“ON SENTRY DUTY”: This quilt by Deb Brockway is part of “Nature Captured in Fabric,” her solo exhibit on view through April 30 at the Tulpehaking Nature Center in Hamilton.

The nonprofit Friends for the Abbott Marshlands (FFAM) is hosting a new art quilt exhibit, “Nature Captured in Fabric,” at the Tulpehaking Nature Center in Hamilton through April 30. The solo exhibit features works by Deb Brockway, a volunteer and executive board member of Friends for the Abbott Marshlands. As stewardship chair, she is well known for her trail building skills, while her professional background is in education research and STEM education.

The exhibit combines Brockway’s love of the marsh, the outdoors, and art quilting. Inspiration for her ongoing quilting series comes from her many outdoor activities on preserved land throughout New Jersey and across the country. Kayaking, hiking, and traveling bring the landscapes she encounters into focus on her quilts. Her quilts have been exhibited in quilt and art shows in five states, from New Jersey to Georgia.

It all began in 2002, when Brockway created her first traditional quilt. She soon discovered that she preferred instead to imagine and create her own designs. Her quilts range from pictorial designs that represent the textures and details of the natural world to more abstract designs that evoke a sense of being in nature. Working with hand-dyed and commercial fabric, thread, natural dyes and acrylic paint, she experiments with materials and techniques that put her artistic touch to her designs. In this exhibit, quilts range from depicting close-up aspects of nature to artful landscapes, but occasionally there is another purpose. “Nosing In expresses my concern over the unintended impact we have on wildlife, whereas Enjoying Spring Ephemerals was created to simply evoke a sense of place,” said Brockway. See more of her work at brockwayquilts.com.

Tulpehaking Nature Center’s galleries are located at 157 Westcott Avenue in Hamilton, at the edge of the Abbott Marshlands-Roebling Park. The center is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.