Artist Name: Katherine M Dossman

City/Town: Belton
State/Province: TX
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabrics,Mistyfuse,tulle and bias binding for applique.Feathers,deco mesh, mirrors and crystal trim as embellishments.Machine and free motion quilted,hand applique.

Artist's Statement: Mad to the Bone represents my hatred of cancer.I want to encourage women to get their screening mammograms.I am a part of a team in the clinic were I work to help diagnose and care for patients with breast cancer.I would love to use my voice to tell women they are never too young or old to get this disease.My diagnoses of Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma makes me want to help as much as possible.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Katherine M Dossman

City/Town: Belton
State/Province: TX
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Cotton,embroidery,buttons and crystals.Machine quilted and appliqued.Hand beaded and embroidered

Artist's Statement: My inspiration for this quilt was from a phrase I read in a church bulletin. Without love, everything we do is for nothing.Love must govern our thoughts,actions and words.I chose bright colors and flowers because I love how they make me feel.My art quilts are my unspoken voice to those that don't personally know me.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: PJ Howard

City/Town: Denver
State/Province: NC
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: machine sewn piecing, machine quilting guided by hand, couched binding using hand-dyed yarn

Artist's Statement: I challenged myself to make this entry with just fabric from my "small scraps" bag. A few hours later this beauty was finished! What fun!

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: PJ Howard

City/Town: Denver
State/Province: NC
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: fusible applique, machione quilting, mixed media figurine

Artist's Statement: This woman is WILD for color! Attachment is one of several Women Once Wild. For more info on this series, see http://wowlrp.blogspot.com/ These art pieces give voice to the stories of women who don't fit traditional molds.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Leslie F Kauffmann

City/Town: Brussels
Country: Belgium

Materials and Techniques: Thai silks, cotton batting, backing, and binding, Wonder-Under, metallic, cotton, and polyester threads

Artist's Statement: Quilting is my passion and I tend to make a lot of noise about it. It is a virtually limitless medium for creativity and self-expression and I feel that I learn something new every day. I love it that Quilt Alliance gives me an opportunity every year to voice this creativity and contribute to the worthy cause of keeping quilting traditions alive. "LOUD!" was an experiment with new materials and is done in my favorite "loud" colors.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Members' Choice:Third Place Award

Artist Name: Ramona Bates

City/Town: Little Rock
State/Province: AR
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Used my sewing machine to stitch the words in (on) the phone line. Machine appliqued the birds and phone lines. Cotton fabric which looks like sky with clouds as background. Machine quilted.

Artist's Statement: My mother died almost 8 yrs ago. Though I didn't call often I still miss hearing her voice on the phone (& in person). This piece is a nod to conversations on the phone line and on line (ie Twitter)as we make our voices heard. My mom (& grandmother) would often say "a little bird told me" which I added to the label.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Mary K Davis

City/Town: Sunnyvale
State/Province: CA
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: I feel that tattoos are a permanent way to share your "voice" with the world (if you choose to let it show). Nothing speaks louder to me about my passion then "I Love Quilts."

Artist's Statement: I've been wanting to make a "tattoo" quilt for quite a while using quilting notions. This is a small mock up of larger quilt that I've been working on (which will have large wings). Maybe someday, when I'm brave, I'll actually get the tattoo.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Nita E Markos

City/Town: Hillsboro
State/Province: IL
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Self tinted fabric, applique, collage, and oil pastel crayons.

Artist's Statement: The rooster makes me think of a visit to relations in a small Greek village in the mountians. Each morning we were awakened by a rooster crowing, then a dog barking, then a donkey braying. What a way to wake up.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist Name: Nita E Markos

City/Town: Hillsboro
State/Province: IL
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Self tinted fabric, applique, collage, and oil pastel crayon.

Artist's Statement: Anybody who has heard cats romancing at midnight, remembers the sound. These three however are more melodic, beneath their Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Susan L Robbins

City/Town: Silver Spring
State/Province: MD
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Recycled stockings, commercial fabrics, dyed fabrics, embroidery threads, machine quilting and embellishments

Artist's Statement: As a Deaf person, I wanted to share a different perspective what "Voice" means to me visually: watching the fleeting white waves that puts me in a trance; forget the world around me by relaxing in the chair, walking bare feet on the sand that feels delicious and the balloon spreading LOVE to all that brings a smile on my face. WE need more of this to rejuvenate!

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Scarlet G Sparkuhl Delia

City/Town: Fort Collins
State/Province: CO
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: 100% cotton quilting fabric and thread. Improvisational machine piecing. Improvisational machine and hand quilting.

Artist's Statement: This project has been a reflection on the cultivation of relationships. We come into this life as ME, but live our days as WE. Some relationship are short-lived, while others are cultivated over a lifetime. I have found very few things can be accomplished alone in this world. People come in and out of our lives with purpose. Accept them. Share with them what they came to bring. Love them, and don't fight their exit, for they may come around again.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Margaret M Cibulsky

City/Town: Port Washington
State/Province: NY
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Various cottons pieced onto Cherrywood base. Hand embroidery with Perle #8 & #12 cotton.

Artist's Statement: My inspiration for this quilt came after reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic. A short section called Fierce Trust, in Part V, grabbed my attention. The "fierce" part of trust is putting your work out there regardless of the outcome. Failure or success does not matter. Trust yourself, your voice, your desire to create because there is value in doing and sharing what you love.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Alicia M Sterna

City/Town: Surprise
State/Province: AZ
Country: United States 

Materials and Techniques: This quilt is pieced, appliqued, machine quilted on a domestic machine and embellished with beads.

Artist's Statement: This piece represents the journey of a woman as her self esteem grows. Initially, she is tentative with her opinions, but her voice becomes louder as her self confidence grows. She is most successful when she joins with other women to express group goals and aspirations.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist Name: Ann M Bordeau

City/Town: Arden
State/Province: NC
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Made of cotton fabric, batting, inkjet printed images, and a vintage handkerchief. Raw edge appliquéd with yo-yo's, buttons, and rick rack embellishment.

Artist's Statement: We all have bits of ephemera that trigger our memories with pleasant voices of the past. It might be a newspaper clipping, a memorial card, a ticket stub, or grandma's handkerchief tucked in the back of your dresser drawer. Familiar handwriting on a recipe card, a journal entry from years ago, an old postmark, or family photos all hold indelible memories. I tried to make my collection generic enough to speak to everyone who cherishes simple objects that hold special memories.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Alice Helms

City/Town: Asheville
State/Province: NC
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Fused applique, trapunto, machine-quilting, hand embroidery.

Artist's Statement: At this time of year, I'm hearing the loud and persistent voices of birds every morning. And these days there are loud and persistent human "Tweets" too.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist Name: Margaret Abramshe

City/Town: Saint George
State/Province: UT
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Materials: Cotton cloth, acrylic paint. dye,liquid water colors, pigment sticks, thread, batting, medium, fusible interfacing Techniques: Whole cloth digitally printed from artists image. Painted with inks, acrylics, dyes, pigment sticks, and liquid water color. Fused applique. Machine quilted.

Artist's Statement: "Quilt Kitty" started as a photo I took with my phone Pilar when she was just 2 month old. As quilters know, cats seem to love our sewing rooms. Pilar is a typical cat in her fondness for finding the perfect spot to nap in my stash of fabric. In this photo she had worn herself out and was sleeping with her tongue out. Though she is no longer a "kitten" she spends time with me as I sew.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist Name: Hope Wilmarth

City/Town: Spring
State/Province: TX
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: cotton material fused and machine appliquéd to background ice-dyed by artist. leaves made of non-woven substrate, painted with acrylics, burned with hot knife, fused and machine appliquéd to background.

Artist's Statement: When gentle winds whisper through birch trees, leaves dance through the branches on their way to the forest floor. And if the hiker's ear is attentive, music fills the air. Swaying giants communicate an indomitable spirit, and the woodland becomes alive to all the senses. Hear the voice of the trees. "Verdant Whispers" was inspired by walks through the forest in Central Oregon on summer vacations.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Phyllis K Campbell

City/Town: Rockford
State/Province: IL
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: cotton fabrics and threads, machine pieced, machine appliquéd, machine quilted

Artist's Statement: The inspiration for my quilt "On the Links ... FORE!" likely came from lazy Sunday afternoons watching golf on television. The beautiful greens, the rolling hills, and the language and history of golf in Scotland all played a part in creating this quilt for the Quilt Alliance's 2017 Voices contest. It seems like a relaxing sport, except when one must cry "FORE!" because of a wild ball in the air!

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Judge's Choice Award (Marianne Fons)

Artist Name: Ellen L Hernandez

City/Town: San Antonio
State/Province: TX
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabric and batting, zipper, tape measure, buttons. Hand and machine applique, embroidery, fabric pens.

Artist's Statement: The range of political theatrics this last year has been bountiful. "Alternative facts" was one of the most ludicrous, a phrase which will forevermore impact politicians, educators, parents, and children. My Voice entry makes a political jab with a quilting/sewing related version of "alternative facts."

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Sue K Gies

City/Town: Custer
State/Province: SD
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: I used some hand dyed fabric, ornamental feathers, metal jewelry and my computer to print words on the fabric. I also printed out my label with my home computer and printer.

Artist's Statement: I chose this Native American dancer that represents voices in many diverse ways. Voices of culture, dance, spirit of the people, beautiful colors, music, and the beauty of the Native American costumes, which most likely were all handmade. I used appliqued process. I wanted to incorporate wording within the quilt, so I ironed colored hand dyed fabric onto freezer paper, then typed different phrases and printed them out onto the fabric. I then made those into the fringe of the dancer's quilt that look as like they are flying in the wind as she dances.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Judge's Choice Award (Marlene Ingraham)

Artist Name: Nancy S Brown

City/Town: OAKLAND
State/Province: CA
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: 100% cotton fabric. Hand appliqued and quilted. Machine pieced. Embroidered whiskers. Tsukineko ink in eye.

Artist's Statement: The quilt was made for all of the endangered species who have no voice. This is an Amur Leopard which is critically endangered. This leopard lives in southeast Russia and northeast China and it is estimated that there are only about 60 of these leopards remaining in the world.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Kristin Shields

City/Town: Bend
State/Province: OR
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: cotton, hand applique, layering, hand embroidery, hand quilting

Artist's Statement: When responsible and conscientious citizens take their civic duty seriously this democracy thrives. Apathy and disillusionment lead to corrupt and immoral governing. I hope the resistance movement of 2017 wakes up Americans to the importance of their vote in future elections.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Members' Choice: First Place Award Judge's Choice Award (Mark Lipinski)

Artist Name: Carol Poole

City/Town: Rockledge
State/Province: FL
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: This quilt was made with hand dyed batiks and silk batting., using burned fabric and raw edge applique techniques. My inspiration was a painting that I saw, in 2015, by deceased artist, Mildred Thompson, while visiting Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum, in Atlanta. I manipulated the image several times on my computer, to achieve my desired effect. I then made a cartoon that divided my 16 x 16 size into 16, 4" x 4" squares, which made it easier for me to focus. I constructed each 4" block with what I wanted within that block, completing the 16, before beginning to sew them together, building 2 by 2, 4 by 4, then the 2 halves together. I used my seam ripper for something besides unsewing. I held the metal point over a candle until quite hot, then punched holes, to create the burned holes in my fabric, simulating the small burnt holes in my memories. Hand seed stitching helped create the movement within the quilt., using various thicknesses and colors of embroidery floss.

Artist's Statement: Having been diagnosed with early stage Alzheimers, I wanted to visually depict how my voice is changing. Once my thoughts, ideas and words were bright, quick, well-formed and easily articulated. They are becoming harder to express and even forgotten, at times, singed around the edges. The vortex expresses what my voice is and what my voice is becoming: less busy worked more reflective and thoughtful. I am slower to anger and am grateful of love.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Allie Aller

City/Town: Washougal
State/Province: WA
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Applique, 3 D collage, embroidery, beading, colored pencil, machine quilting

Artist's Statement: I tried to capture the sweet intimacy of a child listening to her mother's voice reading her a story, while they are swinging in the hammock on a summer afternoon.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Pauline Salzman

City/Town: Treasure Island
State/Province: FL
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: cotton fabric, nylon tulle, markers. The faces were printed on fabric and then enhanced with markers. Then it was appliqued The overlay is nylon tulle and the flag was made with markers. Then it was quilted

Artist's Statement: The Pledge of Allegiance is something we as Americans learned in grade school. In these times of political discourse those words should be remembered.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Sandi Goldman

City/Town: Annandale
State/Province: VA
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: cotton fabric, cotton batting, cotton and polyester thread

Artist's Statement: Homage to the Hashtag The hashtag is the way to have your voice heard around the world. You can describe your feelings, create a mood and use run-on sentences with this graphic symbol. You can say as much or as little as you choose. #hearmyvoice #loveislove #resist #acceptance #onelove #disarmhate #rainbowconnection

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Carol Esch

City/Town: Pittstown
State/Province: NJ
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Commercial and handprinted fabrics. Sun printed fabric and discharge paste.

Artist's Statement: Messages. Birds knock on windows when someone is dying. I believe they carry the souls of the departed. When I find feathers on the ground or fluttering in the air to the ground I just think of it as a 'message'. To me they are spiritual and I collect feathers for that reason.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Judge's Choice Award (Linda Pumphrey)

Artist Name: Mary J Puckett

City/Town: Cullowhee
State/Province: NC
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Hand dyed cotton fabric from Cherrywood, cut freestyle with scissors, machine pieced, machine quilted.

Artist's Statement: College students spend hours discussing the meaning of life. Most find their way out of the maze, but the path is meandering, much like the physical paths on campus.

Size: 16" x 16"

Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist Name: Beth Shibley

City/Town: Los Alamitos
State/Province: CA
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: fabric, pen, pencil, scraps, machine quilted

Artist's Statement: This quilt is for the voices we can't hear.

Size: 16" x 16"

Artist Name: Helen Branch

City/Town: Whitehouse Station
State/Province: NJ
Country: United States

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabric, 80/20 batting, photo-transfer fabric, cotton, monofilament and polyester thread. Raw-edge applique.

Artist's Statement: When I think of 'voices' I remember hearing my mother and her sisters talking in the kitchen at night after I was tucked up in bed. Their voices would rise, lower to whispers, and then they would break out in laughter. Using old letters and fabric scraps, I made a quilt that reflects that tradition of family storytelling that went on before my mother and continues now.

Size: 16" x 16"