Ellen Oppenheimer

Ellen Oppenheimer studied glassblowing at college and now designs neon pieces in San Francisco. Her first experience in working with fabric came after graduation: her father was throwing out several of his old ties and Oppenheimer reclaimed them, joining the different materials together to form her first quilt. She uses the technique of “machine inlaying” to create her pieces, which allows odd shapes to be incorporated into the design without the stitches showing. Oppenheimer’s quilts combine vibrant colors with patterns she prints herself. They often employ a single, continuous line that twists and turns through the maze of fabrics, representing what the artist feels are “the convoluted journeys that we take to get exactly where we started.”