About the Artist
Vicki Conley
“It has been the best career possible—doing what I love”
Vicki Conley grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has lived in the mountains of southern New Mexico for the past 46 years. A creative person all her life, she recently retired after a 42-year career as a studio potter, selling her work throughout the western United States at fine art and craft fairs. In 2000, she opened Piñon Pottery, a gallery in her hometown of Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico, where she showcased her own pottery and art quilts alongside work by other artists.
A fiber artist for more than 20 years, Vicki now focuses on art quilting and enjoys teaching at guilds and retreat centers across the country. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and was included in Quilt National 2017 and 2025. Her pieces are held in both public and private collections.
Vicki’s formal education is in the sciences, with a BS in Chemistry and an MS in Physiology. She brings this background to her textile work, interpreting the natural world through fabric and thread with the goal of highlighting the beauty of—and need to conserve—public lands. She is best known for her original national park poster–style art quilts. Vicki and her husband travel extensively in their RV with their two dogs, always searching for the next source of inspiration. Her work ranges from bold, graphic representational imagery to abstract, improvisational quilts that continue to reference the natural world.
Vicki’s work has been featured in numerous publications, including Machine Quilting Unlimited, Art Quilting Studio, Art Quilt Quarterly, Quilting Arts Magazine, Artist Magazine, and Patchwork Gilde Deutschland. She has been a guest on The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, where she demonstrated techniques used in her national park art quilts, and has also appeared on Quilting Arts TV (series 3100 and 3200) on PBS.
Vicki is a Juried Artist member of Studio Art Quilt Associated (SAQA), the founder of the art quilt collective 4 Common Corners, has served on various Global SAQA committees and is currently the regional rep for the SAQA New Mexico region.
Block Printing Inspired by the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
March 14, 2026 | 10 am – 12 pm | 1 – 3 pm
Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center, 27501 CO-184, Dolores, CO 81323
Join our Artist in Residence Vicki Conley and learn some simple block printing techniques. Connect with your own experience in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in a creative and personal way. Participants will design a small relief printing block, inspired by something they’ve observed in the park—such as a rock formation, plant, or animal.
Vicki will guide you through simplifying your ideas into bold, graphic designs suitable for printing and provide examples for inspiration. You will make the block with simple techniques that don’t use carving tools. The blocks will be used to print on both paper and fabric. One of the fabric prints can be turned into a patch, which participants can embellish with hand stitching and sew onto clothing or a backpack.
Selected printed fabric pieces may be assembled into a collaborative quilt top. This project offers a unique way to engage with the landscape while introducing the public to some of the creative techniques used by fiber artists and the expressive potential of textile art.
All supplies will be provided. Ages 8 and up. Each session is limited to 12 participants. Register now!
Questions? Call (970) 882-5600 or email Amala Posey-Monk at aposeymonk@blm.gov.
Thank You to Our Artist-in-Residence Sponsor
We are deeply grateful to Ancient Echoes at Kelly Place for their generous support of the Canyons of the Ancients Artist-in-Residence Program.
Located in the heart of McElmo Canyon, Ancient Echoes at Kelly Place offers visitors a place to experience the beauty, history, and spirit of this remarkable landscape. Their sponsorship helps make it possible for artists to spend dedicated time in the Monument — creating work that reflects the land, engages the community, and deepens understanding of the cultural and natural resources that make this place so special.
Through their partnership, Ancient Echoes is helping foster creativity rooted in place and ensuring that art continues to be a meaningful pathway for connection to Canyons of the Ancients.
Learn more about Ancient Echoes at Kelly Place by visiting their website: https://www.kellyplace.com/