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Shannon Conley Art Quilts
  • New Page
  • Home
  • Gallery
    • Abstract and Dimensional Work
    • Liturgical and Illuminated Quilts
    • Biology and the Natural World
    • Portraits
    • Other Work
    • Small Pieces
  • Graphic Design
  • Blog
  • About
    • About Shannon
    • Fiberworks 2025 Entry
    • Research
    • Conley Lab
    • Conley Lab Team
  • Show Entries
    • Weather or Not Artist Info
    • Show Entry Form-4 Common Corners: Abandoned
    • Show Entry Form-4 Common Corners: Improv
    • File Upload
    • Show Entry Form-Juxtaposition
    • Show Entry Form-Cottonwood
    • Threaded Discoveries Pieces and Artist Info

Glycocalyx

A sculptural quilt interpreting the protective layer lining our blood vessels.

2021, 48” x 48” x 18”, $5,000

For more on this piece, see my blog post about it.

Topography #2: Crest Trail

The flexibility of cloth and stitch lends itself well to creating motion and texture, and I'm interested in how the processes of layering and then taking away can create dimension and shape. Layer after layer is peeled away to expose what's underneath: organic openings that shift in shape, color, and depth. This piece began with hand painted cloth and a machine quilted base, and then are layered and/or cut away, and anchored with hand stitching.  Each layer corresponds to a 160ft topo line from a USGS map of the White Mountain Wilderness in southern New Mexico.  The region depicted was chosen in gratefulness for my favorite childhood hiking trail: Crest Trail #25.

2016, 42"W x 28"H x 4"D, $1100

For more information on this piece, please see the blog posts featuring it.

Nestling

My goal for this piece was to generate depth and motion without an internal armature, and I adapted traditional fabric manipulation techniques to accomplish it.  I love the way the shapes nestle together and repeat, giving both a regular order and organic sense of motion.

2018, 44”Hx34”Wx4”D Sold

For more information about this piece, check out the blog posts about it.

High Desert Garden

I love the hot burnt colors of flowers that flourished in the high deserts of New Mexico where I grew up. This quilt drew inspiration from red hot pokers and indian paintbrush, growing in the crispy yellow-green grass. My goal in this series was to generate depth and motion without an internal armature, and I adapted traditional fabric manipulation techniques to accomplish it.

2018, 41"Hx34"Wx6"D, $1300

Currently touring with the SAQA Global Exhibition Haven, available for purchase with delivery upon completion of the exhibition after 12/31/2025

For more information about this piece, please check out the blog posts about it!

Cloud Rim, Summer 1991

This piece is part of an ongoing series of highly abstracted landscapes inspired by places that are dear to me. I spent my childhood in the dry mountains of southern New Mexico, a place where the tiniest of creeks was cause for delight. So I well remember the urgency and excitement I felt when I got the chance to go to summer camp with a friend in Utah; a place with not only mountains and trees, but the new and wondrous experience of a lake.

69” x 44” x 4”, 2020, $3,500

33°20'N, 105°33'W

This piece is part of an ongoing series of highly abstracted landscapes inspired by places that are dear to me. Even in the arid high desert mountains, late summer monsoons lead to riotous flowering color in the forest undergrowth.

64” x 34” x 6”, 2018, Sold

On Dahlias

I love the depth and variation in color found in flower petals. I'm particularly intrigued by dahlias, which have layer after layer of petals, sometimes loose and flowy, other times tight and almost cylindrical. This piece was the outcome of study of many different forms of dahlias.

2016, 48"Hx60"Wx8"D, $2000

For more information about this piece, please check out the blog posts about it!

 

 

On Iris

I love the depth and variation in color found in flower petals. This piece was inspired by the strange fluttery shape of iris petals and the glorious riot of color they exhibit.

2017, Sold

For more information about this piece, please check out the blog posts about it!

Tesseract #1

I'm interested in how the processes of layering can create dimension and shape. Layer after layer is peeled away to expose what's underneath: organic openings that shift in shape, color, and depth.

2018, 54"H x 27"W, $1500

For more information about this project, see my blog posts about it.

Tesseract #2

This piece was an exercise in portraying 3-dimensional works in 2 dimensions.  

2018, 54"H x 27"W, $600

For more information about this piece, please see the blog posts about it.

Lantern

This piece is part of my series inspired by origami corrugations, and explores ways to use traditional paper-folding techniques as a novel way to bring depth and shape to my art quilts.

2020, 34” x 18” x 9”, $1000

For more on this piece, see the https://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/2020/05/lantern-finished.htmlblog post on it.

Lantern Flame

While working with aluminum window screen inside some past quilts, my hands got scraped up and covered in little red welts; that experience inspired this subsequent piece, the sharp sting of hundreds of shallow cuts. This time the nefarious metal is exposed for all to see.

2020, 30” x 20”, $500

For more information about this piece, please see my blog post about it.

Explorations of Mariners' Compasses

These three pieces are part of an ongoing series of experiments I’m working on to see how far I can go with “quilts”.  All three of these fairytale forms started off as quite traditional quilted mariner’s compass blocks that were painted, free-motion quilted, cutaway, and sculpted.  I leave it to the viewer! Does it still look like a quilt?

2017, 24"W x 36"D x 18"H, $700

For more on these pieces, see my blog posts about them.

Kirigami #4: Creepy Crawlies

This piece was an exploration of the application of rotational erection systems to art quilts. The resultant pinwheels remind me of alien arachnids….

2020, 18” x 32”, $500

For more information on this piece, see the blog post on it.

Topography

The flexibility of cloth and stitch lends itself well to creating motion, and texture, and I'm interested in how the processes of layering and then taking away can create dimension and shape. Layer after layer is peeled away to expose what's underneath: organic openings shift in shape, color, and depth. My art quilts begin with hand painted cloth and a machine quilted base, and then are layered and/or cut away, and anchored with hand stitching.

2015, 12 x 18 x 1.5, $350

For more on this piece, check out the blog.

Kirigami #1

This piece is one in a series exploring forms derived from Kirigami, the Japanese origami variation that includes cutting in addition to folding. It's inspired by the colors of the arid deserts of southern Arizona, of the uncountable variety of tough and stringy cacti and plants that flourish in the harsh conditions.

2020, 18” x 36”, $500

Kirigami #3: Open Windows

A kirigami-inspired quilt capturing the feel of flowing curtains and breezy shapes.

2020, 28” x 20” x 6”, $500

For more on this piece, see my blog post about it.

Twining

This quilt drew inspiration from climbing vines; those that live deep in the forest, wrapped around old-growth trees. My goal in this series was to generate depth and motion without an internal armature, and I adapted traditional fabric manipulation techniques to accomplish it.

2018, 53"Hx27"Wx4"D, Sold

For more information about this piece, please check out the blog posts about it!

Petals

I'm interested in symmetry and form, the repeating elements so familiar in traditional quilts, but pulled into the third dimension. This piece draws colors from the sharp blue New Mexico skies, and the wildflowers that peek out of the grass in the spring and summer.

2020, 32"H x 51"W x 3”W, $900

For more information about this project, see my blog posts about it.

Kirigami #5: Sea Dragons

This kirigami-inspired quilt draws on the colors and organic forms of sea dragons.

2020, 22” x 26” x 3”, $500

For more on this piece, see my blog post about it.

Kirigami #2: Chevrons

I love the color, feel, and texture of quilted fabric, but am constantly drawn to pull it into the third dimension, to add shape and form to its other qualities. When applied to quilts, the regular crisp cuts and folds of the traditional Japanese art of kirigami provide a way to do this; to sculpt fabric while preserving the repeating geometry and secondary patterns reminiscent of traditional quilt blocks.

2020, 31” x 18” x 5”, $500

For more on this piece, see my blog post about it.

Lantern 3

This piece is part of an ongoing series designed to capture the feel of the high desert and mountains of southern New Mexico. It picks up the colors and textures of the forest- the twining dusty brown of dense and textured trees opening into clearings full of dried yellow grass.

2022, 30"H x 13"W x 10"D, $400

Lincoln County, Summer 2024

The 2024 fire season in Lincoln County, New Mexico, was devastating, burning great chunks of Ruidoso, the town I grew up in. As the climate in the American southwest continues to get drier, the fire seasons get longer and more severe.

2024, 37"Hx25"Wx2"D, $800

C. Bauri, Feathers or Scales

Coelophysis Bauri is my favorite therapod dinosaur. This piece is inspired by the shift in our understanding of dinosaurs as scaly reptilian creatures to feather-covered bird-like creatures.

2024, Sold

For more information about this piece, see the blog posts about it.

Hondo Valley Iris

2024, Sold

For more information about this piece, please see the blog posts about it.

Seed Heads #2

This piece is part of an ongoing series exploring the ecosystems of the high desert mountains of southern New Mexico. It was inspired by natures fluff, by blowing dandelion seeds across the dry summer fields.

2023, 54”H x 35”W x 4”D, $1,500

For more information about this piece, please see the blog post about it.

Vining

I was inspired by climbing vines living deep in the forest, wrapped around old-growth trees, inching ever closer to the sun.

2023, 42”H x 24”W x 3”D, $800

For more information about this piece, please see the blog posts about it.

Only You

As the southwestern United States gets drier, wildfire risk continues to increase, threatening homes, communities, and irreplaceable natural ecosystems. This piece, like much of my work, is inspired by the dry mountains of southern New Mexico where another forest fire burned through my hometown just last year. Smokey Bear reminds us, "Only you can prevent wildfires."

2023, 53”H x 42”W x 4”H, $2300

This piece is currently traveling with the global SAQA exhibition Abstraction: Textural Elements. It will be available for delivery when the show closes in December of 2027.

For more information about this piece, please see the blog posts about it.

Tumbling Blocks

An exploration of shape and geometry, of making things that quilters typically see in 2D into 3D.

2024, 70×44×6, $1,500

For more about this quilt, please see the blog posts about it.

Origami 1

2024, 26” x 26” x 2”, $900

For more about this piece, please see the blog posts about it.

Origami 2

2024, 48×24×2, $1000

For more information about this piece, please see the blog post about it.

Glycocalyx

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Topography #2: Crest Trail

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Nestling

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High Desert Garden

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Cloud Rim, Summer 1991

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33°20'N, 105°33'W

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On Dahlias

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On Iris

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Tesseract #1

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Tesseract #2

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Lantern

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Lantern Flame

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Explorations of Mariners' Compasses

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Kirigami #4: Creepy Crawlies

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Topography

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Conley-Topography-FULL-small.jpg

Kirigami #1

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Kirigami #3: Open Windows

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Twining

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Petals

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Kirigami #5: Sea Dragons

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Kirigami #2: Chevrons

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Lantern 3

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Lincoln County, Summer 2024

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C. Bauri, Feathers or Scales

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Hondo Valley Iris

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Seed Heads #2

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Vining

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Only You

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Tumbling Blocks

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Origami 1

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Origami 2

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