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Beth Carney lives in Yonkers, NY and teaches dance technique and composition in New York and Connecticut. Beth received a BFA in Fine Arts from Ohio University with a concentration in dance. Currently she is the Lower School Dance specialist at Greenwich Academy where she teaches dance and brings her joy of quilting to the school community. She has worked with students in the classroom, helping them to create quilts based on their curriculum, and with the faculty to make group quilts for comfort, retirement or friendship.

Beth started quilting in the early 1970's using traditional styles and techniques. In 1986 a knee injury resulted in time off from dancing and teaching, giving her an opportunity to explore quilt art as a way to meld her love of the visual and performing arts into one. Now, when she's not teaching dance, Beth spends countless hours in her studio dancing in a different way -- through the movement of her quilts.
 

Artist Statement

I take my life experiences as a dancer, choreographer and director melding them together in my art, constantly looking at the world with an openness to see different perspectives with focus and discipline. Each piece of me creates an essential element in my work.  The dancer explores the movement, flow, and paths that your eyes follow as they dance around the work.  The choreographer uses the line, spatial relationships between the parts, and the play of color to create an image for the audience. The director creates the structure and controls the chaos. Art has always been a way to communicate with an open mind and willingness to express my vision intuitively and from my soul; sometimes serious, at other times with humor.

Fractured Windows
34" x 40 "
©2004 Beth Carney
Commercial and hand dyed cotton fabrics, cotton batting
machine pieced and quilted

The world is viewed from different perspectives through these fractured windows. Sometimes we see clearly while other times it is more of a struggle. Take the time to look at the beauty of color and shape around us.

Autumn Woods
26” X 37”
©2002 Beth Carney

Pieced quilt using commercial and hand dyed cotton, machine quilted with metallic threads

This quilt is a study of line and shape that creates the feeling inspired by a dense forest in autumn.

Fruitful Connections
25” x 36”
©Beth Carney, Linda Coates, Paula Swette

This was created by three connected souls from New York, Toronto, and Pennsylvania. We took a photograph and then worked independently, bringing the pieces together at a retreat.