Patricia Kennedy-Zafred

Educated in journalism and photography, the making of art has been a prolonged exercise in trial and error, self-teaching and study. The stories expressed, whether historical or personal, reflect upon our diverse American fabric, possibly reminding the viewer of someone or something they may have forgotten, compelling them to linger, just a moment longer.

Trained as a journalist, Patricia Kennedy-Zafred now uses art as a vehicle to connect with the past. For more than 20 years she has created visual narratives from hand-dyed fabric, silkscreened images, ink, and thread. The resulting quilts or fiber art blend a “lifelong fascination with photography, history, and stich, often reflecting faces of pride and dignity, sometimes under challenging circumstances.” This acclaimed work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and has won top awards at both the International Quilt Festival and American Quilt Society competitions.

Each quilt begins with the search for a story, embodied in a photograph or group of images. By silk screening those images on squares of fabric, then arranging and ordering them, Kennedy-Zafred creates powerful visuals that share the lived experience of people from the past. Her emotive art is in the collection of the State Museum of Pennsylvania and The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as private collections.

[Artist biography panel from “Master Visual Artists VII: Preserving the Legacy” exhibition, 2019-2021.]