Artist’s Statement

When I was 16, I played Emily Webb in Our Town. The line which most affected my life was in Act III: “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?—every, every minute?”

I spent my first twenty winters in snow; my summers were idyllic but painfully short. Moving to south Florida in my early adulthood opened my eyes. I discovered warmth and color and lush beauty surrounding me month after month, year after year.

There are many reasons to love South Florida: We have a wide diversity of animals and plants here; I am fascinated by crotons, heliconias, bromeliads, and Monstera. Something is always in bloom.

The Everglades is an ecosystem that exists nowhere else. It is mysterious and often misunderstood. Its inhabitants are our important neighbors, and we must learn to appreciate their wild beauty and protect this treasure.

The most wondrous part of living in Miami is the access we have to the underwater reefs. The colors, the variety of life forms, and even the vulnerability of the reef habitat underscore the need for focusing our attention on appreciating and saving it.

In my life I have attempted to answer Emily positively: by existing in the moment, by actively seeing my environment, and by highlighting the beauty I see to those around me. I hope that, by seeing the beauty of nature through my eyes, others will feel a greater appreciation of and a greater respect for our world.

This is me now. I'm 64 years old, an active mother and grandmother, happily living with a delightful man for the past 25 years, an art quilter, a retired professional graphic artist and web designer, a living related kidney donor, a survivor of domestic abuse, an arthritis, fibromyalgia and depression sufferer, and an old hippie.

Art Resume

e x h i b i t s

High Springs Quilters' Show: Special Exhibit of 7 of my Florida quilts, April 2009, High Springs, FL

Ocean Waves at ArtSouth: "Evening Dive" (Viewers' Choice, 3rd place - Pictorial) and "Morning Dive" (Viewers' Choice, 2nd place - Pictorial) Spring 2009, Homestead, FL

National Quilt Association: "Morning Dive" juried into 2008 show, Columbus, Ohio

Sacred Threads: "A Hole in the World" juried into 2007 exhibit, Chandler, AZ

She Made Her Mark: "River of Grass" juried into 2007 exhibit at Quilters' Hall of Fame, Marion, IN

Art Quilts XI: "His Holiness Dalai Lama" and "Moonlit Heron" juried into 2006 show, Chandler, Arizona

Quilt Odyssey: "Croton with Fireflies," juried into 2006 show, Hershey, PA

Quilting Natural Florida: “Mangroves and Egrets,” “Bromeliad,” “Morning Snack,” FL Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, Summer 2006

Solo Show: FabricArt by Stacy West, Biscayne Nature Center, Key Biscayne, Nov-Dec, 2005

Art Quilts X: “Ti Plant” juried into 2005 show, Chandler, Arizona

Gallery at Kings Corner: “Eagle & Bear” and “US 191” juried into 2005 show, New Hampshire

National Quilt Association: “Flaming Gorge” juried into 2005 show, Columbus, Ohio

Ocean Waves Quilt Show: “Blessed Messenger” and “Rocky Path,” Coral Gables, Fl, May 2005

Broward Quilt Fest: “Coral Reef” and “Flawed Seashell,” Fort Lauderdale, Fl, March 2005

Solo Show: Art Quilts by Stacy West, Gallery at Green Library, FIU, June-July 2003

p u b l i c ..c o l l e c t i o n

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL

a w a r d s . & .h o n o r s

Quilters Newsletter Magazine, October 2006, News article about the "Quilting Natural Florida" show, featuring my "Morning Snack"

“Morning Snack” selected as the advertising image for “Quilting Natural Florida,” Gainesville, FL, Summer 2006

Love of Quilting magazine: My portrait quilts featured in article, January 2006

Harvest the Wind: a juried competition, 1993: "Burgeoning," woodturned vessel of Texas Ebony with lost wax cast silver branch with leaves, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Honorarium received.

m e m b e r s h i p

Ocean Waves Quilters

Miami Art Quilters

Contact me at stacywest7801@yahoo.com