Gina explores the intersection of art, place, community, and personal resilience.

“I join the company of women from all over the world who have used handwork to explore joys and sorrows. Whether it is pioneer women in Kansas, African-American women in the south, or rug makers in Afghanistan, people have always used handwork to make sense of their experiences.

My own intense love affair with fabric began in 2006, when my brother Verne died too young. Trying to find a way to work out my grief, one night I got up at 3 am, pulled out some fabric, and created a small “journal quilt.” It was a way to process my grief in an unconventional way, to create a small quilt could be crushed, wadded up, cried over, and finally hung to appreciate.”

A 5th generation Kansan, Gina is drawn to art quilting because there are no rules. It gives Gina the freedom to create without boundaries. Driven by color, and happiest when using more colors that seem appropriate, Gina experiments with what it means to be “over-the-top.” She loves make things to shock us to explore the boundaries of convention and to answer questions about her relationship to people and land, and to community and place.

Originally trained as a coach and group facilitator, Gina’s projects spark conversations and invite participation by allowing non-artists and non-quilters to explore the secrets hidden in fabric. She is interested in how diverse human communities can take advantage of difference and dissent, and how art can facilitate these wider community conversations. She has led these conversations, as well as retreats and workshops, all over the world.

She lives near Perry, Kansas in the US, where she grows flowers and vegetables, welcomes visitors, and makes beauty in any way she can.