Rhode Island artists Allison and Tracy Stilwell are creative and clever sisters who love to work with cloth and threads to form contemporary quilts and dolls. Their artistic process brings a new level of freedom of expression to these traditional crafts. Their art quilts are full of brilliant bursts of color and texture. The dolls are creatures from a world of their own.

Emerging from very traditional roots, Tracy has become a nationally known creator of quilts, non-traditional dolls, and pieced clothing. Seen as someone working on the edge she often incorporates political and personal messages into the unpredictable combination of cloth, paint, wood, beads, bones, fimo, paper clay, rope, twigs, roots, yarns, threads, and found objects.

Allison, the taller, younger sister feels that she has realized her goal of achieving creative freedom and encourages others to find their own. She has demonstrated this in many areas other than fiber arts. As an imaginative craft designer, her work has appeared in national magazines such as, Family Circle, Women's Day and Better Homes and Gardens. She has authored a book of inventive designs for painting children's furniture and has been featured in many craft books.

Their latest venture allows them to combine their talent and their love of materials and has grown into a line of Artgirlz Collage Kits and pewter charms for the scrapbook, rubberstamp, altered art and doll making markets. The kits contain handmade paper, tags, beads, yarns, hand painted fabric and wool felt. The collection offers coordinated, interesting materials that can be used in a wide variety of projects.

The Stilwells encourage others to be bold and take risks with their projects, instilling confidence that people can trust their own visions and uses of materials. Practicing truth and gratitude, and snacking for strength, they continue down the path of a somewhat remarkable and very full life.