Oil City artist accepted into prestigious Chicago show

All 300 accepted artists went through a stringent application and jury process in which a professional panel reviewed applications and analyzed artists’ work and booth presentation.

“To meet these criteria is quite an accomplishment, especially for a young emerging artist,” said ARTS Oil City coordinator Barbara Pierce.

An “emerging artist” has less than years of experience as a working artist and in professionally presenting work.

Stine said she is honored and excited about the show and that she was “stunned” when she saw the acceptance letter.

Stine, a 2019 graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in fashion design and a minor in entrepreneurship, is a professional textile and fiber artist who has been sewing since she was a child and started making her own clothes in high school.

While at Kent State, she had design internships in Nashville, Tennessee, and a custom boutique in Florence, Italy. Throughout her education, she explored hand weaving, hand knitting, textile pattern and print design, dying techniques such as batik and shibori, and she continues to “dabble in pretty much every textile and fiber art medium,” she said.

In recent years, Stine’s work has focused on handmade block printing, which she uses to transfer her print designs to fabrics, then transforms her fabrics into bags and other items.

These functional items will be featured in her booth at the Chicago show. She will be showcasing her block printed textiles, which include kitchen towels, tote bags, zippered pouches, scrunchies and T-shirts.

Closer to home, Stine will be exhibiting at the Edinboro Art and Music Festival in May, and her items can also be found at Core Goods and at Transit Art Gallery and Gifts in downtown Oil City.

The name Querida Designs comes from Stine’s middle name, Querida, which means “wanted,” “dear” or “loved,” and Stine said that is also what she hopes for the items she makes.