My art reflects my values, respect for diversity, struggles, joys, passions, successes, dreams, and my ongoing journey on Mother Earth. It shows where I’m going, and where I’ve been. Art helps make clear to me, that which is hidden because it is so close.

Art is a meditation, a prayer, a centering activity that illuminates the paths on which I might choose to journey. Art is a holistic way to ease my troubled soul, to express my gratitude to God, and to help find meaning for life’s twists and turns. The process of making and experiencing art calms and centers me. My fiber art has been a means to access the Great Artist in my life. Or rather, art is a cell phone I answer so that the spirit reaches me. 

I work intuitively when I create art. Actually, in one sense, I don’t really “create” art – I merely form the stitches my Muse asks me to make.  The ideas pop into my head and my soul, during dreams – both waking and sleeping. Each art piece seems to have a life of its own, and therefore I don’t predetermine the outcome – I merely go where it “tells” me to go. My creations are sometimes birthed so quickly that I can barely hang on during the turbulence. 

I design, sell and display my fiber art, create commissioned wonders, lead spiritual retreats, and teach quilt classes.  

I am an ordained United Methodist pastor in the Oregon Idaho Annual Conference, and a Board Certified Chaplain in the Association of Pastoral Chaplains. I and my family live in Philomath, Oregon (which is right outside of Corvallis, Oregon – home of the Oregon State University Beavers!)

 My art has been a source of comfort, healing, joy, and inspiration for me as I’ve dealt with questions of faith, political realities, “aha” experiences in my life, miscarriages, Lewy Body Dementia (a form of Alzheimer’s), infertility, prayer, unemployment, meditation, grief, the desires of my heart, and relocation.

 Education

• Bachelor’s Degree 1976 – East Tennessee State University (Special Education and Elementary Education), Johnson City, Tennessee

• Master of Divinity Degree 1986 – Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

• Clinical Pastoral Education –

• Clayton General Hospital 1986, Atlanta, Georgia

• Oregon State Hospital (Psychiatric Hospital) 1992, Salem, Oregon

• Providence Portland Medical Center 1994, Portland, Oregon 

Professional Organizations

• Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters

• Association of Pastoral Chaplains

• Columbia Stitchery Guild

• Contemporary Fiber Arts Group

• Philomath Open Studio

• Mary’s River Quilt Guild 

Ordination

• Ordained Elder 1991in the Oregon Idaho Annual Conference, of the United Methodist Church

• Ordained Deacon 1986 in the Holston Conference, of the United Methodist Church 

Exhibits 

• Benton County Historical Museum, October – December 2008, “Philomath Open Studios”

• Gateway Gallery, Philomath, Oregon 2008

• Pegasus Art Gallery, Corvallis, Oregon, September 2008

• Footwise Gallery, Corvallis, Oregon, October 2008

• Harris Bridge Winery, “Philomath Open Studio”, October 2008

• Guistina Gallery, LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University , “Diversity in our Backyard”, 2008

• Solo Exhibit – Citizens Bank, Philomath, Oregon 2008

• “Innovative Fabric Imagery” exhibit at Houston International Quilt Show 2007

• Fibers of Faith quilt show, First United Methodist Church, Corvallis, Oregon, 2003 and 2002

• American Quilt Contest, 1996, Oregon State Winner, “Ashley’s Ecstasy”

• Benton County Historical Museum Quilt Show, “Ashley’s Ecstasy”

• Great Pacific Northwest Quilt Show, Seattle, Washington, “Ashley’s Ecstasy”, 1998

• Northwest Quilters Quilt Show, 1999, 1998, and 1995

• Clark County Quilters Quilt Show, 1995 

Awards

• 2007- Oregon Writing Contest, 1^st. Honorable Mention Nonfiction Short Stories

• 2003 – Fibers of Faith Quilt Show, Innovative Use of Traditional Pattern

• 2002 – Fibers of Faith Quilt Show, People’s Choice Award

• 2002 – Fibers of Faith Quilt Show, Jurist Award, Best Use of Theme

• 1999 – Northwest Quilters 25^th Annual Quilt Show, “The Earth is Full Of God’s Glory” 3^rd Place, Viewers’ Choice

• 1998 – Northwest Quilters 24^th Annual Quilt Show , “Ashley’s Ecstasy”, Viewer’s Choice, 1^st Place

• 1998 – Northwest Quilters 24^th Annual Quilt Show, Viewers’ Choice, 3^rd Place

• 1996 – American Quilt Contest, Oregon State Winner, “If Quilts Could Talk”, sponsored by Coming Home, a division of Land’s End and Good Housekeeping

• 1995 – Clark County Quilters Quilt Show, 2^nd place Small Wall Quilts “The Earth is Full of God’s Glory!”

• 1995 – Northwest Quilters, Mixed Technique Award

• 1995- Northwest Quilters Machine Quilting Award, “The Tree of Life” 

Publications 

• Roth, Kay M. ed. “More Than Art” The Philomath Bulletin 21 May 2008: 1

• Rymer, Cindy Lyle with Koolish, Lynn. Innovative Fabric Imagery for Quilts, C&T, 2007. p.67.

• 2007 – “Laugh Your Way to a Better State of Well Being”, Cindy McNutt-Kaestner, Corvallis Gazette Times

• Walter, Cindy. Snippet Sensations Fast, Fusible Fabric Art for Quilted or Framed Projects, Krause Publications, 1999. “Ashley’s Ecstasy”, Page 67.

• Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, “Quilts and Quiltmaking in America 1978-1996”

• I’m Not At This Address – memoir I wrote and am illustrating with my art quilts. It will be ready for submitting to a publisher soon