Mary Jo Bowers quilts

In the early 70s, Mary Jo made her first quilt. "I didn't know what I was doing but I made it." She made twenty traditional quilts with pictures  of vacations, birds and ducks."

These days, Mary Jo describes her style of quilting as abstract. Some quilts are titled Circle one or Circle Four. She had a solo show a couple of years ago with thirty quilts and fifteen sold. The largest quilt was 8 feet by 6 ft. Mary has another solo show coming in May (2005).

To make her works of art, Mary uses a sewing machine or hand stitches with large stitches. "I am more interested in the line and not how small my stitches are. The process of making these quilts is meditative for me. I get into a zone. After thirty+ years and nearly a hundred quilts, I still have fun."

Mary Jo and her husband are glad to call Rogers Park home for six years. "We came from Evanston. I wanted to be closer to the lake and wanted a condo." Her daughter (also named Mary) and her granddaughter also are long time Rogers Park residents.

To get in-touch with Mary Jo Bowers call her at (773) 274-1981.