Deborah Fell Art Quilts

Deborah's work may be found at the following galleries:

Translations Gallery
Denver, Colorado

Wind, Water & Light
Champaign, Illinois

Illinois Artisan Galleries

Artist Biography

Deborah Fell at the Verde Art Gallery in Champaign, Illinois.

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Deborah is a studio artist who is committed to the art quilt medium. She is a member of the Studio Art Quilt Associates and Surface Design Association; and has had over eighteen years of education at the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium in Columbus, Ohio. She continues to evolve as an artist focusing on design, surface treatment and dyeing and painting fabric. Deborah has obtained national recognition for her work. Recent works have been in exhibits throughout the United States including California, Tennessee, Arizona, Ohio, Texas and New York City. She was one of ten artists nationally featured in an Art Quilt Invitational in Ohio. Her art quilt "Silence Broken" was a division winner in the national exhibit 'Roots of Racism: Ignorance & Fear;' this national exhibit traveled throughout the country for three years and included venues such as the Civil Rights Museum as well as in Pakistan in the Arts in Embassies Program sponsored by the State Department in Washington, D.C.  Another one of her art quilts traveled with an exhibit sponsored by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and is now a part of the permanent collection at Carle Clinic in Urbana, Illinois.   Deborah has been fortunate enough to have several art quilts in significant places like the Carle Clinic Cancer Center in Urbana, Illinois and has five art quilts in the Carle Foundation Hospital/Clinic collection. She often focuses on healing art. She says, "Art allows us to move from one place to the next. I do art because I believe art makes a difference in our world; it is a gift we give ourselves and it is a celebration of our very souls." In 2002, Deborah completed an art quilt entitled "Tuesday's Child: Does God Have Enough Hands?" in memory of the World Trade Center attack. After being exhibited in the atrium of the State of Illinois Building in downtown Chicago, this piece was a part of the traveling exhibit The Day the World Changed.  The piece is now currently on exhibit at the former Ground Zero Headquarters, Trinity St. Paul's Chapel in Manhattan. 'Painted Squares' was a part of the prestigious Quilt National 2003--an international juried exhibit. There were 1,500 entries with 75 quilts chosen for this exhibit and includes artists from the United States, Japan, Australia, France and other countries. One of Deborah's art quilts, Journey, was used for the front cover of the April 2003 issue for the American Journal of Nursing. Deborah was the featured artist in an exhibit at the Verde Art Gallery in Champaign, Illinois in the fall of 2003.  Deborah continues to grow as an artist and explores various methodology to achieve different goals in her art.  She continues to contribute to the community as an artist with participation in activities involving United Way.  In 2006, Deborah completed a commissioned art quilt for the community celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Deborah also teaches art quilt classes & workshops while maintaining her studio work. Deborah continues to be a studio artist committed to the art quilt medium.

*Member of the Studio Art Quilt Association
*Member of Surface Design Association
Member : 40 North/88 West : Champaign County Arts Alliance
Member: Champaign-Urbana Craft League

 

March 2008	eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopedics in Art; International juried art exhibit; Presidio; San Francisco.
Spring 2008	Blue; exhibit at Translations Gallery; Denver, Colorado.
Spring 2008	Ross Art Museum; Ohio Arts Council; Ohio Wesleyan University; Ohio.
Fall 2007	"Balancing Act;"  Studio Art Quilt Associates Exhibit; Lawrence Street Gallery; Ferndale, Michigan.
Summer 2007	"2007 National Small Art Quilt Works;"  The Main Street Gallery; Groton, New York.
April 2007	Southern Illinois Artisans Gallery; Spring Exhibit; Whittington, Illinois.
January 2006	Champaign County commission for the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration quilt; University of Illinois Krannert Center; Champaign, Illinois.
September 2005	Tuesday's Child:  Does God Have Enough Hands?; Trinity St. Paul's Chapel;  New York City, New York.
Winter 2004	Champaign County United Way Exhibit;  Carousel of Caring Horses; Champaign, Illinois.
October 2004	Light Path; Day of the Dead Exhibit; Verde Art Gallery; Champaign, Illinois. Verde Art Gallery; Champaign, Illinois.
September 2004	Snowfire; United Way of Champaign County Carousel of Caring Horses exhibit; sponsor Carle Clinic and Hospital; Urbana, Illinois.
May 2004	QUILTED SURFACE II; Riffe Gallery; An exhibition of quilts juried by Jill Davis, curator of exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts, and Ned Wert, Painter, Fiber Artists and Teacher; Columbus, Ohio.
January 2004	Form, Not Function: Quilt Art at the Carnegie; Juried, contemporary art quilt competition; The Carnegie Center for Art & History, New Albany, Indiana.
January 2004	The Art & Soul of Quilting; National Juried Exhibit; Anderson Arts Center; Kenosha, Wisconsin.
October 2003	Six week solo art exhibit; Fine Art Fabric; Verde Art Gallery; Champaign, Illinois.
May 2003	"Painted Squares," International exhibit Quilt National 2003; Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center; Athens, Ohio. Catalog available.
April 2003	"Journey," selected for the front cover of the April issue of the American Journal of Nursing.
April 2003	"Shadow Flight," selected for the juried exhibit Birds, Flight and the Wrights; Aullwood Audubon Society; Dayton, Ohio.
Fall 2002	"Silence Broken;" Roots of Racism: Ignorance & Fear; a national juried exhibit; Arts in Embassies Program of the U.S. Department of State; Embassy, Islamabad, Pakistan.
June 2002	"Tuesday's Child: Does God Have Enough Hands?" Fiber Exhibit; State of Illinois Building; sponsored by the Illinois Artisan Program/Illinois State Museum; Chicago, Illinois.
Summer 2002	"Silence Broken;" Roots of Racism: Ignorance & Fear; a national juried exhibit; Atlanta History Museum; Atlanta, Georgia.
February 2002	"Carl's Window's" series sponsored by a grant from Urbana H.S. Student Senate in memory of a faculty member; one piece will hang at the high school & the other two pieces will hang in the Radiation Oncology reception area of the Carle Clinic Cancer Center; Urbana, Illinois.
January 2002	"Enthesopathy: Weaving a Web of Pain;" eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopedics in Art; national juried art exhibit; United Nations Building; New York City, New York; the exhibit then travels to Washington, D.C., Penn State University & Hershey Medical School.
November 2001	Material Images: Contemporary Midwestern Quilts; juried art quilt exhibit; 'Just Out of Reach;' Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences; Peoria, Illinois; Southern Illinois Art Gallery, Spring 2002.
October 2001	Modern Threads Art Quilts/Year Six; juried art show; 'Lightning Tree Two' chosen for the publicity image; Chandler Center for the Arts; Chandler, Arizona.
October 2001	"Silence Broken;" Roots of Racism: Ignorance & Fear; a national juried exhibit; Houston International Quilt Festival 2001; Houston, Texas.
August 2001	Fiber Arts 2001; juried exhibit, fiber medium; Gallery 510; Decatur, Illinois.
May 2001	Expressions; juried art exhibit; Summer series of three artists; Springer Cultural Arts Center; Champaign, Illinois.
February 2001	"Enthesopathy: Weaving a Web of Pain;" eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art; national juried art exhibit; Herbst International Exhibition Hall in the San Francisco Presidio; San Francisco, California; exhibit travels to Chicago Cultural Center, Washington, D.C., Madrid, Spain & the United Nations Center in New York City through 2002; sponsored by the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Catalog & calendar available.
Spring 2001	"Scattered;" Postcard Art Competition/Exhibition 2001; Lake County Museum; Wauconda, Illinois.
November 2000	"Wheel in Motion;" Exit/Entrance Exhibit; An exhibit of art quilts interpreting our departure from one century and entry into another; sponsored by Studio Art Quilt Associates; New Mexico State Capital Building; Santa Fe, New Mexico. Catalog available.
November 2000	"Journey" & "Silent Revelry;" Art Quilt 2000 Invitational; Invitational Exhibit featuring ten artists; J. Funk Fine Art, Inc. Gallery; Maumee, Ohio.
Fall 2000	"Silence Broken;" Roots of Racism: Ignorance & Fear; A national juried exhibit; Vertigo Studios; Award received for Best Use of Threads; Memphis, Tennessee. Catalog available soon.
Fall 2000	"Sharing the Secret;" Invitation to exhibit as a regional finalist for the "Illinois Women Artists: The New Millennium"; Illinois State University; Normal, Illinois
August 2000	Invitation to the Governor's Mansion for the Presentation for Excellence in the State of Illinois; Springfield, Illinois.
Spring 2000	Art quilt "Silent Revelry" selected for the juried exhibit The Good Earth; Aullwood Audubon Society; Dayton, Ohio.
April 2000	One-woman art quilt exhibition; twenty-three art quilts on display as the featured artist for the month of April; Pages for all Ages Bookstore; Champaign, Illinois.
1999/2000	Three art quilts exhibited from March 1999 through March 2000 in the Annual Teacher Educator Art Exhibit at the Illinois Education Association teacher union headquarters; two pieces purchased for permanent exhibit; Springfield, Illinois
Spring 1999	Art quilt "Twisted Thoughts" selected for the juried exhibit Metamorphosis; Aullwood Audubon Society; Dayton, Ohio.
Winter 1999	Art quilt "Silence Broken" selected as a Regional Finalist for Illinois Women Artists of the Millennium; Chicago, Illinois.
Fall 1998	Art quilt "Silence Broken" on exhibit in Illinois Crossroads: Quilts 1998; Illinois State Museum; Springfield, Illinois.
Spring/ Summer 1998	Art quilt "Silence Broken" selected by the Southern Illinois Art Gallery for the exhibit Illinois Crossroads: Quilts 1998; Image also used for promotional brochure; sponsored by the Illinois State Museum; April through August 1998; Whittington, Illinois.
Summer 1998	Art quilt exhibit "Cutting Through Tradition"; Parkland College Art Gallery; May through June 1998; Champaign, Illinois.
March 1998	Art quilt "What Do You See?" selected for the juried exhibit All Creatures Great & Small; Aullwood Audubon Society, Dayton, Ohio.
Summer 1997	Art quilt "Twisted Thoughts" selected for Hanging By A Thread: Art Quilts on the Edge; an exhibit of studio art quilts sponsored by Northern Arizona University Art Museum and Galleries; June through August 1997; Flagstaff, Arizona.
April 1997	Juried and accepted into the Illinois Artisan Program; the Illinois Artisans Program is sponsored by the Illinois State Museum to promote fine artisan work made in Illinois.
January 1997	Founding member of Art Quilters of Central Illinois; this organization has been established to provide professional support for fiber artists in central Illinois.
September 1996	Art quilt "Are We Losing the War Against Violence in Our Schools?" chosen for the 1997 Celebration of Women calendar for the month of September; sponsored by East Central Illinois Planned Parenthood; Champaign, Illinois
July 1996	One-woman art quilt exhibit; ten quilts were featured; July & August 1997; Sweet Betsy's; Urbana, Illinois.
May 1996	Illinois Arts Grant recipient; the project, partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, was a daffodil quilt "Hope," designed for the Carle Clinic Oncology Department in Urbana, Illinois; daffodils are the chosen flower of hope by the American Cancer Society.
Summer 1996	Contributing editor; article 'Stolen Art' published in Art/Quilt Magazine; Issue #6, Page 6.
March 1994	Art quilt "Are We Losing the War Against Violence in Our Schools?" exhibited from March 1994 through March 1995 in the Annual Teacher Educator Art Exhibit at the Illinois Education Association teacher union headquarters; Springfield, Illinois.

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