Photo credit: Kristen Dettoni
Formal Garden evolved from my earliest Braille textile art pieces and became the creative spark behind the entire Secret Garden collection. My first Braille piece was stitched entirely in white and spelled “Do Not Touch”, a playful contradiction, since touching it was the only way to read the message. This led to a series of white-on-white works exploring the word “touch.”
As I experimented with new possibilities, I began to see the layouts of the Braille dots as miniature garden plots. By introducing color, these compositions transformed into small, formal gardens filled with the suggestion of flowers. Each 8” x 8” piece features a garden-inspired word or phrase, limited to 16 letters to accommodate the piece dimensions.
I also brought weaving into these works, combining two of my favorite fiber techniques. Using the open weave of the monks’ cloth as a foundation, I wove a warp through it, adding another layer of texture and dimension. The resulting surfaces evoke freshly plowed garden beds, ready for planting.
Together, these textile art pieces explore the relationship between touch, language, color, and the natural world, revealing a garden of hidden messages and tactile discoveries.
Explore Wildflower Garden and the complete Secret Garden exhibition at the Jaffrey Civic Center in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
Discover Secret Garden
See Wildflower Garden and the complete Secret Garden exhibition at the Jaffrey Civic Center in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
November 5 – December 19, 2026
Discover contemporary fiber art that combines texture, pattern, weaving, punch-needle, and hidden Braille messages. Explore the stories and unexpected connections that unfold throughout this garden-inspired collection.