A new exhibit at the Bowman Museum‘s Belknap Exhibit Center is entitled “Soul of the Land: Quilts by June Jaeger.” Jaeger was born in Prineville and has lived there off and on at various points of her life. She feels a deep connection to the small town. “There is just a lot of good people here,” Jaeger says. “I am honored and thrilled to be able to be part of this community.”
Carter Bond, collections specialist for the Bowman Museum, organizes and facilitates temporary exhibits at the Belknap Exhibit Center. One of the museum volunteers knew June and reached out to her. “June sent us a lot of her artwork, and it is just beautiful….these are straight-up art pieces. It really worked out perfectly in our favor and really kicked off the year,” Bond says. “We are excited to have June Jaeger’s quilts in the Exhibit Center now.”
June Jaeger’s background
Jaeger’s work was featured in regional, national and international exhibitions, earning numerous awards. She has also spent years teaching textile arts to other quilters and artists, inspiring others with her passion and focus on nature. She creates her work primarily by hand, continuing to draw and design without the use of computers, while valuing the authenticity and personal connection of traditional techniques.
More than 100 people attended a Feb. 13 reception for the exhibit which includes richly detailed quilts and textile pieces reflecting the rhythm, spirit and soul of the land.
“She has a heartfelt appreciation for nature and horses,” said local quilter and watercolor artist, Carol Achille. “She captures tones and colors amazingly with material and fabric. She has a lot of patience to do the needlework and skills of such detailed work. Her willingness to share her quilts with all of us is truly amazing. People would think it is an oil painting, it is so detailed.”
Jaeger is a fifth generation Oregonian and attended schools in Redmond. She says horses, which are featured in some of her quilts, have been in her life since she was five years old. “They have been my go-to.” She pointed out her passion and love of equines. Jaeger also indicated that she was shy growing up, but “I could talk to horses and tell them anything.”
Jaeger studied veterinary medicine in college and later went into art education. “That is where a lot of my background was, but it wasn’t on the sewing end,” she emphasized. “Animals have always been strong in my heart and in my life.”
Jaeger also has a love for nature. “That includes plants, animals, weather — just Mother Nature. It’s hard to recreate what she has created, but I do my own version of what I see — of what fills my soul.”
Jaeger takes pictures for inspiration, and many are from horseback rides. “I am always stopping and taking pictures of trees — maybe a closeup of bark and burls.” She also takes photos of water, often wading into the middle of a river for the shot.
“Nature is just it for me,” she said with conviction.
Jaeger married a farmer and rancher after college, and they always had horses. “I trained. I ran tractors. I pulled calves. I did it all,” said Jaeger of farm life.
At age 23, the year her son was born, her sister introduced her to quilting. “It was something I enjoyed,” said Jaeger. “I liked the texture of the fabric and the feel of what you could do with it. I started right in designing my own patterns.” Jaeger and her husband moved to Pendleton, and she opened a quilt store.
“It was a lot of work, and it took me away from farming,” she recalled. “It made my husband unhappy, and we ended up going different ways. I ended up having to sell the shop after five years.”
Around this time she started dabbling in patterns and special quilts that were horse-and rodeo-oriented. She made a quilt for every rodeo event. She moved back to Prineville and built a log cabin in the Ochocos. She taught classes in Sisters at the Stitching Post and eventually moved there.
June’s involvement in her community
Jaeger still teaches classes. She also does a lot for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show including making postcards and storybook quilts to auction off for them. “I volunteered there for 50 years.” She is also involved with The Studio Art Quilters Association and the East of the Cascades Quilt Guild.
As she approaches 80, Jaeger reflects that she still likes to push her abilities to new levels.
“I am just involved in a lot,” concluded Jaeger. “I have cut back quite a bit, but I am focusing on what I like to do, which is quilts that fill my heart.”
"Soul of the Land: Quilts by June Jaeger"
Through March 21, Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 11am-4pm
The Belknap Exhibit Center at Bowman Museum
136 NE Third St., Prineville
crookcountyhistorycenter.org/event/soul-of-the-land-quilts-by-june-jaeger/
Free
This article appears in the Source February 19, 2026.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
