The season’s cycles in the natural world and the mystery of what is beyond the visible inform my art. I grew up on a tidal inlet in a New England fishing town. Salt water, the sea, and the rocky shore, the ocean smells and dampness formed my world. Now, I live on the Pacific Coast near Seattle, Washington, and water is still an important part of what makes me feel at home. The Northwest climate is green, lush and temperate. Organic matter decomposes quickly in our dampness.

My goal is to go beyond the visible record of our climate’s seasons and uncover what is just beyond. I expose the images hidden in the fabric to form a record of my spiritual connection to the earth and celebrate the mystery of our existence.I received a BS in psychology and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Washington and practiced as a social worker for nearly twenty years. That experience helps me appreciate process and trust the slow, sometimes challenging task of uncovering what is hidden in the fiber.

My husband, George Smith, and I have a large blended family of four children, their spouses and three grandchildren. We lost my beautiful daughter to cancer in 2002. She is memorialized in the “Transitions and Passages" series.

I exhibit my textile art nationally and internationally and my work is included in numerous private collections.

 


Traces - detail (full view in Portfolio 4)

 

Contemporary Quilt Art Association

Studio Art Quilt Association

Surface Design Association

Northwest Designer Craftsmen


SOLO OR TWO PERSON EXHIBITS

2008
Earth Cycles, Moses Lake Arts Museum, Moses Lake, WA

2006
Evolving: Circles to Cycles, University Unitarian Church, Seattle, WA
Whole Cloth Works, Depot Art Center, Anacortes, WA

2004
Finding a Voice, Helen S Smith Gallery, Auburn, WA

2003
Exploring the Circle, the Fireside Gallery, Gresham, OR

SELECTED EXHIBITS

2009
Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition, Taipei, Taiwan
Border to Border, at the Road to California, Ontario, CA
Out and About, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Containers, Containment, and Contents, Art Council of Snohomish, Everett, WA

2008
Quilts=Art=quilts, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY
Threadlines, Art and Design Gallery, Springfield, MO
American Art Company’s Tenth Northwest Contemporary Quilt Invitational, Tacoma, WA
Fiber Celebrations, Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO
NWDC at Museo Gallery, Langley, WA
Transformations 07, Visions Gallery, San Diego, CA, Crooked Tree Art Center, Petroskey, MI
Visual Verse, Curfman Gallery, Colorado State University, Ft Collins, CO
Up in stitches, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY

2007   
Transformations, ’07, Birmingham, Great Britain, and Bailman, Australia
 Arts=Quilts=Arts, Schiewnfurth Arts Center , Auburn , NY
 Differing Metaphors, AOC Gallery, T acoma, WA
Evolution of the Art Quilt, Museum of History, Tacoma, WA
Visual Verse, Center for Arts and History, Lewiston, ID

2006  
Exposed, NOHO Gallery, NYC, NY
SPUN, Anderson Chase Galler y, Katonah , NY
 Art Quilts at the Whistler III, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
 Visual Verse, La Conner Quilt Museum, La Conner, WA, Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Golden CO

2005   
Works on Paper, Sharjan Art Museum, Shar jan, United Arab Emirates
 LaPetite, Alder Gallery, Coburg , OR
 National Juried Bead and Fiber Exihibit, Delaplaine Visual Arts Center, Frederick, MD
Fine Art Quilts, Jay Etkin Gallery, Memphis, TN
 8th Northwest Contemporary Art Quilt Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA

2004   
In Full Bloom, Rosemont, IL, den Haag, The Netherlands, Houston, TX
 Art Quilts at the Sedgewick, Philadelphia, PA
 Visual Verse, Hoffman Gallery, Oregon College of the Arts and Craft, Portland, OR

 

For more information about Deborah's work and availability, click CONTACT below or EMAIL at DebKGreg@aol.com