October Standoff by Nancy Anne Hershberger won Best Sewing Machine Workmanship at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXXIV 2023

Artist Statement: "I am endlessly fascinated with the landscape. Observations soon became a lesson in how to look more closely at the rolling hills and how to interpret the results of this scrutiny in my work. Later, land became a metaphor and developed into an ongoing pursuit to interpret it.

The riparian environment, the place where water meets earth, holds just as much fascination. It’s one thing to snap a picture of a creek or pond nestled deep in the woods, it is another to interpret it. Always a challenge, creating the illusion of a graceful canopy over a shimmering body of water never fails to satisfy once I accomplish the effect I’m looking for. The process for foliage on each quilt is similar but never the same.

Water is a metaphor for the eternal. It shapes our lives, moving through us and around us. I am fascinated. I am confident that I will be interpreting landscapes and waterscapes for a long time, as the natural environment presents an opportunity to learn on so many levels."

(Photo from: https://www.nancyhershberger.com/)