Ring of Brodgar II

Denise creates contemporary art quilt portraits of Celtic megalithic (bronze age) stones and monoliths, and more recent (but still centuries old) monastic ruins. She hand paints most all her own fabric, and uses varying combinations of reverse appliqué, turned edge appliqué, raw edge appliqué, inserting, free-form strip piecing, couching, and "thread shadowing" (a variation on thread painting) to achieve her trademark style.

Denise's quilts are known for their strong emotionality and, technically, their assertive textures, their perspective and shadowing, their use of color and contrast, and their craftsmanship and technique precision. Viewers are also fascinated that, where applicable, Denise builds her quilts the same way that an actual stone mason builds a wall or structure, each stone (cut from her hand painted fabric) individually hewn and appliquéd, working from the ground up.