21 Quilt Jazz: Freedom in Quilt Making African Style (3-day Session II)

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Jane is the author of Complex Cloth, (1996) Improvisational Screen Printing (2003) and co-authored Finding Your Own Visual Language (2007). She teaches and exhibits widely and was awarded the Quilt Japan Prize in the 2002 Visions exhibition, and the Gold Prize, at the Taegue International Textile Exhibition. Jane maintains Art Cloth Studios, in San Antonio, Texas.

Read more about Jane on her website:  www.artclothstudios.com

Jane is teaching Class #6: Complex Cloth (5-day Session I) & Class #22: Water-based Resist & Printed Dye (5-day Session II)

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Rayna, the author of Create Your Own Hand Printed Cloth, brings a “you can’t make a
mistake” approach to surface design. Using ordinary objects from around the house for printing, she encourages students to work spontaneously and to ask “what if?” She has been a featured artist on Simply Quilts and Quilting Arts TV and has written for Quilting Arts Magazine and Cloth Paper, Scissors. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in private collections in the U.S. and Europe.

Read more about Rayna on her website:  www.studio78.net

Rayna is teaching Class #23: Printing with Found Objects (2-day Session II) & Class #24: Jump Starting the Art Quilt (3-day Session II)

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Born and educated in Germany, Anna was exposed to fiber art at an early age. Handwork was a regular part of the weekly school curriculum and her passion for art and textiles is a life-long pursuit. She holds London City & Guilds Diplomas in Art, Design, Contemporary Embroidery as well as Patchwork and Quilting. Her life-long pursuit of the arts makes her a passionate and inspiring teacher. Anna is a teacher and lecturer with more than 15 years of experience in the field. Professional Quilter Magazine nominated her for “Quilt Teacher of the Year Award” in 2006. Her work has been exhibited internationally in solo shows and traveling exhibitions. Most recently she won the curator’s choice award in “The Grand National” (Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery) for 2008.

Read more about Anna on her website:  www.hergert.ab.ca

Anna is teaching Class #7: Mud Pies (5-day Session I) & Classes #25 & #26 : Studio with Teacher (2-day & 3-day Session II)

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Alice works in a variety of fabric and decorative stitching techniques. Her teaching goal is to inspire students to translate basic techniques into personalized quilts or wearables. She has developed numerous easy techniques for sashiko, decorative machine embellishment, and crazy quilting. Simple piecing and embellishment on understated wearables is her trademark. She has written for a variety of publications including American Quilter, Threads, Rodale Press, and others. Her latest book, Sew Crazy, approaches endless possibilities of color and embellishment. She has taught at many national conferences including in Japan and Switzerland. She has also participated in the American Quilter’s Fashion Show, as an artist and juror, and designed for the Fairfield Fashion Show. Alice has a M.S. in Home Economics Education, Clothing and Textiles. In addition to quilting, Alice enjoys family, the Texas hill country, and gardening.

Read more about Alice on her website: www.alicekolb.com

Alice is teaching Class #27: Sew a Crooked-Patched Line (2-day Session II) & Class #28: Patchwork - Move it into your Custom Garment (3-day Session II)

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Jan is a nationally recognized quilt instructor, author and designer. Winner of the 1998 Teacher of the Year award, Jan’s motivating workshops are packed with practical tips, techniques and methods to insure success. Author of Lone Star Quilts & Beyond, Hunter Star Quilts & Beyond and Diamond Quilts and Beyond, Jan lives with her husband in Poway, California.

Read more about Jan on her website: www.jankrentz.com

Jan is teaching Class #8: Harbor Lights (2-day Session I) & Class #9: Summer Salsa (3-day Session I)

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Katie has traveled the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and England teaching contemporary quilt designing. She has changed her style over the years, starting with traditional works, next creating Mandalas followed by dimensional quilts. She then moved on to landscapes, fracturing them and adding transparencies and color washes. Her most recent work is based on her acrylic paintings. She feels as if she has returned full circle to her beginning as a painter, painting now with fabric. Katie teaches in a relaxed but energizing style, passing on her extensive knowledge of design and the art quilt to her students.

Read more about Katie on her website: www.katiepm.com

Katie is teaching Class #10: Transforming Still Life (5-day Session I)

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Jane worked in many design mediums before discovering quilting. After graduating as an art major at Iowa State University, she worked as a window dresser, sign maker, illustrator and designer of decorative accessories. All of these talents came into play when Jane began to quilt in 1980. Since then her exuberant quilts and fabric designs have attracted worldwide recognition. Under the influence of 19th century Arts and Crafts designers, her work is abstracted from nature, but her signature graphic style is totally contemporary. As an art quilter, Jane’s designs are always recognizable for their bold color and graphic style. In fact, her quilt, “Willow,” was named as one of the hundred best American quilts of the 20th century. Today she is translating her unique vision into exuberant fabrics for FreeSpirit. Like her quilts, Jane’s fabrics are nature inspired, large scaled and colorfully enthusiastic. When she isn’t designing fabric in the studio, she is on the road teaching quilt classes, sketching in the garden or browsing through her wonderful library of design books. She is also the author of “The Quilted Garden,” which includes twenty years of her work and exercises for making nature-inspired quilts.

Read more about Jane on her website: www.janesassaman.com

Jane is teaching Class #30: Shape Shifting (5-day Session II)

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A background in art and clothing construction led Fran into surface design and fabric collage. Her painted and layered work is widely recognized  collections and exhibitions including Quilt National; Visions; Fiberart International; Contemporary American Quilts in London England; and Art Quilts: America at the Millennium, in Strasbourg, France. In addition, Fran’s work has been featured in Surface Design Journal, Fiberarts, and Robert Shaw’s two books, The Art Quilt, and Quilts: A Living Tradition. She maintains a studio in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Fran is teaching Class #11: Painting, Printing & Collage with Paper and Fabric (5-day Session I)

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Laura is both a contemporary quilt maker and creator of hand-dyed fabrics and threads. Her pictorial art quilts, made from fused fabrics and machine quilted, are collected and exhibited internationally. Her narrative quilts begin with her unique hand-dyed fabrics and are inspired by stories of family, friends, and home. The whimsical wall pieces often chronicle her life. Owner of the dye shop, Artfabrik, Laura is also a lecturer, surface designer, quilt instructor, and author of Fusing Fun and Fuse-and-Tell.

Read more about Laura on her website:  www.artfabrik.com

Laura is teaching Class #12: Fusing Fun (2-day Session I) & Class #13: Fuse and Tell (3-day Session I)

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