My life journey has taken a meandering path. After fifteen years as a language teacher and several years spent living abroad in South America and India, I decided to make a shift to focus on nurturing my creativity. I practice art because creating with my hands connects to something deep and ancestral inside of me. I yearn for that connection, especially in our digital age that places so much more value on consumption than creation.
I create representational landscape quilts with a minimalist style inspired by my travels and by the beauty and wisdom of Mother Earth. All of my pieces are created using fabric that I dye myself. The process of natural dyeing is my way of pushing back against our consumerist culture and of honoring the beauty nature.
I’m Juli Rae, independent textile artist based in Portland, Oregon.
My highest goal is for my work to evoke the feeling of connection to the land and to each other, to remind us that we are not separate from nature but rather are an integral part of it. Quilting offers me the opportunity to create with my hands and my art is a humble offering to our generous planet.
Art is a process of transformation. Plants are transformed into fibers and dyes; raw fabric is transformed into pieces of art. I believe we all possess the power to transform, and every action (or inaction) leaves an impact. I try to move through the world with kindness, wonder, and generosity as a practice of healing myself and the planet.
There is beauty in all things, in the grandiose and in the mundane. I hope to capture that beauty in my work and do honor to our planet in the process.
I am committed to caring for our planet. Click to learn more about how I use sustainable practices in my business and in my personal life.
Shop Quilts
Check out my most recent work.
Visit the Studio
Curious to learn more about my process? Come join me in the studio!