The Alumni Association has named Deidre Scherer ’67 AE the winner of its 2010 Award for Artistic Achievement. Initially drawn to painting as a student, Deidre later turned to making portraits using fabric as her canvas, and needles, thread and a sewing machine as her brushes.

“I never met a type of paint that made me as happy as the fabrics I use,” says the Vermont-based artist. “I love the artistic challenge of cobbling together narrative and figurative pieces.” For the past two decades she has been inspired to use her unusual technique to capture the poignancy of aging and mortality, as in At Night (shown above).

Two major traveling exhibitions of her portrait series, called Surrounded by Family and Friends and The Last Year, have introduced people across the country to her work, which has also appeared on the covers of several books and is included in public and private collections worldwide. Deidre will accept the award at RISD’s Commencement ceremony on June 5.