The technique creates dimension and
frames the irregular piece in what she
calls a “portrait fi nish.” She developed
the technique when working on
her book PORTRAITS FROM NATURE: 35
STUDIES FOR DIMENSIONAL QUILTS. It’s one
of 30 books she’s authored, including
six collaborative titles with Valori.
Adding that frame has an added
benefi t of making her pieces bigger
and more dramatic than they would
be otherwise, she notes.
She prefers facing to binding
on most art quilts because she feels
binding adds an extra line in the
composition that is not needed and
often distracting. “Use a binding and
you ruin it,” she says.
Jean’s commissioned work hangs
in the Redmond, Oregon, airport; the
Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa in
Colorado; and at FivePine Lodge and
Conference Center, City Hall, and
Shibui Spa, all in Sisters. She has a quilt
in the 2019 Quilt National and has had
a solo show at Visions Art Museum
in San Diego, California. She has
received numerous local and national
accolades, including being inducted
into the Quilter’s Hall of Fame in
Marion, Indiana. The Sisters Chamber
of Commerce named her Citizen of the
Year in 2008 and named Stitchin’ Post
Business of the Year in 1999.
Throughout her life, Jean says
she has always been a “what if?”
kind of person. “I’ve always been a
possibilities thinker,” says Jean. “My
curiosity has really driven my work.”
It’s clear that this curiosity has also
driven and defi ned her roles as an
entrepreneur and teacher. What’s next
for her? You can be sure Jean is still
considering all the possibilities.
To learn more about Jean, visit her website
jeanwellsquilts.com.
“Cross Cut II” • 43½ " x 64"PhotobyPaigeVitek