Patti Dance is a contemporary art quilter based in the Alberni Valley, where she moved in 1988 to continue her career as a Medical Laboratory Technologist, drawn in by the region’s forest trails, beaches, and endless camping opportunities. After meeting her husband, a passionate birder, Patti set out to find a creative pursuit of her own to bring balance to her life, and found it in quilting. At the heart of her practice is a belief that art carrying a message can still be beautiful, and that beauty and meaning are not at odds with one another.

Patti’s work spans traditional and contemporary art quilting, wax immersion batik, and hand-dyed fabrics, with the natural world, particularly trees, as a recurring feature. While she does not consider herself an activist, her recent pieces have explored themes including bee conservation, leaving a safer world for future generations, and the search for inner peace. Her quilts have been accepted into the Canadian Quilter’s Association National Juried Shows since 2012, earning numerous awards, and have twice been juried into the Sidney Fine Arts Show on Vancouver Island. Locally, her work has been shown at The Rollin Art Centre, The Grove Gallery, and The Old School House Gallery in Qualicum Beach.

Patti approaches her craft with a self-described perfectionist’s eye and a willingness to experiment, a combination that continues to shape and refine her distinctive style.

You can find her work under Phatbear Creations on Facebook and on Etsy.