I quilt because it ties things together. I quilt because it involves many processes: it is a form of collage and design and construction, it can incorporate painting and printmaking, it pulls together ideas, lays them out and stitches them together. I can capture nature in the photosensitive process of solar printing on fabric, incorporating a time and place in the natural world into my art. A quilt does not just have surface design, the quilting stitches add depth, design on design. I quilt because it took the place of oil painting for me when I became pregnant and did not wish to breathe toxic fumes, because when I stopped working as a professional computer graphics designer, quilting became an outlet for ideas. Making quilts ties me to a tradition, a tradition mostly female, of creating order out of scraps, out of necessity.
I quilt because it brings a tiny bit of order to my tiny bit of the world.
1990 - Present
Continuing Education Workshops
Study with Linda Colsh, Lonni Rossi, Jan Myers-Newbury, Jane Dunnewold, Judy Langille, Carol Taylor, and others
1983
Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1981
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
BA, Art
1980
Sir John Cass School of Art/London Guildhall University, London, England
2022
Slow Down, Art Quilting Studio Magazine, Winter 2022 - 2023
Included in Exploring Art Quilts with Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc.
2020
"Member Spotlight: Polly Bech", Surface Design Association blog, February 12
2019
"A Solar Printing Obsession”, Art Quilting Studio Magazine, Spring
2015
"Featured Artist”, Studio Art Quilt Associates, April
Gallery on Park, Swarthmore, PA
Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen (Haverford Guild), Haverford, PA
2010
Creative Living Room, Swarthmore, PA
2005
Newtown Library, Newtown Square, PA
2023
Minimalism, Global SAQA Exhibition, Alsace, France
Botanical 2023, Online Art Exhibition, Laguna Beach, CA
2022 Community Art Center Holiday Sale, Wallingford, PA
Raking Light, an InLiquid Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
New Now V, an InLiquid Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
Form, Not Function, National Juried Exhibition, New Albany, IN
2021
2021 Community Arts Center Holiday Sale, Wallingford, PA
Textiles in Translation, Art Quilt Juried Exhibition, Williamsport, PA
2020
Preserving the Legacy Quilt Exhibit, Swarthmore, PA
2019
Delaware County Studio Tour, Heron Crest Studios, Aston, PA
Abstract, Sebastopol, CA
National Juried Exhibition
Sacred Threads, Herndon, VA
National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition
New Work: Melissa Husted Sherman and Polly Dressler Bech, Swarthmore, PA
2018
The Hometown Collective Fine Craft & Art Sale, Media, PA
November Featured Artist, Gallery on Park, Swarthmore, PA
Material Matters, National Juried Art Exhibition, Brooklyn, NY
Responses to Gee’s Bend, National Juried Art Exhibition, Swarthmore, PA
Haverford Guild of Craftsmen Summer Fine Art & Craft Show, Rosemont, PA
12th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, GoggleWorks, Reading, PA
2017
The Hometown Collective Fine Craft & Art Sale, Media, PA
Haverford Guild of Craftsmen Fine Art & Craft Show, Rosemont, PA
Interpretations: Conversations, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, San Diego, CA
Sacred Threads, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, Herndon, VA
2016
Haverford Guild of Craftsmen Fine Art & Craft Show, Newtown Square, PA
The Hometown Collective Fine Craft & Art Sale, Media, PA
Connected by Stitch, Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, Williamsport, PA
Lasting Impressions: Art Quilts 2016, National Juried Exhibition, Lowell, MA
2015
The Hometown Collective Fine Craft & Art Sale, Media, PA
Sacred Threads, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, Herndon, VA
Lancaster County Art Association National Juried Exhibition, Strasburg, PA
focus – exploring our regional sense of place, Montrose, PA
Fiber Award
2014
The Hometown Collective Fine Craft & Art Sale, Media, PA
Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival, International Juried Exhibition, La Conner, WA
New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts, National Juried Exhibition, Ft. Collins, CO
Tri-State Quilt Competition, The Quilt Fest of New Jersey X, Somerset, NJ
2013
The Hometown Collective Fine Craft & Art Sale, Media, PA
Alumni Art Exhibition, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
2012
The Hometown Collective Fine Craft & Art Sale, Media, PA
Hands All Around, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, Houston, TX
2011
Interpretations 2011, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, San Diego, CA
Focus on Color, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, Fredericksburg, VA
Lancaster County Art Association National Juried Exhibition, Strasburg, PA
2010
Quilt Visions 2010: No Boundaries, National Art Quilt Juried Exhibition, San Diego, CA
Innovations in Fiberart V, National Juried Fiber Art Exhibition, Sebastopol, CA
The May Show, National Juried Exhibition, Gualala, CA
2009
Community Arts Center Fine Arts & Crafts Festival, Media, PA
Art Quilts Lowell 2009, National Juried Exhibition, Lowell, MA
SAQA: Musings, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, Grand Rapids, MI
National Fiber Directions Exhibition 2009, Juried Exhibition, Wichita, KS
Recent Work: Melissa Husted-Sherman & Polly Dressler Bech Swarthmore, PA
2008
PA National Quilt Extravaganza XV, National Juried Exhibition, Harrisburg, PA
SAQA Amazing Art Quilts, National Juried Exhibition, Staunton, VA
I-4 Corridor: Stretching Threads Across Florida, National Juried Exhibition, Orlando, FL
2007
PA National Quilt Extravaganza XIV, National Juried Exhibition, Harrisburg, PA
New Art from an American Tradition, National Juried Art Quilt Exhibition, Williamsburg, VA
2006
Surface Tension: Contemporary Quilt Art, National Juried Exhibition, Union, NJ
Expressions: The Art Quilt, National Juried Exhibition, La Veta, CO
FAVA: Artist as Quiltmaker XII, National Juried Exhibition, Oberlin, OH
2005
Undercover Quilters Show, Brookhaven, PA
PA National Quilt Extravaganza XII, Quilts of the Delaware Valley, Ft. Washington, PA
2004
Friends of the Arts 2-Person Show, Swarthmore, PA
2000
DCCC Annual Art Show for County Residents, Juried Exhibition, Media, PA
