MEET THE ARTIST

Rachel Derstine is an award winning fiber artist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her works are featured in invitational and juried gallery shows and fine art/craft shows throughout the country. She has had articles published in Machine Quilting Unlimited and Art Quilting Studio magazines. Her work has been purchased and installed in institutions such as Epic Corporation in Madison, WI, and the Milton Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA. Having grown up in Japan, this influence is evident in her style and use of silks, ikats, hand dyed and batik fabrics. Since recently moving to center city Philadelphia, she has been inspired by the architecture and vibrancy of the city. Many of her current works include buildings in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood as well as scenes along the Schuylkill River.
She includes traditional techniques of quilting as well as her own contemporary methods. Her current work uses some mixed media as well as textiles. She does all her piecing, applique and couching on a domestic sewing machine and her quilting on a long arm quilting machine.