Heidi Parkes
Before Heidi Parkes was born in Chicago, IL in 1982, her grandmother organized a collaborative family quilt to commemorate her birth. Now based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin her quilting and mending celebrate the hand, and her works tug at memories and shared experience. Often using specific textiles, like an heirloom tablecloth, bed sheet, or cloth tea bag, Heidi adds subtle meaning and material memory from the start. Engaging in the worlds of art, quilts, mending, and social media, Heidi is an advocate for the domestic realms, slow stitching, and mindfulness. Find her on Instagram and YouTube. She was the 2024 Pfister Hotel Artist in Residence, her mid-career retrospective Soft Magic was recently at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, and she’s a 2005 graduate from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.