Born from a simple question sent out across social media by Jen Broemel in the spring of 2021, river cloud is the result of virtual meet-ups between Jen, based in Indianapolis, IN, and Jennie Johnston based in British Columbia, Canada. An exchange of pieces of fabric through the mail, evolved into influencing each other’s processes and discovering a mutual love of books and poetry which led to further exchanges. Each artist selected six poems that they shared. Using their individual processes, these textile based quilt pieces evolved in each artist’s studio. While Jen selected words from each poem to work from, Jennie underlined phrases. Jennie continued to use fabric from the initial exchange to create her poem book, while Jen created her pieces with fabric scraps assembled into patterns until they felt just right.

Jen and Jennie met through the Artist/Mother Community and are so grateful to have had this space made available to nurture our lives as artists and mothers, and foster bonds of friendship and support. This work is a testament to the warmth and deep connections that can be made through intentional community building online. It conveys a bright side of the virtual world that can be hidden in our tumultuous times. The resulting years of work is river cloud: poetry & stitch across the miles, featuring quilts, sound, and interactive fabric books. These pieces are gathered together here for the first time.

January 10, 2025 - January 26, 2025