Isolation / Together : May – July 2022
A Community Friendship Quilt Installation Located at Dandelion Teahouse & Apothecary

Through the use of collective imagery and the rich history of quilts as items of comfort, storytelling, and reminders of loved ones who are not physically present, I seek to explore the idea that we are all isolated, together.
Though we have all been enduring this experience of a global pandemic together, I think we are still blanketed by this pervasive feeling of being alone in our struggles and the complexities of “the new normal” of day-to-day life. In addition to bringing to light the very real current mental health crisis, I encourage the community to explore creativity as a valid means of improving mental health through the therapeutic act of art making. This collaborative art installation invites you to create your own artistic “quilt square” centered on YOUR experience of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The centerpiece of the Installation is my mixed media painting, “352 Degrees of Isolation.” This painting represents my personal experiences with the pandemic. It’s about feeling totally alone, minus eight specific things that kept me from feeling completely encircled in isolation– one of which was creating and sharing my art. The canvases themselves are a series of squares and right triangles, arranged in the pattern of the Friendship Quilt Block. This traditional quilt pattern was typically sewn in secret and given as a parting gift for friends and family to remember each other by. When the painting is installed, the canvases are hung with an inch or two of spacing between them, with the overall effect that the image is slightly exploded apart– almost starting to become abstracted fragments of its former whole.






Welcome. ❤ I’m glad you’re here.
You don’t have to consider yourself “artistic” or “creative” in order to participate. Here are a handful of examples of squares currently part of the Installation:













How can you participate in this community art installation?
It’s easy and fun! Simply follow these steps:
- Cut a 6×6″ OR 12×12″ square out of recycled cardboard.
It doesn’t HAVE to be cardboard– it just needs to be light enough to be able to be secured with a Command strip on the installation wall.
2. CREATE SOME ART on it!!
You may draw, paint, doodle, collage, write/journal, WHATEVER 2-D means of creativity feels authentic and therapeutic for your personal expression.
The only requirement is that it is *mostly* 2-dimensional— anything too heavy may not stay hanging on the installation wall.
3. Return to Installation Site
Return your creation to Dandelion Teahouse AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to have it added to the installation.
Watch the Quilt grow!!
Dandelion Teahouse & Apothecary : 109 W 7th St. : Vancouver, WA 98660


Installation at Dandelion Teahouse & Apothecary
May 2022 – July 2022
A HUGE thank you to the owners of Dandelion Teahouse for hosting this Art Installation. I couldn’t have launched this vision without your amazing support. Thank you for supporting the local art scene and your genuine heart for the community. ❤

Community Art Night
First Friday Art Walk : June 3rd, 2022 : 5-8pm
Community Art Night was a success! Thank you to everyone who came out to share in some intentional art-making –people I knew, people I didn’t know, people who saw the article in The Columbian and were excited to participate, people who were out enjoying the Art Walk and let me rope them into the experience! A HUGE thank you to Dandelion Teahouse for hosting and providing a plethora of art supplies, and another HUGE thank you to The Columbian for such an amazing write-up of the Installation and helping to spread the word about this project. The below photo shows the Installation as of 6/3 after the squares created during the Art Night were installed.


