Resume:
*C indicates exhibit catalog/book
Solo/Featured Exhibits
2015-16: Explosion of Color, The Art Forum, County Commons, Frisco, CO
2005: Art & Home du Jour, St. Louis, MO
2003, 2002, 2000: Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002: A Celebration of Color, The Quilt & Sewing Fest, Myrtle Beach, SC
2002, 2001, 2000: Stringbeans Gallery, Covington, LA
2001: Northlake Performing Arts Society, Covington, LA
2000: Mandeville City Hall, Mandeville, LA
2000: Stringbeans Gallery, Covington, LA
Juried Exhibits, 2015-present
2024: Threading the Needle, Webber Gallery, College of Central Florida, Ocala, FL
2024: Margins, CORE Art Space, Lakewood, CO
2024: Colors of Hope, Art in Hospitals, UChigago Medicine, Chicago, IL
2024, *C: Quilt Visions, Visions Museum of Textile Art, San Diego, CA
2024, 2023: NOOBAA, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2024, 2022, 2019, 2017: Evolutions, The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Golden, CO
2024: Fibrous, d'Art Center, Norfolk, VA
2024: New Legacies, Lincoln Art Center, Fort Collins, CO
2024: Contemporary Colors, Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles. IL
2024, 2023, 2022, 2018: Color, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2023-2026, *C: Primal Forces: Wind, SAQA traveling
2023-2026, *C: Minimalism, SAQA traveling
2023-2026, *C: Color in Context: Red, SAQA traveling
2023: Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
2023: Octagonal, The Octagon Center, Ames, IA
2023: Material World, The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Fayetteville, NC
2023: National Fine Art Show Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, CO
2023: Abstract: Color + Form, R Gallery, Boulder, CO
2023: Colorful Colorado, R Gallery, Boulder, CO
2022: Surface Design Association Southwest Regional Exhibit, Tubac Center for the Arts, Tubac, AZ
2022: Seeing in Color, TX Quilt Museum, LaGrange, TX
2022-2025, *C: Wild!, SAQA Regional Traveling Exhibit; Brigham City Museum, Brigham City, UT
2022-2025, *C: Haven, SAQA traveling
2022-2025, *C: Gastronomy, SAQA traveling
2022: Street Art, SAQA Virtual Gallery
2022-2025, *C: sustainABILITY, SAQA traveling
2022: * C CraftForms, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2022: * C Art Quilts: Elements, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2021: Spot On #2, D'Art Gallery, Denver, CO
2021: Legacies, SAQA Virtual Gallery
2021-2024, *C: Microscape, SAQA traveling
2021-2024, *C: Primal Forces: Earth, SAQA traveling
2021: Textile / Fiber Fine Arts, R Gallery, Boulder, CO
2020, *C: Ancient, Emerald Art Center, Springfield, OR
2020-2023, *C: Aloft, SAQA traveling
2019, 2018: New Horizons: Landscapes, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2019-2020: Summer Vacation; Spring, Make Your Mark , Visions Art Museum (online), San Diego, CA
2019:, 2018 Contemporary Art Survey, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, CO
2019-2020, *C: Evolving Perceptions, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO; Brigham City Museum, Brigham City, UT
2019-2022, *C: Connecting Our Natural Worlds, SAQA traveling
2019: *C Fantastic Fibers, The Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
2019: Color: Classic to Contemporary, The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning, Duluth, GA
2019: Expressions West, Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR
2019: Representing the West: A New Frontier, Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Pueblo, CO
2018-2021, *C: Metamorphosis, SAQA traveling exhibit
2018-2021, *C: Dusk to Dawn, SAQA traveling exhibit
2018: Black & White, 311 Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2018: Summertime, Visions Art Museum (online), San Diego, CA
2018, 2017: Loveland National, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, CO
2018: Nature, Visions Art Museum (online), San Diego, CA
2018: Material, d'Art Gallery, Norfolk, VA
2018: Fiber Celebration, The Tointon Gallery, Greeley, CO
2017: Wax Stories II, Niza Knoll Gallery, Denver, CO
2017-2018, *C: Interpretations: Conversations, Visions Art Museum, San Diego, CA
2017: Form, Not Function, The Carnegie Center, New Albany , IN
2017, *C: 30th September, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
2017: Fiber Celebration, , The Art Center of Estes Park, Estes Park, CO
2017: ARTQUILTS Respite, Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Cary, NC
2017-2020, *C: Textile Posters, SAQA traveling exhibit
2017, *C: Under the Western Sun, SAQA Regional Exhibit, Rocky Mtn Quilt Museum, Golden, CO; Macey Center, Santa Fe, NM
2017: 2017 National Juried Exhibition, Art at the Center, Overland Park, KS
2017: Abstracts Matter, 311 Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2017, 2016: Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood, The Octagon Center, Ames, IA
2016: Fiber Celebration, The Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO
2016: Craft Hilton Head 2016, Art League of Hilton Head Gallery, Hilton Head Island, SC
2016-17: The Art Wall, Town Center/Theater site, Silverthorne, CO
2016: Juried Fine Art Exhibition, Gallery at Studio j, Denver, CO
2016: Contemporary Fiber 2016, Niza Knoll Gallery, Denver, CO
2016, 2015: Lines Into Shapes, The Art Center of Estes Park, Estes Park, CO
2016: EAA Fall All Colorado Show, Main Street Fine Art GalleryEvergreen, CO
2016, *C: SPUN, NEST Arts Factory, Bridgeport, CT
2016: Above and Beyond, SAQA Regional Exhibit, Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood, CO
Group Exhibits
2022-23: Inspire, Summit County Art Forum, County Commons, Frisco, CO
2021: Textures, Forms, Patterns or Shapes. Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2020-2021: Art Windows, Performing Arts Center, Silverthorne, CO
2019, 2018: Celebrate Summit , Performing Arts Center, Silverthorne, CO
2018: Growth, Summit County Art Forum, County Commons, Frisco, CO
2018-2021, *C: Life Along the Rio Grande, Branigan Cultural Center, Las Cruces, NM; traveling to multiple venues
2017: Fused Grid Visions Art Museum, San Diego, CA
2017: Complementary Colors, Visions Art Museum, San Diego, CA
2009: The Fiber & Earth of Our Being, CIAO Gallery, Wilson, WY
2009: Layered Textures, SAQA Regional Exhibit, Denver National Quilt Festival IV, Denver, CO
2007: Hanging by a Thread, Museum of the American Quilter's Society, Paducah, KY
2006: Contemporary Elements, Denver Children's Hospital, Denver, CO
2005: Constants and Variables, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2005: Keiko & Friends: Art Quilts, Kavanagh Gallery, Fine Line Creative Art Center, St. Charles, IL
2005: On the Surface... Contemporary Quilts, St. Tammany Art Association, Covington, LA
2004: 8 x 8, St. Tammany Art Association, Covington, LA
2004: One & Only, Artspace, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Kohler, WI
2004: World Views, Common Ground, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD
2004: 10th Annual Contemporary Quilt Exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2003: Small Works Art Quilts, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2003: Natural Selections: Images on Cloth, Pinckneyville Arts Center Gallery, Norcross, GA
2003: Fiber Connection: International Miniatures Exhibit, Greater Flint Arts Council Gallery, Flint, MI
2003: 9th Annual Contemporary Quilt Exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2003, 2000-2002: Gallery Artists, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002: Voices in Cloth, Milner Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2001: Quilted Visions: Paintings in Fabric & Thread, Chaffee Arts Center, Rutland, VT
2000: Exit/Entrance, Studio Art Quilt Associates, State Capitol, Santa Fe, NM
2000: SAQA/Professional Artist Member Exhibit, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2000: Guadalupe, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2000: Fiber Connection, American Vision Contemporary Craft Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2000: Uncommon Threads=Uncommon Women, Cleopatra Steps Out, Asbury Park, NJ
1999-2000: Colander Girls, national traveling exhibit
Invitational Exhibits
2018: Encaustic: Contemporary Works, Art Students League of Denver, Denver, CO
2008: AQATS Artists 1999-2006, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2006: The Essence of Things, Ross Museum, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH
2005: Do Your Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?, International Market & Quilt Festival, Houston, TX
2005: International Miniature Textiles, Ocean County Artists' Guild, Island Heights, NJ
2004: It's My Birthday, Primedia Gallery, Golden, CO
2004: The Quilted Surface, Ronald L. Barr Gallery, Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN
2004, 1999-2003: Alegre Annual Art Quilt Exhibit, Sweeny Center, Santa Fe, NM
2004: Crossing Boundaries: Textiles as Art, Margaret Harwell Art Museum, Poplar Bluff, MO
2003: LA Percent for Art Benefit, Brunner Gallery, Covington, LA
2003: Mint Condition Gala and Auction, Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC
2003, 1999-2002: Alegre Annual Art Quilt Exhibit, Sweeny Center, Santa Fe, NM
2003: International Miniature Textiles, Ocean County Artists' Guild, Island Heights, NJ
2002: Focus: Materials and Meaning, Mixed Bag Gallery, Houston, TX
2002, 2001,1999: Fantastic Fibers, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
2001: Pushing the Surface, Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Coshocton, OH
2000: Woman 2000, St.Tammany Art Association, Covington, LA
2000: The Best of the Best, St. Tammany Art Association, Covington, LA
1999: Fiber Invitational, St. Tammany Art Association, Covington, LA
1998: Museum of the American Quilter's Society, Paducah, KY
Juried Exhibits, 2001-2007
2007: FLOW, SAQA Regional Exhibit, Translations Gallery, Denver, CO
2006, 2003-2005: Art Quilts: Stages, Cycles & Fits, Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, AZ
2006: SAQA: The Creative Force,. Houston International Market & Quilt Festival, Houston, TX
2006, 2005, 2004, 2003: Fabric of Legacies, Lincoln Art Center, Fort Collins, CO
2006: Art Quilts at the Whistler III, Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA
2006, 2005: Handcrafted, Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC
2006, *C: On the Wall: SAQA at Colorado Springs , Gallery of Contemporary Art, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO
2006, 2005: Form, Not Function, The Carnegie Center, New Albany , IN
2005: Beyond Fibers: New Forms, The Eleanor Bliss Center for the Arts, Steamboat Springs, CO
2005, 2004: Fiber Arts , Gallery 510, Decatur, IL
2005, 2002, 2001: Regional Artists' Annual, St. Tammany Art Association, Covington, LA
2005: Fiber Celebration, Longmont Museum and Cultural Center , Longmont, CO
2005, 2003: Fiber Directions, Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS
2005: LowerTown Arts District Quilt Walk, LowerTown Arts District, Paducah, KY
2005: Journeys; 2004: Elements; 2003: Vantage Point South, Page-Walker Center, Cary, NC
2005, 2004, 2003: Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood, The Octagon Center, Ames, IA
2005, 2004, 2003: Mixed Media, Slidell Cultural Center, Slidell, LA
2005, 2004: Materials: Hard & Soft, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, TX
2004, 2003, 2001: Craft Forms, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2004, 2002, 2001: Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
2004, 2003: Quilts for Art Sake, Gallery 214 Artspace, Montclair, NJ
2004: ANA 33, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT
2004-2005: Tactile Architecture, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX
2004: transFORMations, Woven Fiber Art House, West Chester, PA
2004: New Directions in Fiber, CORE New Art Space, Denver, CO
2004: Spotlight 2004, ACC/SE, Tamarack, Beckley, WV and Cultural Center, Charleston, WV
2004: The Quilted Surface II, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH
2004: Considering Quilts, Atlantic Center at Harris House, New Smyrna Beach, FL
2004: The Art & Soul of Quilting, Anderson Arts Center, Kenosha, WI
2003: Small Expressions, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX
2003: Crafts National, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
2003: Enchanted by Bandelier, the Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM
2003: Combined Talents: Florida International, FSU Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, FL
2003: Fiber Celebrated, Yavapai College Art Gallery, Prescott, AZ
2003: Uptown Quilts: Exhibition of Fine Art Quilts, David Myers Art Gallery, Westerville, OH
2003: Fiber Directions, Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS
2003, 2002, 2001: Art Quilts at the Sedgwick, Sedgwick Cultural Ctr., Philadelphia, PA
2002: 25th Annual Contemporary Crafts, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ
2002: La Petite X, Alder Gallery, Coburg, OR
2002: Crafts National 36, Zoller Gallery, Penn. State Univ., State College, PA
2002: The Night Sky; 2001:The Good Earth, Aullwood Audubon Center, Dayton, OH
2002: Fine Focus 2002, national traveling exhibit 2002 - 2004
2001: Fine Craft 2001, Eleanor Bliss Center for the Arts, Steamboat Springs, CO
2001: Summer Art 2001, Eleanor Bliss Center for the Arts, Steamboat Springs, CO
2001: Art Quilts 2001, River Oaks Square Art Center, Alexandria, LA
2001: Eclectic Expressions, International Museum of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA
2001: 21st National Juried Art Exhibition, New Orleans Art Assoc., Hanson Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2001: Fort Smith Art Quest, Fort Smith Civic Center, Fort Smith, AR
Juried Quilt Shows
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, 1997-2004, Williamsburg, VA
Quilts: A World of Beauty, International Quilt Association, 1997-2003, Houston, TX
American Quilters Society Juried/Judged Show, 1998-2003, Paducah, KY
Pacific International Quilt Festival, 1998-2001, 2003, Santa Clara, CA
Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, 1997-2001, 2003 Ft. Washington, PA
World Quilt and Textile, 1998-2001, Lansing, MI, Greensboro, NC, Winston-Salem, NC, Pasadena, CA
Selected Awards
2024: Honorable Mention, NOOBAA 2024, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2024: 3rd place award, Evolutions, The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Golden, CO
2024: Honorable Mention, Color 2024, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2024: Honorable Mention, Contemporary Colors, Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles. IL
2023: Honorable Mention, Color 2023, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2023: Bronze Award, NOOBAA 2023, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2022, 2018: Gold Award, Color 2018, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2018: Surface Design Award, Fiber Celebration, The Tointon Gallery, Greeley, CO
2017: Award for Captivating Color, Interpretations: Conversations, Visions Art Museum, San Diego, CA
2017: Award for Creative Use of Stitching, Form, Not Function, The Carnegie Center, New Albany , IN
2016: Best Use of Silk, Fiber Celebration 2016, Fort Collins, CO
2009: First Place, The Fiber & Earth of Our Being, CIAO Gallery, Wilson, WY
2006: Third Place, Fabric of Legacies, Lincoln Art Center, Fort Collins, CO
2005: Juror's Award of Excellence, Regional Artists' Annual, St. Tammany Art Association, Covington, LA
2005: Honorable Mention, Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood, The Octagon Center, Ames, IA
2005: Juror's Award of Excellence, Form, Not Function, The Carnegie Center, New Albany, IN
2004: First Place, Fiber Arts 2004, Gallery 510, Decatur, IL
2004: First Place, Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood, The Octagon Center, Ames, IA
2004: Second Place, Mixed Media, Slidell Cultural Center, Slidell, LA
2003: Third Place, Pennsylavnia National Quilt Extravaganza, Ft. Washington, PA
2002: First Place, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
2002: Honorable Mention, International Quilt Association Juried Show, Houston, TX
2002: Interpretation, The Night Sky, Aullwood Audubon Center, Dayton, OH
2002: First Place, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Williamsburg, VA
2001: Third Place, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
2001: Third Place, International Quilt Association Juried Show, Houston, TX
2001: First Place, St. Tammany Art Association Artists' Annual, Covington, LA
2001: Best Wall Quilt & Honorable Mention, Penn. National Quilt Extravaganza, Ft. Washington, PA
2001: Second Place, Summer Art 2001, Center for the Arts, Steamboat Springs, CO
2001: Judge's Recognition, American Quilter's Society Juried Show , Paducah, KY
2001: First Place & Second Place, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Williamsburg, VA
2001: Honorable Mention, New Orleans Art Association National, New Orleans, LA
2000: Third Place, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
2000: Second Place, Pacific International Quilt Festival, Santa Clara, CA
2000: Honorable Mention, Penn. National Quilt Extravaganza, Ft. Washington, PA
2000: Best of World, World Quilt Show, Lansing, MI, and Winston-Salem, NC
2000: Honorable Mention, American Quilter's Society Juried Show , Paducah, KY
2000: Judge's Choice, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Williamsburg, VA
1999: Best Use of Color, Pacific International Quilt Festival, Santa Clara, CA
1999: Second Place & Technical Excellence, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
1999: Honorable Mention, International Quilt Association Juried Show, Houston, TX
1999: Best of Show, St. Tammany Art Association Artists' Annual, Covington, LA
1999: Best Interpretation of Theme, Penn. Nat'l Quilt Extravaganza, Ft. Washington, PA
1999: Best Use of Color, World Quilt Show, Greensboro, NC
1999: Best of Show, Crossed Connections, TLD Gallery, Westmont, IL.
1999: Third Place, American Quilter's Society Juried Show, Paducah, KY
1999: Craftsmanship, Metamorphosis, Aullwood Audubon Center, Dayton, OH
1998: Second Place, International Quilt Association Juried Show, Houston, TX
Curated Exhibits
2005: Fine Art Quilts 2005, Jay Etkin Gallery, Memphis, TN
Grants
2002: Artist Mini-Grant, Louisiana Division of the Arts
2001: Artist Mini-Grant, Louisiana Division of the Arts
Collections
The St. Tammany Justice Center Collection, Covington, LA
The Claiborne Collection, State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA
FARA, Inc, Mandeville, LA
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA
Kaiser Permanente, Castle Rock, CO, Aurora, CO
Salem International University, Salem, WV
SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC
The Venetian Macao, Macau
Selected Publications
Exploring Art Quilts with SAQA, vol. 3, Museum Quality, Shiffer Publishing, 2022
Exploring Art Quilts with SAQA, vol. 2, New Directions, Shiffer Publishing, 2022
SAQA Journal, v.33, no.3, no.4, 2023
Art Quilt Quarterly #32, 2023
SAQA Journal, v.32, no.2, 2022
Art Quilt Quarterly #24, #28, 2022
Exploring Art Quilts with SAQA, vol. 1, New Directions, Shiffer Publishing, 2020
Art Quilt Quarterly #21, 2020
Art Quilt Quarterly #19, 2020
Art Quilt Quarterly #15, 2019
SAQA Journal, v.28, no.3, 2018
Quilting Arts Magazine, August/September 2018
Art Quilt Quarterly #11, 2018
SAQA Journal, v.28, no.1, 2018
SAQA Journal, v.27, no.1, 2017
SAQA Journal, v.26, no.1, 2016
SAQA Portfolio 23, 2016
SAQA Portfolio 17, 2008
Fusing Fun! Fast Fearless Art Quilts, by Laura Wasilowski, C&T Publishing, 2005
American Art Collector, Volume 1 Book 4: Southern States, Alcove Books, 2005
Math 8, McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 2004
Fiberarts Design Book 7, 2004
The Artful Home 1 & 2, Guild Trade Publications, 2003, 2004
Sourcebook 18: Art for the Wall, Guild Trade Publications, 2003
Music Expressions: Grade 2, Warner Brothers Publications, 2003
RedDot : A Visual Arts Magazine, dec 2002/jan 2003
Art Calendar, cover, nov 2002
American Style, fall 2002
Fiberarts, sept/oct 2002
Surface Design, Journal of the Surface Design Association, summer 2002
The Santa Fe Catalogue, summer 2002
Quilting Arts, summer 2002
American Craft, april 2002
Quilts: A World of Beauty, Journal of the International Quilt Association, winter 2002
American Quilter, fall 2001
Popular Patchwork (UK), may/june 2001
Cancer Control, Journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center, cover, nov/dec 2000
Fiberarts Design Book 6, 1999
Great American Quilts 1999
Visions: Quilt Expressions, 1998
Representation
www.ArtfulHome.com
Affiliations
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Professional Artist Member(SAQA)
Surface Design Association (SDA)
Textile and Fiber Artist List (TAFA)
The Fiber Connection
Education
University of Southern California, 1981, M.S., Geological Sciences
Boston College, 1978, B.S., Chemistry, B.S., Mathematics
Michele Hardy
Mixed Media / Fiber Art / Art Quilts
All art copyright Michele Hardy
Reproduction of imagery on this website prohibited without written permission of the artist
©2003-2024 Michele Hardy
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Updated 10/09/24
About the Artist
Bio:
Michele rediscovered the pleasure of working with fabric after leaving a career as an oil exploration geophysicist. Since the mid-1990s her work has focused on mixed media fiber construction and art quilts, incorporating surface design, quilting, and embroidery techniques which she has adapted in her personalized approach to images in textile assemblage. Vibrant color, texture, and graphic appeal are all important energies in her images.
Michele's artworks are continually featured in national exhibits, receiving numerous awards including several Best of Show and awards for color and craftsmanship. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Surface Design, American Craft, and Fiberarts Design Books .
Michele is a professional artist member of Studio Art Quilt Associates and an active member of the Surface Design Association. Her artworks are in public and private collections throughout North America, including the State of Louisiana's Claiborne Collection.
Statement:
I have always loved both color and fabric. As an artist, working in the fiber/art quilt medium allows me to explore the wonders of color and texture using a variety of fabrics, paints, dyes, and lots of thread. I am inspired by all that is colorful and wonderful in our world: rocks, mountains, deserts, oceans, sunsets, outer space, architectural details, my travels, my family, and all the experiences of my life. Currently I am exploring ways to challenge the boundaries of what is considered fine craft and fine art and to bridge that gap by incorporating more familiar and accepted fine arts materials and techniques into my fiber pieces.
The notion of looking out or looking in and seeing a fragment of our world is the current theme in my art, which I explore in several series of nature-based abstractions. My lifelong love of geology and nature has been the inspiration for this work and continues to supply me with an unlimited palette of color, textures, and ideas.
Characteristics of my work include strong texture, contrast, and graphic appeal, and vibrant color. The relationship between the colors and shapes is an important part of my imagery, juxtaposing large blocks of color and areas of intricate stitched detail. I portray very definite divisions of what is below or above, upon or within, with clear lines that define the boundaries between them. These can be interpreted as landscapes, cross-sections, and maps of our world, or they can viewed as purely abstract forms, leaving the viewer to their own associations. The choice of color is an important energy in my images since how we view the world often depends on how we color our own personal worlds.
Michele Hardy is a full-time studio artist possessing a playful sense of color and form. With her vivid imagination, and inspiration from the real world, she creates intriguing fiber art. Her colorful abstract imagery is heightened by her elaborate threadwork and use of texture. Michele uses a variety of dyed, painted and printed fabrics and an assortment of decorative threads in her work. Originally from New England, she has lived in California, Texas, Louisiana, and Colorado. Michele now resides in Silverthorne, Colorado.
Process:
My technique is a combination of fiber collage, quilting, and embroidery. Spontaneity is an important aspect of my creative process. I use a variety of dyed, painted, and commercial fabrics, many of which are transformed by extensive printing and/or stitching prior to construction. I typically construct a background, arrange and layer images, quilt, then add additional machine embroidery to complete the piece.
