For Gail, quilting began as a whim, when friends convinced her to take a hand-quilting class.
Previously, she had stitched many of the clothes for her family and dabbled in a wide variety of crafts.
Quilt making quickly became a passion, overriding all desire to sew clothes or crafts. Gail's earliest quilts
are in the traditional style with conservative fabric choices. However, by 1984, she
began to explore original design, after being inspired by the quilts of Ginny Beyer. Her first effort, Azimuth,
is a king-size medallion style quilt that features a Mariner's Compass in the center and variations of the
compass throughout the quilt. Still a traditionalist, the quilt was entirely hand-stitched and quilted.
This award winning quilt has been displayed at quilt venues throughout the U.S. and overseas.
By the mid 1980's, Gail began to explore hand-appliqué, and became known for her unique Southwestern
pictorial quilts. She created a series of quilts in this style between 1984 and 1992,
when, once again, she was drawn to geometric star designs. Many of her geometric star quilts and
pictorial quilts have won awards at shows throughout the US and have also been
featured in publications throughout the world.
Gail's first book, Sensational Stars, was published by Animas Quilts in 1995. This book features her
quilts and those of her students. Her second book, Spiral Migrations, was released in September
2001 by the American Quilters Society. This book
showcases the newest quilts from Gail and her students and combines the
circular star design with innovative borders and free-form flying geese which
provide "motion" and interest to the quilts.
Today, Gail
lectures and conducts workshops to quilters
everywhere. She also leads tours for quilters and birdwatchers to exciting
"off-the-beaten-path" locations. She is considered to be a contemporary quilt artist known for her
innovative geometric quilts and bold use of color. Her catalogue features a wide range of
patterns which include bold, geometric star designs, applique patterns, samplers, and garments, as
well as hand-dyed fabrics and related notions.
In her other life, Gail is the Executive Director for
Hawks Aloft, a New Mexico
conservation organization. This organization was founded by Gail and others in February 1994. The
group conducts education and research programs to monitor and protect raptors and other neo-tropical
migratory birds. During her non-quilting time, Gail may be found working with schools and various interest
groups in the community, promoting raptor and conservation awareness, flying in a small aircraft
locating nests of large raptors and eagles, or conducting surveys on foot in remote, back-country
areas of New Mexico. Several non-releasable, permanently injured education raptors are housed in outdoor
flight cages at her Albuquerque home.
