Textile Art in Southern Maine.

Judy Gates is a Maine-based textile artist. An environmental scientist by education and profession, much of her life has been centered in the natural world. The inspiration found in Maine’s native flora and fauna and the landscapes they occupy combines with Judy’s passion for artistic expression. Individual leaves, flowers and features are cut from fabrics of different hues and patterns, creating intricate layers reflecting nature's order amid its seeming chaos. As she creates each piece, the feel is of painting with fabrics.  Her first works focused on native Maine wildflowers as drawn and painted by Kate Furbish, a botanist who traveled the state at the turn of the 20th century and was among the first to catalogue new plant species. Since those first collages, Judy has expanded her subjects to include wildlife, domestic animals, garden flowers, fruits and vegetables, quintessential Maine scenery, and the occasional abstract.