Gwen Triay Samuels is a Fiber Artist and creator of Quilts, Art Quilts, and “Punch Quilts”. Punch Quilts are a unique, little-known, no-sew fiber art employing fabric, batting, glue, foam board, tempered board, and a few homemade tools to create works reminiscent of stained glass. In her work Gwen uses techniques such as appliqué, paper piecing, embellishment, beading, digital imaging, mixed media, machine and hand quilting, long arm quilting, fabric painting, and more.
Gwen’s award-winning work has been exhibited in many venues including: the Quilt Festival of New Jersey, the New Jersey Medical School, the African American Fiber Arts Festival in South Carolina, the Textile Center of Minnesota, the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta, the New Mexico Humanities Council, the New Mexico Cancer Center, and the New Mexico State Fair.
Gwen is a native of Florida and was a long time resident of New Jersey. She moved to New Mexico in 2014. Gwen’s visual inspiration is derived largely from world cultures, especially the cultures of the African Diaspora. Her work is also influenced by Asian and Latino cultures, as she has lived and studied in Japan, Korea, Spain, Latin America, and the American Southwest
