A member of California Fibers for 38 years, Marilyn McKenzie Chaffee discovered the group in 1981 at a Gallery Eight exhibit in La Jolla, California. She was impressed with the group’s professionalism and diversity of styles and fiber materials. When she was juried in, Chaffee was the first in the group to exhibit a pieced and stitched art quilt.
Through the years, California Fibers has remained a welcoming community, encouraging and supporting both young and experienced artists. As new, talented artists have joined the group, Chaffee has marveled at their diversity of styles and innovative approaches to fiber. She writes that it is always a proud moment when her work appears in a new California Fibers exhibit alongside the work of the many talented members.
An early example of Chaffee’s work is Crystal Medallion (1984), a large, pieced, and hand-stitched wall quilt.
More recent work by Chaffee includes her “Venture Series”, which incorporates hand-dyed fabric with intricate layers of pigmented gauze. This is Venture Series #7 - Summer Memory.
Here’s a detail of the piece.
Her new work is smaller, as Chaffee continues to explore the use of hand-stitching in her original textiles. This is Moon Shadow.
