Valerie S. Goodwin

Valerie S. Goodwin's award winning quilts are inspired by her love of maps and aerial views of landscapes and cities. These pieces look at how to use the language of lines, shapes and pattern to create map art quilts of real and imaginary places. Her background in architecture plays a big role in her artwork. Much of Valerie's work is built up using many techniques such as piecing, hand sewing, painting and collage. She combines materials such as fabric and thread with sheers as well as paint. At the beginning of her process, she creates rich surfaces that are analogous to the ground plane upon which the map-like elements (streets, structures, etc…) are layered on. The fabric and paint along with machine stitching and hand stitching make for interesting surface detail that one may not discover until they do a closer inspection of her map quilts. Born in Alabama and raised in Connecticut, she studied architecture at Yale University and Washington University in St. Louis. Currently she is an artist with a studio in a warehouse art park near the campus where she works. Valerie and Bob, her husband of 22 years teach architecture at Florida A & M University. They live in Tallahassee, Florida with their extended family.