Therese May

"Life is a journey of healing, and I have chosen this art form as a way of expressing what I know, which can't always be put into words."

Therese May has been collecting and saving pieces of fabric for years, most of it given to her by other people. Likewise for buttons. She seems to attract them.

May's quilts begin with drawings that she uses as templates for fabric applique shapes. She pins these to muslin, sews them with a satin stitch, and hand quilts the three layers—top, batting, and backing. Then she adds detail with beads, buttons, polymer clay, braids, and sometimes paint.

Influenced by her grandmother and trained as a painter, May finds inspiration everywhere she looks, but mainly from inside herself.