top of page

ABOUT LORRY

Lorry’s first quilted project was a Christmas stocking for her newborn daughter. Nearly three decades and hundreds of quilted projects later, she still considers a day incomplete unless it involves quilting in some manner...including fabric shopping, gazing upon her many unfinished projects, or fondling her impressive collection of fat quarters!

 

Lorry has been teaching and lecturing since 1994, and since 1999, has been a quilt judge certified by the National Quilting Association. Besides being active in her local guild, she has written articles for websites and magazines. Her award-winning work has been included in calendars and magazines, and has been selected as cover art for several musical recordings. Her current quilt-related interests include exploring a traditional but little-known foundation method of applique that she calls “Down-Under Applique” and is a proponent of "slow" quiltmaking. She continually crosses the line between traditional and contemporary in her original design work. She currently resides with her family in upstate NY, in a house pleasantly full of quilts.

 

As a member of the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges, Lorry considers it a privilege to be able to evaluate the current body of work being produced by quilters, and bring to the judging arena a sense of respect and appreciation for all levels and types of quiltmaking.

True Blue Melon4.JPG

ARTIST STATEMENT

When quilting, I am continuing a conversation with a history of women betrayed by the relative impermanence of their handiwork (cooking, needlework, crafts) and therefore abandoned by the pseudo-legitimate history we all learn in school, ie, a mostly male history of the acquisition of power via wars, reigns, and presidencies. Where were all the women, I often wondered while reading of yet another battle to win yet another plot of land, and why don't we study the creation of life wrought by their hands as much if not more than the history in the textbooks?

 

Perhaps the history of half of the population of our entire history lies mostly dormant because of the ephemeral nature of their primary sources: textiles, in particular, do not long survive their creators unless they are removed from the business for which they were created: providing comfort and warmth to human beings. Perhaps all the wraiths of these forgotten providers of home and security will in some future rise with their needles, sock darners, and rotary cutters, and moan and cry, “Remember me!”

 

So as I study, touch, and manipulate fabric while quilting, I am often reminded that I am adding my contributions to a long history of women's language. Our quilts are as much expressions of our inner thoughts, emotions, and convictions as any author's text, musician's symphony, or artist's image. I continually cross the line between traditional and contemporary in my work, and am driven by the visual and tactile nature of my medium. My conversation varies dramatically with each piece I produce; my inner voice asks, “Do I add to the conversation today by providing comfort? …intrigue? ...satisfaction? ...recognition?” And informing it all, a persistent request: “Remember me!”

bottom of page