Fulfillment through fabric artwork

Resident enjoys creating quilts and wall hangings

Fabric artist Aldema Ridge keeps fabric swatches on the walls of her studio. She is always looking for the right combination for her collages and quilts. Photos by Sara Tramiel/VIEW Aldema Ridge holds one of her fabric collages, "Women of Las Vegas III," at her Las Vegas home. Advertisement

Aldema Ridge follows a pattern. It has been true to her since the 1980s and never gives her any trouble. As a fabric artist, Ridge has used the same quilting pattern for more than two decades.

Ridge became interested in the decorative arts when she was helping renovate an old house in Baltimore, Md., and a neighbor named Sara gave her a quilting pattern so she could start exploring her new craft.

"She told me 'This will keep you busy for years,' and I'm still using it," Ridge laughed. "I have been using this pattern since the 1980s. I call it the Sara pattern."

As a school teacher for almost 32 years, Ridge said she thought "maybe when I retire I'm going to explore this artistic side."

Well, she retired in 2003, and shortly thereafter moved to Las Vegas. Once in the valley, Ridge began creating quilts and experimenting with different colors.

"I started working on these with the idea of selling them," Ridge said. She took her decorative quilts to the Art Emporium in Henderson, where they were placed in the store to be sold.

"They're designed to fill a niche or decorate a space," Ridge said of her wares.

Since moving to the desert in 2003, Ridge has been working on developing that artistic side. In addition to quilts, she has added wall hangings and fabric collages to her repertoire.

"I wasn't getting a lot of action on the quilts, so I decided to start making them," Ridge said of her newer offerings. "I'm having much more success selling the wall hangings."

Ridge recently sold a piece titled Meditation 2 for $125, and many of her hangings are priced around the same amount. Her ready-made quilts range from $75 to $150, and Ridge accepts special requests with a $100 non-refundable deposit. Custom quilts start at $250.

Ridge won the best of category under the mixed media classification at a recent Elks Lodge auction, and recent pieces she has worked on include Out of This World and Women of Las Vegas.

"I like female images and I like natural images," Ridge said.

Ramona Lesley, a friend of Ridge's, said "I think she's very creative and I admire her for it. She is certainly dedicated."

Ridge's process begins with a piece of fabric that she falls in love with.

"I know it sounds corny, but I find one that speaks to me," she said. Then she looks for fabrics that complement the main theme, such as ladies sporting big hats and old-fashioned roses for a Victorian-themed quilt.

"I guess on some level, I am telling a story through these," Ridge said. "The fact that I've been able to use the same pattern since the 1980s is that color, design and texture are more important to me. I try to push colors to the max."

Ridge exhibits her work at City Lights Too in Henderson, located at 10 Water St. To contact the gallery, call 260-0300.