Dena Dale CrainTextile Artist

What follows is the output of one textile artist who has worked in many formats, some of which served as the foundation for patchwork quilt

design classes taught since 2002 in the USA, Australia, France, England, Kenya, Canada, Kuwait and South Africa, as well as online for Quilt

University and now QuiltEd Online.

Throughout the works presented here are commonalities of style and presentation leading to a conclusive series of work called

Redefinitions. This series falls back to the origins of fabric patchwork as it explores the use of freehand and controlled cutting and piecing

coupled with accenting linear elements and dense quilting.

Amongst all pieces, two fabrics prevail - silk and cotton - sometimes augmented with synthetic fancies. Many fabrics were hand painted,

dyed, stamped or stenciled by the artist. Most piecing and quilting was done by machine, although instances of decorative or functionally

required hand work can be found. Most beading was done by hand.

Conceptual in theory, these works raise patchwork quilting to the level of fine art.

For more information, contact Dena Dale Crain.

Redenitions Most recent work

Many pieces made of silk

Exploring basics of patchwork

Importance of linear elements

Dense free motion quilting

Mindful embellishment

Path Less Traveled

41 x 41 Silk (Sold)

On the Slant 26 x 33

Silk

Gee Whiz! 40 x 41

Silk

Snakes & Ladders 41 x 46

Cotton (Sold)

Urban Africa 34 x 38 Cotton

City Sidewalks 30 x 43

Silk

Tropical Rain 40 x 34 Cotton

Desert Sands 30 x 34 Silk (Sold)

Joyful Noise 43 x 21

Silk

Kenyanese Checkers 27 x 27

Silk

Spirit Works Surrealist from the unconscious mind

Autobiographical

Whole, or modified whole, cotton cloth

Quilted by hand or machine

No prior design or sketch

Painted with dyes or heat-set acrylic fabric paints after quilting

Hearts Aflutter 24 x 28 Unframed

Moon Dance 13 x 13 (Sold)

The Eyes Have It 28 x 36

Transition 23 x 21

Diamond in the Rough 12 x 12 (Sold)

Fingertips 31 x 35 (Sold)

Mystery 29 x 42 (Sold)

Terminal - Smoking May Be Hazardous 23 x 38 (Sold)

Dar2ed Quilts Gradation palettes

Raw edge piecing with machine darning stitches

Shapes cut from a single constructed background, shifted and reset to maximize contrast

Background/foreground definition

No prior design or sketch

Bubbles I 62 x 18 Cotton

Bubbles II 27 x 30 Cotton

Bubbles III 31 x 38 Cotton

Autumn Revisited

27 x 27 Cotton

Camera 17 x 21

Silk

Cr7stal Quilts Motion of symmetry: reflection

Intuitive tessellation

Many pieces made from silk

Machine pieced, machine quilted

No unnecessary seams

Break with traditional block quilts

Jewel of Africa 58 x 47,

Silk

Valentine Special 25 x 19 Unframed

Silk

Victoria I and Victoria II 26 x 22 and 24 x 20, Cotton & Silk

Emerald 58 x 44

Silk

All That Glitters 26 x 22

Silk

Fantasy 27 x 21

Silk

Desig2er Pinwheels Fourfold rotation of a right triangle

Intuitive tessellation

Automatic focal point

Great movement

No unnecessary seams

Machine pieced, machine quilted

Calligraph 12 x 12 Silk (Sold)

Fractures 27 x 27

Silk

Humdinger 21 x 21 Cotton

Tick Fever 27 x 27 Cotton

Lilac & Clover 36 x 36

Cotton (Sold)

Poinsettia 32 x 32 Cotton

Finite Desig2s Abstract or realistic art quilts

Inspiration from earthly and inner landscapes

Full range of techniques and materials

No unnecessary seams

Most work done by machine

Many hand painted, printed, stenciled or dyed fabrics by artist

The Future is Now

79 x 19 Silk (Sold)

Le Grand Dieu 35 x 72 (Stolen)

Cotton

Les Animaux 35 x 72 (Sold)

Cotton

Les Girafes 35 x 72 (Stolen)

Cotton

Greenhouse Windows 48 x 46

Cotton (Sold)

Primal Scream 62 x 46 Cotton

Green Cheese Communications

47 x 40 Cotton

Jua Kali 79 x 31

Cotton (Sold)

St=>ct>red Fabrics Constructed checks, plaids and stripes

Simple compositions using complex materials

Preliminary design sketches not required

Rich surface texture

All pieces made from cotton fabrics

Mindful embellishments

Doorway to Africa 60 x 42

Cotton (Sold)

Conversation Piece 79 x 36

Cotton (Sold)

Shadowboxing 48 x 36 Cotton

TV Blues 42 x 27 Cotton

Dena Dale Crain

Dena Dale Crain is an American textile artist, designer, teacher and author who has lived in Kenya for nearly 25 years. Her artwork has sold from exhibitions,

commissions and consignments. She now owns

QuiltEd Online

offering specialized online art quilting classes to students around the world.

Images in this presentation under copyright protection; all rights reserved.