Gallery With A Cause • Located in the New Mexico Cancer Center • Benefitting the NMCC Foundation
Please call gallery director Regina Held to arrange a private gallery tour, make a purchase, or ask any questions.
Biography
Jo Anne Fredrikson is a New Mexico quilt artist, retired educator and longtime community advocate. Over a 25-year career in public education she served as a teacher, principal, program developer and grant writer. She also helped advance youth seatbelt safety and DWI prevention efforts across New Mexico and has served on numerous nonprofit boards.
Throughout these endeavors quilting has remained Jo Anne’s respite and joy. Her work has appeared in local and regional exhibitions including the Placitas Artist Series, the Placitas Studio Tour and Placitas Library events. She has also drawn inspiration from the Houston International Quilt Festival and the New Mexico Quilters’ Association.
Jo Anne and her husband Pete have shared 58 years of marriage and take great pride in their daughters and grandchildren. Their family has also experienced the profound loss of a granddaughter to cancer at age 14. Jo Anne understands how art, beauty and human connection can offer comfort in difficult seasons.
Artist Statement
Quilting is life for me: a source of joy, discovery and renewal. I am drawn to colorful fabrics and the endless conversation between pattern, texture and light. Fabric and quilt designers feel like old friends. They challenge my senses, awaken new ideas and invite me to find the clearest way to make a statement in cloth.
My artistic path grew through the New Mexico Quilters’ Association where I served for 12 years in leadership roles including president, publicity chair and programs coordinator. Workshops, fellow quilters and visits to the Houston International Quilt Festival expanded my skills and introduced me to new techniques and possibilities. Encouragement from a friend led me to exhibit my work. My quilts have since appeared in the Placitas Artist Series, the Placitas Studio Tour, regional art shows and Placitas Library events.
I create quilted wall hangings and colorful heat-safe potholders that combine usefulness with beauty. Each piece reflects my delight in fabric and my belief that handmade art can create connection. At the New Mexico Cancer Center I hope my quilts offer viewers a welcome pause: a moment of warmth, color, comfort and hope.