— The Studio
Hand Stitched Quilt Art
Beyond illustrating her books, Lisa is a practicing quilt artist — a member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA NJ+NY). Each piece begins with an idea, fabric, and a pencil sketch. Here are some of her recent works.
IdleWild
March 2025, 29.5”w x 47”h
Hand Pieced, Appliquéd, & Quilted * Cotton Damask from West Africa
In times of idleness, may we go wild, live according to our own designs, and find ourselves.
In agriculture, when land is no longer producing, the farmer no longer plants, lets the land idle. Then, in growing wild plants, the land is enriched. In this sense, to be still leads to creative exuberance.
LM hand pieced, hand appliquéd, and hand quilted IdleWild using greens for the furrows, and browns and reds for the briars – cotton damask (bazin).
2025, July: Juried into SAQA byCONTRAST: Apparent Contradictions exhibition by Ann Johnston.
Rochester, NY at Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo) – from Aug. 30 to Sept. 20, 2025
Old Forge, NY at View Arts Center – from Oct. 4 to Nov. 30
Trenton, NJ at Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion – from Jan. 10 to Feb. 8, 2026
Woodstock, NY at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild – from Apr. 18 to May 10, 2026
Rochester, NY at Genesee Valley QuiltFest 2026 – from May 15 to May 17
Ossining, NY at Bethany Arts Community – from June 13 to June 29
The Open Door
2024, 43”w × 29”h
Hand pleated, pieced & quilted * Kona Cotton Solids
I hope that the open door in the midst of a turbulent landscape speaks to the viewer’s relief when finding safe harbor.
While walking through the Cornell textile collection, I became fascinated with how pleating is used to add both texture and volume in the making of clothing. In developing the symbolic landscape that became The Open Door, I decided to use flat pleats for the forest and house (background), and loose pleats for the tree, rocks, and waves (foreground). The biggest challenge was working improvisationally, cutting fabric with only a loose pencil sketch as a guide.
Hand pieced and hand quilted from Kona cotton solids.
Mount Vernon, NY
Ice Puddle Pirouette (2)
2023, 16” × 16”
Hand pieced, appliquéd, and quilted * Linen, Cotton, & Nylon Tulle
Walking one morning in my New York neighborhood during the pandemic, I was stopped in mid-stride by an ice puddle with leaves. I had been contemplating a future unknown, but now found myself mesmerized by fluid balance and color. The image lived in my mind and asked me to think about how season transitions can be gentle and beautiful, even when drastic. Using hand piecing, appliqué, and quilting, I amplify this luminous movement in three panels.
Ice Puddle Pirouette
Maple leaves fall, twirl;
Rain falls, whirls and swirls;
Fall twirls, whirls, swirls, and freezes.
Materials: scraps of linen, cotton, cotton thread, fleece batting, nylon tulle
Mount Vernon, NY
For the Love of Africa and the Individuals who constitute the Peoples of this Continent
2006 and 2023, 48” x 48”
Hand pieced, appliquéd with feather stitch, and quilted * West African Cotton Prints
Starting with hearts fussy-cut from cotton scraps left from clothing made in Gabon, Benin, and Rwanda, this art quilt was begun in Kigali in 2006. Hand appliqué using needle-turn and feather stitch embroidery, then front pieced by machine. Completed in 2023, quilted by hand. An artwork two decades in the making.
Kigali, Rwanda and Mount Vernon, New York, USA
Lisa is a co-Representative for Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) New Jersey + New York — an international non-profit supporting quilt artists worldwide.
