Hello!

My name is Leigh Bartenstein - I am a textile artist based in Richmond, VA. My background is in painting and printmaking. In 2020 I bought my first sewing machine and fell in love with quilting.

I make improvisational quilts without a pattern. My work is machine-pieced and hand-quilted, using secondhand fabrics — either thrifted or from my own closet. By using repurposed fabrics, piecing quilts intuitively, and quilting by hand, I hope to infuse my textiles with evidence of their own making.

Quilting allows me to play with color and create a personal visual language. I see my quilts as paintings with fabric.