Barbara Conte-Gaugel is a hunter of fabrics, from antique kimonos to $5 silk dresses at T.J. Maxx.

Her finds become works of art, as she pieces together her fabric into beautiful quilts.

“I'm always on a quest,” Conte-Gaugel says. “I know what I'm looking out for.”

At a clothing store once, she had to explain to the clerk why she was buying 30 of the same dress in differing sizes.

Sometimes, she'll put on a dress only to find it has a gaping hole where she's cut out fabric for one of her quilts.

“I use anything and everything but the kitchen sink - whatever works,” said

Conte-Gaugel, of Syracuse. “I love the texture and variety you can get from different fabrics.”

She brought her quilts to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center on Sunday afternoon for the first in a series of four trunk shows that supplements the center's annual Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibit. The shows run through Dec. 7.

“Over the years, they've really taken on a life of their own,” Conte-Gaugel told the audience about her quilts. “They went from traditional to contemporary.”

Conte-Gaugel is a full-time studio artist who divides her time among several disciplines. She also is a photographer, a painter and a mixed media artist.

“I just can't help myself,” Conte-Gaugel said. “I wake up every morning excited about what I'll do today.”

Before she began quilting, Conte-Gaugel made couture clothing. She began painting as a natural extension of the quilting.

“I just consider the quilt making as one art form of many,” Conte-Gaugel said.

For her quilts, she also hand dyes her own fabric to combine with cloth found elsewhere.

Conte-Gaugel's work has inspired others. Karen Janeen Weeks came to Sunday's trunk show from Syracuse, where she meets every Saturday morning with Conte-Gaugel as part of a quilting group at the Beauchamp Library.

“I've learned from Barbara to be willing to do things that are different, not get hung up on symmetry,” Weeks said. “She'll buy things that are commonplace, like a jacket at the Rescue Mission and then make them into something unusual. It inspires me to see how she can transform something.

“It gives me inspiration and affirmation. Someone's building you up and encouraging you to keep trying.”

Conte-Gaugel definitely believes in individual expression.

“I think that people have to not follow the rules, do whatever you want,” she said. “Ever since I came to that decision, I've been happy.”

Remaining trunk shows at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center

2 p.m. Nov. 23: Ruth Ohol. As a former Bernina shop employee, Ohol mastered a wealth of machine techniques. Judges have recognized her precision machine work and striking combinations of fabric and color.

2 p.m. Nov. 30: Marcia DeCamp. Abstract designs and strong geometric patterns dominate DeCamp's current work.

2 p.m. Dec. 7: Ruth White. While White has always dabbled in various artistic endeavors, for most of her adult life, science has been her profession. But in 1999, she discovered the fascination of quilting after a Judy Dales' slide show introduced her to the world of art quilts.