Sister Nancy Gunderson, a fiber artist and Benedictine Sister at Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck, is one of 10 recipients of art grants from the Bush Foundation through an initiative called the 2008 Dakota Creative Connections program.

Dakota Creative Connections is designed for artists in North Dakota and South Dakota and is offered by the Bush Artist Fellows Program in partnership with Springboard for the Arts.

Gunderson was one of 95 applicants; she was accepted after submitting samples of her fiber art using hand-dyed and commercial blended fabrics made into embellished art quilts. The $4,000 grant covers travel, workshops and supplies. Gunderson will attend three retreats for artists throughout the year, provided by the Bush Foundation, and will work with professional artists one-on-one.

Both nature and spirituality are Gunderson's sources of creative energy. She is interested in the process of creating digital quilts and hand-dyed fabrics. Digital art quilts begin with a digitally-enhanced photo printed on fabric that is cut and restructured, then quilted and embellished with stitches, ink and other enhancements.

Gunderson will learn more about this process at an art quilt educational conference in Lake Tahoe in November. She also will learn techniques in hand-dying fabrics from a professional artist who has agreed to take her on as a private student.

She frequently incorporates elements from the prairie into her art, often using native tree branches and tumbleweeds to frame or hang her creations.