Biography

     Born and raised in the Garden State New Jersey, Barbara Dahlberg also spent some adult years living in northwestern Pennsylvania where she learned to quilt.  She now resides in Maryland with her husband. Her only son has launched and while she misses him, she is happy to have another closet to store quilts and supplies. Barbara holds a BA degree from Kean University in psychology and a graduate certificate from Association Montessori Internationale in Montessori primary education.  An early retirement from teaching in both private and public Montessori schools opened the door for new adventures.  Her more than 25 years of quilting and art exploration includes award winning quilts, exhibitions at quilt and art shows, workshops and classes on quilting taught for adults and children, and the promotion of art quilting.    

Exhibitions
2024
Odenton Library Community Quilt Exhibition, Odenton, MD
Maryland Quilts! U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, MD
Inspired by the Masters, Bowie City Hall Art Gallery, Bowie, MD
Her Voice, Her Vision - Women's History Month Exhibit at Chesapeake Arts Center's Hal
     Gomer Gallery, Brooklyn Park, MD
Inspired By Endangered Species, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Hampton, VA and QuiltFest          Greenville, Greenville, SC 
Solo exhibit, John Hollingsworth Art Gallery, Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife            Visitor Center, Laurel, MD
Simple Lines, Studio Art Quilt Associates Regional Exhibit, Delaplaine Arts Center,
      Frederick, MD
2023
Simple Lines, Studio Art Quilt Associates regional exhibit, traveling with Mancuso Quilt             Shows, Hampton, VA; Oaks, PA; and Santa Clara, CA
Inspired By Endangered Species, Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, Oaks, PA 
   and Pacific International Quilt Festival, Santa Clara, CA
​Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Knoxville Expo Center, Knoxville, TN
Ginger Cove Community Art Gallery, Annapolis, MD
​2023 Regional Textile Showcase at Montpelier House Museum, Laurel, MD
Maryland Quilts! U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, MD
2022
Solo exhibit, John Hollingsworth Art Gallery, Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife         Visitor Center, Laurel, MD
Maryland Quilts! U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, MD
Schoolhouse Quilt Show, Cumberland, MD
Inspired by Endangered Species, Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg, VA
Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Hollingsworth Gallery, Laurel, MD. Curator of and        exhibitor in show of wildlife themed quilts by members of Southern Comforters Quilt  
           Guild
Old Bowie Celebrates Juried Art Show, Bowie, MD
2022 Regional Textile Showcase at Montpelier House Museum, Laurel, MD
2021
Simple Lines, Studio Art Quilt Associates Regional Exhibit, McLean Textile Gallery,
    McLean, VA
Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Hollingsworth Gallery, Curator of and exhibitor in show of wildlife themed quilts by members of Southern Comforters Quilt Guild, Laurel, MD​
Imagination 1 x 4, Studio Art Quilt Associates Bi-Regional Exhibition presented online by            BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD
Imagination 1 x 4, special exhibit as part of Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival Online
Selections from Imagination 1 x 4, McLean Textile Gallery, McLean, VA
Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, Oaks, PA
​Old Bowie Celebrates Juried Art Show, Bowie, MD
​Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Knoxville Expo Center, Knoxville, TN
2021 Regional Textile Showcase at Montpelier House Museum, Laurel, MD
2020
Working With The Muse, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Dowell, MD
Inspired by Endangered Species, National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY
City of Bowie Bright Colors Virtual Exhibit
Eye Contact, Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg, VA
Backyard Escape, Sacred Threads healing quilt exhibit, traveling to hospitals and venues nationally
Working With The Muse, The Mansion at Strathmore, Bethesda, MD
Maryland Quilts! U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, MD
Inspired by Endangered Species, Road to California, Ontario, CA
2019
National Wildlife Visitor Center Hollingsworth Gallery, curator of and exhibitor in group show of wildlife themed quilts by members of Southern Comforters Quilt Guild, Laurel, MD
Inspired by Endangered Species book by Donna DeSoto, published by Schiffer Publishing
Inspired By Endangered Species, 2019 Houston International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas
Beyond Needleart 2019, Montpelier Mansion, Laurel, Maryland
Blue Guitar, Solo Special Exhibit at Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, Oaks, PA
​Seasons of Change, Bowie City Hall Art Galleries, Bowie, MD
Sacred Threads 2019, Herndon, Virginia
​Figuratively Speaking, Bowie City Hall Art Galleries, Bowie, MD
Image and Imagination, The Mitchell Gallery, St. John's College, Annapolis, MD
​ARTQUILTSdreams, Professional Art Quilters Alliance- South 14th juried international   
     exhibition, Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Cary, North Carolina
A Sense of Community, Exhibit of Canadian & American Quilters, The Embassy of Canada,
     Washington, DC   
Showcase of Maryland Quilters. U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2018
​Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Hollingsworth Gallery, Curator of show of wildlife
​    themed quilts by members of Southern Comforters Quilt Guild, Laurel, MD
​Beyond Needleart 2018, Montpelier Mansion, Laurel, Maryland
Small Wonders - Miniatures, Bowie City Hall Art Galleries, Bowie, MD
Color Blind, Bowie City Hall Art Galleries, Bowie, MD
​​The Great Outdoors, Bowie City Hall Art Galleries, Bowie, MD
​2018 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Knoxville, Tennessee
​Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2017
​Generations, Bowie City Hall Art Galleries, Bowie, Maryland
​Beyond Needleart 2017, Montpelier Mansion, Laurel, Maryland
​​2017 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Knoxville, Tennessee
​Fiber Arts, Bowie City Hall Art Galleries, Bowie, Maryland
Sacred Threads 2017, Herndon, Virginia
Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2016
Art Quilts XXI: In Stitches - Seriously Humorous Art Quilts, Vision Gallery, Chandler, AZ
Beyond Needleart, Exhibit of contemporary and traditional fiber arts, Montpelier Mansion,  
     Laurel, Maryland
Singular Sensations, Holiday exhibit of fine artwork in all media, Columbia Art Center,  
     Columbia, Maryland
2016 Hoffman Challenge Finalist and Traveling Exhibit
Heavy Metal, Juried Exhibit of Railroad Art, The Berkeley Art Works, Martinsburg, West
     Virginia
Summer on the Chesapeake, The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County's 3rd Anne Arundel
       Medical Center exhibit, Annapolis, Maryland
Quilters Newsletter Magazine, Readers Quilt Show, April/May 2016 issue
2016 American Quilter's Society Quilt Show, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Moving Forward, an invitational theme exhibition, Columbia Art Center Galleries, Columbia, 
     Maryland
The Art of Quilting, Kent Island Federation of Arts, Stevensville, Maryland 
York Quilters Guild Celebration of Quilts 2016, York, Pennsylvania
Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2015
Quilts: A World of Beauty, 2015 International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas (Finalist)
Bright as Day, Dark as Night, presented by the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, Anne 
     Arundel Medical Center Clatanoff Pavilion, Annapolis, MD
Entangled: A Fiber Exhibition, All Things Looming Gallery, Reading, Pennsylvania
Sacred Threads 2015, Herndon, Virginia
Quilt Odyssey 2015, Hershey, Pennsylvania
2015 American Quilter's Society Quilt Show, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2014
Quilt Odyssey 2014, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Shipshewana Quilt Festival, Shipshewana, Indiana
Tarnish, Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA)Regional Show, VisArts, Rockville, Maryland
ARTQUILTSwhimsy!, Professional Art Quilters Alliance-South 11th International Juried              Exhibit, Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Cary, North Carolina
 American Quilter's Society Paducah International Quilt Festival, Paducah, Kentucky
2014 American Quilter's Society Quilt Show, Phoenix, Arizona
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXV, Hampton, Virginia
2014 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Maryville, Tennessee
Hands All Around 2013 Traveling Exhibit, various International Quilt Festival and Market
         sponsored shows
Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2013
Hands All Around 2013: International Quilts, sponsored by Quilters Newsletter Magazine,        International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXIV Juried Quilt Show, Hampton, Virginia
Laurel Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel,                                                Maryland
2013 American Quilter's Society Quilt Show, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2013 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Maryville, Tennessee
Schoolhouse Quilters 2013 Quilt Show, Cumberland, Maryland
Sacred Threads 2013, Herndon, Virginia
Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XX, Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Oaks,    
     Pennsylvania
2012

Contemporary Fiber Works, The Dennis and Phillip Ratner Museum, Bethesda,             Maryland

World Quilt Show - New England, Manchester, New Hampshire

Quilt Odyssey. Hershey, Pennsylvania

2012 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Maryville, Tennessee

Laurel Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel,                     Maryland

Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXIII, Hampton, Virginia

Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland

2011
Laurel Art Guild Open Juried Exhibition, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel,                     Maryland

National Juried Quilt Exhibit, Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center,                         Frederick, Maryland

Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland

2010
Featured Quilter for Southern Comforters Quilt Show, exhibiting fifty quilts

Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland

2009
Showcase of Maryland Quilters, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Greenbelt, Maryland
2008
SoCo Art Quilters Show, Snow Hill Manor, Laurel, Maryland

 

Awards
2023 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show - Honorable Mention Art Quilts
​2022 Schoolhouse Quilt Show - Honorable Mention for Creative Art
2021 Regional Textile Showcase at Montpelier Mansion - People's Choice Award
2019 Southern Comforters Quilt Show - Second Place Art Quilts
2018 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show - Honorable Mention Pictorial Quilts
​​​​2018 Southern Comforters Quilt Show - Third Place Art Quilts
​​2017 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show, Honorable Mention Art Quilts
2016 York Quilters Guild A Celebration of Quilts, First Place Miniature Quilts
2016 The Art of Quilting, Kent Island Federation of Arts, Honorable Mention
2015 Southern Comforters Quilt Show - First Place Art Quilts; Third Place Petite         Quilts
2014 Southern Comforters Quilt Show - Second Place Applique Quilts; Vendor's         Choice award from Phylllis Twigg Hatcher, Certified Quilt Appraiser; Second             Place Art Quilts
2013 Schoolhouse Quilt Show - Marjorie Coffey Award for Original Design
2013 Smoky Mountain Quilt Show - Third Place Wall Quilts, Appliqued/Mixed             Techniques
2013 Southern Comforters Quilt Show - Second Place Small Applique Quilts

2012 Quilts By the Bay - Third Place Machine Quilted Small Quilts

2012 Southern Comforters Quilt Show - First Place Small Applique Quilts,                 Second Place Art Quilts

2011 Southern Comforters Quilt Show - First Place and Third Place Art Quilts,             First Place Medium Pieced Quilts, Second Place Small Applique Quilts,                     Vendor's Choice Award

2010 Quilts By the Bay, Annapolis Quilt Guild - Second Place Machine Quilted     Small Quilts

2009 Maryland State Fair - First Place Wall Hangings Machine                             Appliqued/Machine Pieced; Second Place Crazy Quilts/Embellished; Special     Award from the Baltimore Applique Society

2007 Southern Maryland Quilt and Needlework Show - Honorable Mention

2007 Doreen Speckman Memorial Scholarship Award, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival,     Hampton, Virginia

Affiliations

Studio Art Quilt Associates
American Quilters Society
Southern Comforters of Bowie, Maryland Quilt Guild
Annapolis Quilt Guild