A Bird in Hand: Folk Art Projects Inspired by Our Feathered Friends
Renee began creating with fabric when she was just a little girl making quilts from the contents of her mother's scrap basket. It wasn't long until all of her dolls were clad in one-of-a-kind dresses and each had their very own quilt to snuggle up to. Renee attended California State College in Fullerton and majored in Fine Arts with an emphasis in fibers. While in college, she created a number of commissioned fiber art pieces for public buildings. Mixed media artwork is still one of her favorite pastimes and she tries to paint, collage, or draw every day.Craft fairs and boutiques were the first marketing venues for Renee's creations, but managing production issues became tiring. So she and a couple of friends began designing projects and writing patterns for them. It wasn't long before their lives took a few twists and turns, leading Renee to venture on her own with a new pattern company, Liberty Star. Her first patterns always included a small quilt and a doll. Eventually, quilts became the focus, although she still often includes smaller companion pieces such as sewing accessories. And in 2005, her patterns expanded to include handbags and totes.Renee's quilts have been featured inAmerican Patchwork & Quiltingmagazine as well as its calendars, and she was the featured designer in their December 2009 issue. One of her art journals was featured on the cover of the book,1,000 Artist Journal Pages.