| Debra C. Harry |
| Biography |
| Debra Harry has been sewing since the age of nine when her paternal grandmother sent her downtown on the bus to the local sewing store for sewing lessons. She has never stopped creating with fabric since then. Even prior to those early sewing lessons, Debra was always creating and working with her hands as a child. Her early sewing projects were mainly clothing. She earned her degree in art with a concentration in printmaking. It was an easy and natural transisition for Debra to blend her love of fabric and knowledge of sewing with her art background to begin quilting in 1985. She is a self-taught quilter and her early quilts, as with many quilters, were very traditional. Mostly bed quilts and wallhangings in traditional block settings and colors. This evenually developed into pictorial quilts and further to the art quilts she produces today. Her award-winning quilts have been exhibited in shows across the country. She has won many awards for her work, including the Curators Award in the Hoffman Challenge and Judge's Choice at the Quilter's Heritage Celebration. She has done commission work for nationally known fabric manufacturers and private collectors. In addition to her quilts, Debra has designed a line of patterns that have been carried by several quilting catalog companies. Debra's work reflects her love of color. Recent works have included underwater scenes and a series on mermaids. Always interested and trying new techniques, you can see many of these influences in her design style. Her work incorporates batiks, batik lames, hand-dyed ribbon, glass beading, silk embroidery embellishments, fibers, specialty metallic and rayon threads, and Angelina fibers. Debra lives in Northern New Jersey with her husband and their two cats. The cats are always interested in thread, beads and helping to make fabric selections. |
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| Artist Statement |
| I am an artist who loves color. Quilting has been a natural combination of my love of fabric and my art background. My quilting style has grown to not only include rich colors but also fibers, various embellishments and beading. The subject matter usually is centered around nature and particularly the my love of the ocean. My ocean themes explore the beauty of underwater sealife to the enchanting world of mermaids and seahorses. |
| Awards |
| 2007 - NJ Quilt Convention - "The Octopus's Garden" - Honorable Mention 2007 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - "The Octopus's Garden" - Third Place 2006 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - "Let's Go to the Beach!" - Third Place 2005 - NJ Quilt Convention - "Is It Hot in Here....Or is It Menopause?" - First Place 2005 - Quilting Arts Magazine 2006 calendar contest. "Let's Go To The Beach!" 2005 - Small Wonders VII - "The Oasis" - Third Place 2005 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - "Goddess of the Deep" - Judge's Choice 2004 - Quilting Arts Magazine 2005 calendar contest. "Goddess of the Deep" featured quilt for the month of June. 2004 - NJ Folk Art Project - "Sea Gem" - First place 2003 - NJ Quilt Convention - "Gail's Dragon Fantasy" - Honorable Mention 2003 - NJ Folk Art Project - "Quilter Spice" - First place, Best of Show 2002 - NJ Folk Art Project - "Mariposa" - First place 2001 - Hoffman Challenge - "Hoffman's Fish" accepted into traveling exhibit that will be shown at quilt shows and shops across the country for one year. Awarded the Curator's Award. 2001 - Pocono Mountain Quilt Show - "Dragonflies" - Judge's Choice award. 1999 - NJ Quilt Convention - "Which House Would be Ours?" - Second place 1999 - Pocono Mountain Quilt Show - "Cherry Pie" - Best of Show |
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| Shows & Exhibitions |
| June 2007 - NJ Quilt Convention - Somerset, NJ April 2007 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - Lancaster, PA April 2006 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - Lancaster, PA January 2006 - January 2008 - Fine Focus 06 - traveling art quilt exhibit November 2005 - Small Wonders Exhibit at the International Quilt Festival - Houston, TX June - July 2005 - ArtWorks Exhibit - sponsored by the Arts Council of the Morris Area - Florham Park, NJ June 2005 - NJ Quilt Convention - Somerset, NJ April 2005 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - Lancaster, PA April 2005 - Small Wonders Exhibit at the International Quilt Show - Chicago, IL October 2004 - Evening Star Quilt Guild Show - Pohatcong, NJ August 2004 - August 2005 - Hoffman Challenge, 2004 QC-A traveling collection August 2004 - NJ Folk Art Project June 2004 - NJ Quilt Convention - Somerset, NJ March 2004 - Quilt Fest - Myrtle Beach, SC - special exhibit: Under the Sea August 2003 - August 2004 - Hoffman Challenge traveling collection March 2003 - Quilt Fest - Myrtle Beach, SC - special exhibit: Under the Sea April 2003 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - Lancaster, PA October 2002 - Evening Star Quilt Guild Show - Pohatcong, NJ August 2002 - August 2003 - Hoffman Challenge traveling collection August 2002 - NJ Folk Art Project June 2002- NJ Quilt Convention - Somerset, NJ April 2002 - Quilter's Heritage Celebration - Lancaster, PA March 2002 - Quilt Fest - Myrtle Beach, SC - special exhibit: Under the Sea August 2001 - August 2002 - Hoffman Challenge traveling collection April 2002 - Quilters Heritage Celebration - Lancaster, PA June 1999 - NJ Quilt Convention - Somerset, NJ April 1999 - Quilters Heritage Celebration - Lancaster, PA |
| Publications |
| Quilting Arts 2006 calendar. "Let's Go To The Beach!" - July Quilting Arts Magazine - Issue #16, Winter 2004. Artist trading card, page 76 Quilting Arts 2005 calendar. "Goddess of the Deep" - June Quilting Today - June 2002. "Family Album" Miniature Quilts - Issue #56, November 2001. "Mini Log Cabin", page 30 |
| Commissions/Private Collections |
| Mr. & Mrs. Michael Crosbie - Essex, CT Mr. & Mrs. Tom Hester - Columbia, NJ Dawn Romanczak - Blairstown, NJ Gail McIntyre - Macungie, PA Wendy Finnerty - Blairstown, NJ Dorothy Tarnacki - Sparta, NJ Leonard Dinkin - Collegeville, PA Mr. & Mrs. Don Earl - Branson, MO Jolan Conan - Dubai, Saudia Arabia Hoffman Fabrics Intl. - Mission Viejo, CA |
| Memberships |
| AQS - American Quilter's Society IQA - International Quilt Association SAQA - Studio Art Quilt Associates |
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