Background
Crow was born in 1943 in the small town of Loudonville, Ohio.
Crow was born in 1943 in the small town of Loudonville, Ohio.
Crow studied ceramics and weaving at Ohio State University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1965 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1969.
She is the youngest of eight children. In 1979, she began to concentrate seriously on quilt making. Her emphasis from the beginning was on graphic power of color.
In her early quilts, she juxtaposed traditional quilt patterns like the Log Cabin block with vibrant color combinations.
Her later works use her own asymmetrical designs. Crow is one of the leading figures in the development of the art quilting movement of the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1994, she established a workshop facility on the farm where she lives, near Baltimore, Ohio. She says of her work: Newe (1980) Tramp Art (1983 – ) Yellow Crosses" (1985) Lady of Guadalupe (1985–1988) Jacob"s Ladder (1986 – ) Mexican Wheels (1987 – ) Double Mexican Wedding Rings (1988–1992) This series combines the traditional Double Wedding Ring block with innovative changes in the scale of the blocks and her dramatic use of color.
Color Blocks I (1988–1991) Color Blocks I comprised three quilts: Color Blocks #1, Color Blocks #2, Color Blocks #3 (1988–1989).
These three quilts explore visual complexity. In 1990 Crow returned to the Color Blocks series and created Color Blocks #4, which explores the square as a motif. Bow Tie (1991–1995) This series of 13 quilts explores the traditional quilt block Bow Tie in the context of abstract expressionist painting and asymmetrical shapes.
Using simple shapes and simple formats, Crow explores the figure/ground relationship.
Constructions (1995–present) This series comprises more than 75 quilts. They mark Crow"s ongoing explorations of shape and the actions of sewing, cutting and re-sewing to form complex patterns.
Chinese Souls (1990–1994) In September 1990, Crow visited Xi"an in Shaanxi Province in China. While there she witnessed an episode of police brutality.
Trucks filled with young men were driven around the city by the police with the sirens blaring.
The young men had committed crimes and were scheduled to be executed. Crow created a series of quilts in which the circle represented the souls of the men scheduled to be executed, color threads symbolized the ropes around their necks. 1992 Invitational: Craft Today United States of America, sponsored by the American Craft Museum, New York, New New York
Solo at the, June 30 – September 27, 1992.
British Craft Council Gallery, London, England, July 15 – September 5, 1994. Solo at the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington District of Columbia, August 25, 1995 – January 1, 1996.
