Elizabeth Ford Ortiz

Artist’s Statement

Background
With a lifetime background in art, Elizabeth Ford-Ortiz has been working in contemporary quilt art since 1993.  Her work has been published in Quilting International, American Quilter, Art/Quilt Magazine, and Fine Art Quilts.  She was also a featured artist on the KCTS program, “Quilts of the Northwest.”  Her work is shown in galleries and museums throughout the world.

Approach
Currently my work is “improvisational” or “freehand.”  Unlike the techniques used with traditional quilts, my creation process is spontaneous: evolving as each piece is created.  I interact with the materials, determining the size and design as the piece develops.  I use primarily Dupioni Silk and personally hand-dyed cotton.  I focus on the way colors relate to one another, and I am largely influenced by the indigenous art of Central America, South America, and Africa.