Sally Abrams runs a cattle farm in Livingston Manor, but she’s more renowned for the quilts that she has been making for nearly three decades now. She started out doing traditional Americana-style patterns, but has since turned her fabric piecework creations into high art. Abrams does pictorial quilts, including landscapes, and has made a personal specialty of designs that might be categorized as Op Art. By varying the dimensions of the tiny pieces from the usual even-sided squares and hexagons, she creates nearly three-dimensional patterns that appear to the eye to ripple and pop instead of lying flat.
Past president of the Calico Geese Quilters’ Guild, Abrams curated a “Back to Nature” show at Morgan Outdoors in Livingston Manor and developed and produced an outdoor quilt show at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts’ Harvest Festival. She has demonstrated her community-mindedness by donating her work to fundraising efforts for not-for-profit organizations including Sullivan County Habitat for Humanity, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Sullivan County, veterans’ groups and 4-H Clubs.
Now Abrams has been inducted into the Catskill Mountain Quilters’ Hall of Fame, entitling her to a one-woman exhibition at the Erpf Gallery at the Catskill Center in Arkville. Each year the organization spotlights a particular Catskills-region quilter who has made significant contributions to the preservation and enhancement of this traditional American artform. “Traditions with a Twist: Quilts by Sally Abrams” opened in July, but you still have a chance to catch these knockout works: The show will be up until August 21.
The Catskill Center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment on weekends. For more information, call (845) 586-2611 or visit www.catskillcenter.org.
“Traditions with a Twist: Quilts by Sally Abrams,” through August 21, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Erpf Gallery, Catskill Center, 43355 Route 28, Arkville; (845) 586-2611, www.catskillcenter.org.
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