Biographical Information: Dan Olfe

Background

Although art was an important part of my early life, my college education was in science and engineering (B.S.E. from Princeton and a Ph.D. from Caltech). I started making quilts in 1997, after a career as an engineering professor (primarily at the University of California, San Diego).

Techniques

Because of my experience in developing and teaching a computer graphics course, it was natural for me to create my quilt designs on a computer. I currently use a variety of 2-D and 3-D software, and find it particularly exciting to create a 3-D world on the computer, from which I can extract a unique image.

My early quilts were cotton wall hangings that I machine pieced and quilted. To gain more control over colors and design details, I next made whole cloth quilts that I hand painted and then quilted. During the past few years I have had my computer designs directly printed on cloth before quilting; this process enables me to create more complex designs.

Interviews

I described my quilts and design techniques in an interview on the HGTV show “Simply Quilts,” which aired first in spring 2005, and is occasionally rerun. My work was featured in a San Diego Union article on Sept. 24, 2006, and is posted on the newspaper website along with an audio/slideshow of my work: www.signonsandiego.com/more/madeinsandiego.

Exhibitions

During the past few years my quilts have been displayed at the Santa Ysabel Art Gallery (near Julian, CA), and at La Jolla Fiber Arts in La Jolla, CA. I have participated in the following juried and invitaional exhibitions.

2002-2004: Quilt 21: American Art Quilts (2002); Pushing the Surface 2003; Changing Definitions: The Art Quilt (2004); and Quilt Visions 2004.

2005: Alegre Retreat Art Quilt Show, Sweeny Center, Santa Fe, NM; Pushing the Surface 2005, Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Coshocton, OH; Fine Art Quilts 2005, Jay Etkin Gallery, Memphis, TN; Quilts!, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; and Best of SAQA at the International Quilt Market/Festival, Houston, TX.

2006: Textile Expressions: Contemporary Art Quilts, Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Santa Barbara, CA; Fiber/Fabric, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA; Transformations '06: Artists Working with Fibers, at the Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, England, and later at U. S. locations; Expressions: The Art Quilt 2006, Tims Art Quilt Studio and Gallery, Le Veta, CO, and later at other locations; and Quilt Visions 2006, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA.

2007: Quilt National '07, Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center, Athens, OH, and later at other U. S. locations; Pushing the Surface 2007, Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Coshocton, OH; Transformations '07: Reverberations, at the Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, England, and later at U. S. locations; Creative Force 2007, Houston, TX, and other U. S. locations; By the Hands of Men, Rocky Mountain Museum, Golden, CO.

2008: Quilt Visions 2008, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA, Nov. 9, 2008 - Feb. 15, 2009; New Focus, Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR, Dec. 12, 2008 - Feb. 21, 2009.