Featured Guest Artist

Our 2027 Quilt Show chair, Gwen Mangelson, has selected Cassandra Ireland Beaver of The (not so) Dramatic Life to be our 2027 Featured Guest Artist.  Cassandra is a quilter, instructor, and artist living in Urbana, Ohio.

Who is Cassandra Beaver?  “I love to create.  My mother taught me to sew starting around the age of three or four (the details are a bit fuzzy!)  I learned to quilt first, then I started sewing clothes, and quilted clothes.  After that I entered a career where I spent a lot of time sewing clothing as well as other things.  I have recently returned to the quilt world, and I am excited to share my adventures with you.

Why the not so dramatic life?  Almost my entire professional life has been spent in the theatre.  And no, I’m not an actress.  I am trained as a scenic and costume designer, and have also spent many years working in various technical roles behind the scenes.  These experiences inform my overall design aesthetic as well as helping me to develop skills which allow me to execute (almost) anything I can dream up.

I identify myself as a contemporary quilter because I’m going to make whatever I feel like making, and I have no intention of plunking myself inside a box.  My quilts each have a particular style, but I do not.  Most of the pieces I create would be classified as either Modern or Art quilts, although occasionally something more traditional may appear.”