by Julie Dodd
Nicki Allen, a quilt artist from Springfield, Virginia, explored the wildlife and history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and connected that experience to the quilts she created as an Artist-in-Residence.
Allen was one of five artists selected in 2024 for Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Artist-in-Residence program. Each artist spent a month in the park from July through November.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) is one of more than 50 National Park Service locations that sponsor an Artist-in-Residence program.
Friends of the Smokies supports the Artist-in-Residence program by funding a furnished apartment for the artists inside park boundaries and reimbursing artists for art materials.
“My Smoky Mountains Artist-in-Residence experience profoundly shaped my artistic journey,” Allen said.
“The time to focus and reflect clarified what truly drives my creativity. Surrounded by the beauty of the park and enriched by conversations with visitors, staff and volunteers, I gained a deeper understanding of the park that feels priceless.”
Walker Sisters provide quilting inspiration
Ranger Sheridan Roberts, the park’s coordinator for the Artist-in-Residence program, planned activities to advance Allen’s art interests, including opportunities to learn more about the quilting and lives of the legendary Walker Sisters.
The six unmarried Walker Sisters inherited the family’s cabin and 122-acre farm, located in Little Greenbrier, from their father in 1921. When Congress authorized the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1926, the Park Service purchased the land from the families who lived in the area and from timber companies.
The Walker Sisters refused to move. The Sisters continued to possess their cabin and farm until the last sister died in 1964. They grew their own food and made their own clothing, wool blankets – and quilts.
Collections Preservation Center, Walker Sisters Cabin and Robin Goddard
Roberts arranged for Allen to visit the park’s Collections Preservation Center, located in Townsend.
“One of the true highlights was a behind-the-scenes visit to the Collections Preservation Center,” Allen said. “Baird Todd shared quilts, coverlets, and clothing made by the Walker Sisters. As a quilter, I felt an immediate connection to these pieces.”
Allen hiked to the Walker Sisters Cabin to see where the women had lived. She also met with Robin Goddard, who lived with the Walker Sisters during summers when she was a girl. Goddard, a GSMNP volunteer for more than 50 years, recreates school days at Little Greenbrier School, a mile from the Walker Sisters Cabin.
“Visiting their cabin and hearing Robin Goddard’s memories of living with the sisters as a young girl deepened that bond. Seeing the textiles they created gave me a vivid context to imagine their daily lives in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, enriching both my understanding and my own creative practice,” Allen said.
“Now, I interpret this place not only through its landscapes but also through its history and the stories shared with me. That context has given my work new meaning, allowing me to create pieces rooted in a connection I hadn’t known before,” she said.
“Even though my recent work is more contemporary, I feel a connection to traditional quilting and its history. In fact, learning those techniques many years ago gave me the foundation on which I’ve built my current creative practice.”
Painting with fabric
Allen explained her creative process.
“As a quilt artist, I work with fabric, dyes, needle and thread. My process often begins with an inspiring photograph, which I reinterpret as a textile ‘painting’ through collage techniques. I treat fabric as my ‘paint’ and use my sewing machine to layer in texture and fine detail.”
One of the quilts she created was “Majestic Elk” (20″ x 20″). The completed quilt is featured at the top of this post.
“My process for this type of quilt always begins with a photo, in this case a photo I took during my residency in the park. I enlarge the photo, print it, and make a pattern based on the print.”
“Once the pattern is ready, the selection of fabric begins,” Allen said. “I use a combination of batik and commercial cottons, and the process is trial and error – mostly intuitive. The animal is made as an individual unit first, then the background. When I feel this is complete, I add a little paint, and then it’s off to my sewing machine to sketch details with thread.”
Outreach activities
The Artists-in-Residence also are involved in outreach activities with artists at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg and with park visitors.
Roberts arranged for Allen to make her artist presentation at Arrowmont to coincide with a quilting workshop that Arrowmont was hosting.
Every Artist-in-Residence leads visitor engagement sessions at the park’s Oconaluftee and Sugarlands Visitor Centers.
“For my visitor engagement, I helped people make a fabric landscape in an embroidery hoop that they could take home as a momento of their visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” Allen said.
Nicki Allen’s website and social media
Website www.nickiallenart.com
Instagram @allennicki
GSMNP Artist-in-Residence program
This is the fifth of a series of blog posts about the 2024 artists: Anna Marie Pavlik, print maker; Kyle Petersen, photographer; Lauren Connolly, multidisciplinary artist; Grayson Cooper, illustrator; and Nicki Allen, quilter.
You can find out more about the Great Smoky Mountain National Park Artist-in-Residence program and the application process on the park’s website.
The submission deadline for the 2026 AIR program is March 1, 2026.
About Friends of the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies is the official nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through private donations, fundraising events, and specialty license plates in North Carolina and Tennessee, Friends of the Smokies raises money to fund needed projects and programs in the national park that would otherwise go unfunded.
Friends helped fund the building of the Collections Preservation Center, referred to in this story. The Forever Places crew, funded by Friends of the Smokies, restored the Walker Sisters Cabin — replacing the roof and portions of the wall timbers, stabilizing the foundation, adding new floorboards, and restoring the fireplace.
Learn more about how to get a Friends of the Smokies license plate at BearPlate.org. You can make a direct tax-deductible donation at our website. We are also grateful for those who make contributions at our donation boxes throughout the park. Every gift makes a significant difference for our beloved Smokies.
Sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter and email updates at friendsofthesmokies.org/stay-in-touch/