CAROL DEFRANK
Carol DeFrank is a master at working with fabric. Originally from Ohio, Carol and her husband, Steve, moved to Florida in 1997 and to VCC in 2000. Her home is on the southern end of Rivers Ford. In Carol’s early career in Ohio she had her own business in advertising and marketing. While in that business she authored a book called Visions of the Valley which chronicles noteworthy people and places of the Ohio valley where she lived and worked.
Her enjoyment with sewing began with clothing construction, but, as is typical of many who delve into the arts, she is always looking for something new to do. She is a member of the Naples Quilters Guild and attends various retreats and instructional programs across the country and abroad to increase her skill and satisfy her creativity. The lion quilt shown in the photo below won the second-place award at the 2025 Naples Quilters Guild competition in March. This is an example of her work in quilt piecing, and the bedspread is an example of her work with quilt applique. However, the two bouquet projects shown below take her in a completely different fabric direction. To complete these projects, she first looks for fabric that features various flowers. Then she meticulously cuts them out, and when she has “enough,” spreads them out to resemble a bouquet and then stitches them down to hold them in place. Both are works of art that hang in her living room. The bowls, one of her favorite projects, represent another unique way of working with fabric. These are constructed of clothesline wrapped with fabric and then sewn into bowl shapes. Fortunately, her house is big enough to accommodate a large sewing room with several machines and yards and yards and yards of fabric that she can fashion in so many different ways. She’s a regular contributor to the VCC Holiday Boutique—you may recognize her as the “turtle” lady.
WARREN BARTLETT
Pursuit of creativity in the arts takes many forms. For Warren Bartlett it has culminated in the wood carving of birds. Warren, a retired aeronautical engineer, lives with his wife, Anne, on Blacksmith Forge. They bought here in 2001 and divided their time between their beloved cottage in New Hampshire and Estero until 2011 when they moved here full time. His career took him to many places, jobs, and positions in the field of engineering.
His woodcarving began in Middleton, New Hampshire with a couple of friends who met a teacher that taught the three guys how to carve birds. Since then, he has perfected his craft and for several years worked with other bird carvers at the Estero Recreation Center. His projects typically begin with a wood block of tupelo wood, a lightweight wood that has almost no grain (see the photo of the mockingbird below). He uses power tools similar to those used by dentists in his work. The photos of the small owl clearly show the intricacies Warren has developed in the carving of birds, their feathers, and other features. Beyond the carving is the meticulous painting of the feathers to create nearly exact (though smaller) replicas of the birds. He constructs their legs with a base of copper wire and uses a special anvil to fashion their claws. They are amazingly lifelike. In the kingfisher model, he has created a thin removable lower wing to create a super dimensional aspect. The blue teal, on the other hand, uses woodburning rather than painting to create unique markings.
Though Warren doesn’t do much carving at the present time because of an arthritic condition, his work is beautifully displayed in his home. The models are testaments to his love of birds and his skill in their creation.
