Biography
Dottie Moore is a studio quilt artist living in Rock Hill , South Carolina . Since 1980 her award-winning works have been exhibited, collected, and published throughout the world, and commissioned by individuals, corporations, and hospitals.
Dottie’s work is found in fine galleries and has been shown in fine art/craft shows including the American Craft Council shows and The Smithsonian Craft Show. It has also been featured in numerous publications including Threads, American Quilter (front cover in addition to article), Art Quilt Magazine, Quilter’s Newsletter, and Traditional Home by Better Homes and Gardens. She is author of the CD book, Lives in Process: Creativity in the Second Fifty Years by Ladybug Press and one of the chapter authors of Midlife Clarity: Epiphanies from Grown-Up Girls by Beyond Words Publishing Company.
She is passionate about the power of the creative process for transforming lives and is founder of “Piecing a Quilt of Life,” an international project dedicated to empowering senior women by recognizing their creative abilities.
Students and audiences for her classes and lectures include visual artists, musicians, writers, storytellers, women’s groups, college students, and quilters.
“Life and art mirror each other. When we choose to fully engage in process we learn that the present moment is what counts, the choices and possibilities in life are endless, our uniqueness is our most precious gift, and how we live our lives will be our legacies. Like a quilt, sometimes we have to make do with the scraps that we are given, but there is uniqueness in each one and that is enough.”
— Dottie Moore
Artist's Statement
Since 1980 I have created visual conversations with fabric and thread to explore the mysteries of earth and sky. Nature provides the symbolic language I need, and the process takes me to a wordless place where deeper truths reside. Trees, mountains, pathways, and spirals have appeared and re-appeared in my work so often that it is impossible to know how many times I have circled these images searching for answers. I desire to know the unknowable. The more I search, the more it becomes clear that I must be content with the questions.
Each quilt begins with a longing. The muse knocks at my door, lays cloth, paint, and thread at my feet, and then fills me with a deep longing that makes it is impossible to resist the invitation to swim in the sea of possibilities once more. I set my intention, listen to the quiet voices inside, make connections, and begin the process of choosing. Paint is brushed, swirled, sponged and stroked onto cloth. I cut, pin, baste, layer, stitch, and quilt. Intuitively, I follow my heart, without the use of sketches and patterns. I allow the surprises to come. I respond, and surrender. I am searching an expression that is uniquely mine. Truth is always elusive. I know that I must remain vulnerable, detached from the outcome, and allow my many voices to speak of endless layers of meaning. In the end, I must be content with the creation of one more imperfect expression. It is this elusiveness of truth that keeps me seeking.