Art Quilt Quarterly #18 (SAQA)

Abstract, geometric, or both?

While enjoying the various exhibitions at the Houston International Quilt Festival in early November, I overheard a conversation in which two people were discussing the design of an intricately pieced antique quilt, one calling it “abstract,” the other calling it “geometric.” Only one of them was correct, and these two descriptive terms are often confused in the art quilt realm. While many abstract works of art indeed are geometric, not all geometric quilts are abstract. If we consider the meaning of abstracting something—of zeroing in on its essence—then we can see that successful abstract art contains shapes, colors, and textures suggestive of visual reality, emotions, sounds, etc. Although abstract art does not have a representational subject, it can suggest different subjects to different viewers, denoting its challenge and its power. We might have to work a little harder to appreciate an abstract quilt, but that effort can be its own reward. In this issue of Art Quilt Quarterly, abstract art quilts communicate the explosive power of a volcano, the serendipity of chance encounters, the essence of cool blue, and much more.

Sandra Sider, Editor editor-aqq@saqa.com

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications.

©2020 Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly is published by Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization.

Publications Office: P.O. Box 141, Hebron, CT 06248.

ISSN 2379-9439 (print)

ISSN 2379-9455 (online)

Editor: Sandra Sider

Managing editor: Martha Sielman

Artists to watch contributing editor: Diane Howell

Collector’s bookshelf editor: Patricia Kennedy-Zafred

Designer: Deidre Adams

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Cover: Judy Kirpich, Anxiety No. 11

48 x 78 inches, 2017 see p. 7

International Honor Quilt

750 makers and 12 countries

by Sandra Sider

In 2013, the Hite Art Institute of the University of Louisville, Kentucky, acquired the monumental, multi-part International Honor Quilt (IHQ) as a gift from Through the Flower, through the initiatives of Judy Chicago and quilt historian Shelly Zegart.

Founded by Judy Chicago in 1978, Through the Flower is a non-profit foundation focusing on the importance of art and its power in countering the erasure of women’s achievements.

Lizzie Gulick of the Hite Art Institute is the newly appointed Director of the IHQ. She is in charge of conserving and documenting the hundreds of fabric triangles which make up the IHQ. The university also views the work as a pivotal point of departure for future exhibitions, research, and other initiatives for social change.

Judy Chicago conceived the International Honor Quilt after The Dinner Party premiered in 1979, in response to numerous requests from people who wanted to participate in a project contributing to women’s history. In 1980 the IHQ premiered at

the University of Houston at Clear Lake, Texas, in conjunction with The Dinner Party. The original title for the IHQ was International Quilting Bee 1980, later changed to International Honor Quilt.

Created by 750 makers (mostly women) from twelve countries around the world, the 542 individual triangles measure 24 inches along each side, to allow the collection to be displayed in modular units. Each small-format quilt was intended to honor “a contemporary or historical woman or women’s group from your community, well known or not,” per the call for entries. The IHQ was not juried—all pieces that fit the format were accepted. Each participant was also asked to include documentation about the individual quilt’s subject as well as the maker(s). This fascinating information has been inventoried by the Hite Art Institute and is available online at http://uofl.me/intlhonor-quilt

The IHQ is the only major work of textile art in the University of Louisville Art Collection. Exhibited over the years along with The Dinner Party, the IHQ has

been seen in more than a dozen venues, with individual quilts added at most of the venues as grassroots enthusiasm for the installation spread. The project was a forerunner of subsequent activist textile initiatives in the United States, including the mammoth Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt founded in 1987.

Chris Reitz, Gallery Director of the Hite Art Institute, says, “Not only is the International Honor Quilt a cornerstone of feminist art, it is a foundational work of Social Practice art, an interventionist form of engaged art making that has come to dominate certain modes of socially and politically motivated artistic address.”

Each installation of the work reminds viewers that the whole truly is greater than its parts. By sheer volume, the IHQ demands one’s attention and capti-

vates the imagination. Susan Hill, Head of Needlework for The Dinner Party, supervised the installation of the IHQ at each of The Dinner Party exhibitions. She recalls the excitement: “It was always an enormous pleasure to ‘sort’ the Quilt with each new team of community members who came in to help install the Quilt, to be present as each new team had the experience of unwrapping the Quilt pieces, studying them with delight, reading aloud the names and the notes that accompanied the pieces. We immersed ourselves in the creative decisions of setting the pieces on the wall, finding the wonderful visually strong connections.”

There are as many stories about making the individual quilts are there are makers, some of whom remain quite active today. Quilt artist Ann Bird, today a member of SAQA, saw the call for entries in the Surface Design Journal. With appliqué and machine embroidery, she quilted a portrait by Emily Carr (b. 1871), a Canadian painter best known for her expressionist depictions of Canadian native culture. Bird was able to view the IHQ in 1982 at the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Montreal, after waiting in line

see “International Honor Quilt” on page 94

Each installation of the work reminds viewers that the whole truly is greater than its parts.

Individual works at right:

top:

Patricia Velazquez, honoring Frida Kahlo

2nd row:

Win Grant, Charlie Hill, and Tom Bikson, honoring the Indian Women of Canada

Beatrice Schall and Kim Irwin, honoring Center/Gallery (photo by Geoff Carr)

Janice Baer, honoring Louise Nevelson

3rd row:

Maureen T. Houlihan, honoring Betty Friedan and the National Organization of Women

Emma Foote, honoring Maori Women

Shelia C. Rose, honoring Margaret Atwood

bottom:

Ann Bird, honoring Emily Carr (photo by Geoff Carr)

Art quilts shine in Fiberart International exhibitions

by Petra Fallaux

The most recent Fiberart International exhibition was on view in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from May 31 to August 24, 2019, at the Brew House Association and at Contemporary Craft. During repeated visits to the exhibition, I was struck by how many great quilts were included. What is it like for an artist

Patricia Kennedy-Zafred

Tagged

45 x 60 inches, 2015

to see their art quilt in the context of Fiberart International? I began to wonder about this and ponder the history of the presence of quilts—in particular, art quilts in this broader textile art exhibition.

Every three years the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh pulls off a volunteer feat of legendary proportions: It shepherds a call for entries for their triennial exhibition known as Fiberart International (FI). For FI2019, jurors Sonya Clark and Jane Sauer chose 57 works

Collection of The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum photo by Larry Berman

Gerri Spilka Interactions #7

79 x 81 inches, 2015

from 1441 entries by 595 artists from 29 different countries.

Artists self-identified 14 of the 57 artworks accepted to FI2019 as “quilts” or “quilted.” According to co-director Risë Nagin, one might argue that four additional pieces used quilt language or structures, and three more used quilt references. In total, this added up to nearly forty percent of works relating to art quilts.

Having seen all seven 21st-century FI exhibitions myself, and looking back at the catalogues, I noticed that many of the art quilts are not always labeled as “quilt,” “quilted,” or “pieced.” However, these works would meet the entry requirements of SAQA art exhibitions or even Quilt National, an exhibition renowned for its strict definition of what constitutes a quilt.

Historically, the presence of art quilts in FI exhibitions is dependent on many factors: from show to show, different jurors select from different viewpoints and perspectives. Building on Nagin’s FI2019 statistics, I counted the number of quilts or quilt-related works for the past seven FI exhibitions. On average the percentage was around 25%, with a low of 15% in 2013, and a high of 38% in 2019. It’s interesting that many artists evidently shied away from directly describing their work as a quilt or quilted, but instead used terms like “stitched,” “sewn,” “cloth,” or simply “fabrics.”

I talked with several artists who have had their quilts shown in FI exhibitions as well as in major art quilt exhibitions such as Quilt National, Q=A=Q, or Art Quilt Elements. I was particularly interested in their experiences of being included in the Fiberart International exhibitions.

Patty Kennedy-Zafred, whose work was included in FI2016 and FI2019, says “Having work accepted in Fiberart International is more prestigious than any other fiber exhibition, particularly quilt exhibitions.” She has special insights: as a past co-director of the exhibition three times, she has seen FI from all sides. She claims that receiving an acceptance in FI is much tougher. “The quality of the works submitted is exceptional and represents an international textile community.”

In more recent efforts, Kennedy-Zafred has entered all-media exhibitions such as Art of the State, Ohio Designer Craftsmen, or The New Collective. The number of fiber pieces and quilts accepted in these survey exhibitions is very small. Her goal is to continue to enter more exhibitions that are open to all media. “Having my work exhibited next to paintings, etc. seems to level it as fine art.”

Artist Gerri Spilka’s Interactions #7 was included in FI2016. She says, “It positioned my quilt work within this larger fiber art world; it felt good to be competitive in a broader world. Deciding which shows to enter has changed for me the last several years. I enter only high-quality (textile) art shows at this point. High quality is defined as a juror(s) whom I respect,

photo by Andrew Pinkham

Penny Mateer and Martha Wasik

THIS Revolution Will Not Be Televised #13 Protest Series

94 x 77 inches, 2015 with detail, above

in an institution that will hang the show well, and that provides easy access to a varied audience.”

Spilka says that in the future, she’ll seek more opportunities to show her work in solo shows and shows with fewer artists. She believes that her work is better understood when exhibited in a series, not individually in “one-off” shows. In September 2019, she had eleven quilts from her Interactions series exhibited in a solo show at Globe Dye Works Gallery in Philadelphia.

Penny Mateer, first included in FI2010 and winner of the Best in Show award of FI2016, comes from a tradition of quilt making but

feels that the broader fiber art shows have been more inspiring to her. She especially praises the Fiberart Forum, which is part of the FI opening celebrations. “The forum is such a great opportunity to meet and talk with other artists, particularly because it’s international and so many countries are represented. I made important connections as a result of my acceptance to FI2010 that had a profound influence on my growth as an artist and getting my work seen.”

Mateer reflects that because her work is social commentary—political, educational, and provocative—she feels that it is not always embraced in the quilt world. FI helped her hear

photo by Larry Berman

how viewers responded to the work and confirmed she was on the right path. “It helped me build my confidence and strengthen my artistic voice,” she says.

In a recent post on her blog (unmultitasking. blogspot.com), artist Judy Kirpich admitted to having wanted to be included in Fiberart International for a long time. Finally, having made the cut in 2019, she made the long trip to Pittsburgh and participated in many of the activities. She says, “The show had some really lovely pieces, but the excitement of getting into the show was not matched by the experience of being in the show. I found myself being hypercritical about my own work.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of seeing your work in broader fiber or textile exhibitions as opposed to art quilt exhibitions?

What about participating in non-media specific art exhibitions? Does removing the boundaries and context of your chosen art form inform your work in different ways? It all depends, as these different artists’ reflections illustrate. The next Fiberart International will be organized in 2022. Since it has historically been friendly to art quilts, FI may be worth considering, for collectors as well as artists.

Judy Kirpich Anxiety No. 11 48 x 78 inches, 2017

Dutch native Petra Fallaux is an artist, curator, writer, and creative director at Springboard Design, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. www.petrafallaux.com

A client, a concept, and losing control

by Susan Leonard

In the late 1960s, I married into a family of artists and crafts people. My small quilted gifts were collected and displayed in many family homes. I did not consider myself an artist, nor did I know art quilts existed, until I moved from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia after 2000. I was introduced to Art Quilt Elements in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and Fiber Philadelphia, a coalition of venues around town featuring fiber art.

In my new Philadelphia residence, a dinner guest was impressed with the framed pieces on my wall and offered to be my first client. Would I consider a commission? A few weeks later, based on my drawings and swatches, we agreed on design, materials, and pricing. With my career in federal government behind me, I wondered, could this be my new “work?”

Through word of mouth and casual conversations, clients find me. Relationship building begins right away and paves the way for negotiations regarding all aspects of the project, including price. When I feel that I’m not the best person for the job, I suggest a better solution. When the job is successful, future business follows from the clients or their friends.

Solving the design and technical problems of my work with my artist friends in Philadelphia is fun. Clients and recipients are happy with the results. Families call the quilts “heirlooms.” Clients call them “art.” What had once been a hobby during long evenings and weekends is now a studio-based business. Over time, I learned how to make this professional transition from appraisers, books, and exhibitions, as well as from many conversations with other artists.

I’ve been asked how I get my inspiration, especially for client projects. With commissions, there are givens: color, shape, fabrics, and size are most common. When these are agreed upon, I prefer to limit further client interaction until I’ve completed the piece. During the early part of the process, my mind is constantly working on design elements. In my studio, I audition fabrics for color and texture and rely on actual-size drawings before the final cutting and sewing. I lay out all the pieces and see what happens. For me, inspiration is part work and part serendipity.

Commissions over the past twelve years have included chuppahs for two Jewish weddings, a fitted cover for a hammered dulcimer, bed quilts, and many sizes of wall art. Clients often ask me to use existing materials from old wedding dresses, men’s suits, neckties, and other clothing.

Sometimes commissions take an unexpected turn. Here’s one story that taught me a valuable lesson. A potential client contacted me through my website. Could I make four art quilts from her recently deceased husband’s neckties in the next four weeks? With a quick look at my website, she chose an existing design that would work well and could be produced in the time frame. I was excited by the challenge. The design is constructed with layers of silk in squares and circles, with a topstitched design in heavy thread from the bobbin, and a raw outer edge. Squares are arranged in a pleasing composition and joined by twill tape on the back and ribbon on the front.

The client asked if she could choose the final arrangement for each of the four 9-square pieces. She

wanted each 9-square finished piece to match her child’s taste. In preparation for her visit to my studio, I arranged four 9-square groupings according to my artist’s eye. When she arrived, she mixed and matched the squares, creating her own four sets. I completed her pieces within the deadline, but with diminished enthusiasm. From this experience, I learned how important it is for me to have artistic license be part of my client agreement.

My disappointment with the results of the project led me to take the leftover scraps and create a piece for myself that I found very pleasing. Tie Me to the Moon is that art quilt. For me, this piece is more exciting, with lots of bright colors and contrasts, and pathways for the eye to follow. In my imagination, the piece represents the man described to me by his family spontaneous and full of humor, a man whose

favorite ties included ones referred to as “spring chicken” and “male chauvinist pig.”

I agree to take commissions because I feel recognized as an artist, I strengthen my connection to my communities and meet new people, I hone my technical and business skills, and I earn income. I have happy, satisfied clients from coast to coast and in London. Clients return to me with new business and tell their friends about my work. My website, business cards, and good client referrals are my best marketing strategies.

An award-winning artist, Susan Leonard is a studio art quilt maker, speaker, and writer, She spent nearly 30 years creating and administering community-based art programs and nationwide speaker programs for the Federal Government before retirement.

www.susanleonardquilts.com

Susan Leonard Tie Me to the Moon 20 x 25 inches, 2018

photo by John Woodin

Preparing an art quilt for storage

by Laura Hendrickson

Before you can fold and store your quilt, you have to make some choices about what kinds of storage materials you’ll need. As quilt and fiber artists continue to innovate and create with more varied materials, knowing what a piece consists of is very important. Allegretto features a section in the middle that is heavily layered, painted, and stitched. It’s very stiff, and the best options would be to store it flat or roll it. If that’s not possible, there are ways to lessen the long-term effects of incorrect folding.

Both individuals and museums have different resources and space limitations. You may need to purchase a box to fit your quilt, or you may need to fold a quilt to fit the box you have. With more than 650 quilts in our museum’s collection, this is a question we face for each work of art. Archival material suppliers can create custom boxes for specific needs. Our boxes and supplies are purchased from Gaylord Archival.

Storage material should always be acid-free or pH neutral. The box we’re using in this example is buffered, acid-free, and lignin-free. The tissue paper we’ll use to pad and wrap the quilt is unbuffered because of the mixed materials used in this piece. If your textiles have mixed materials or you don’t know what they are, choose unbuffered tissue. This is especially important where photographic chemicals may have been applied to the textile.

Katie Pasquini Masopust Allegretto 2008

detail showing heavily painted and stitched section collection of The National Quilt Museum

particularly vulnerable? What are some of the special considerations that would affect how it’s handled or folded? Can surfaces touch each other safely?

While handling the quilt and storage materials, it’s best if you can use clean cotton gloves to prevent skin oils from transferring to the quilt. At the least, wash your hands well before starting. Begin by laying the quilt face-up on a flat, clean surface. It’s best if the surface you’re using is larger than the quilt so you don’t have to deal with overhanging edges during folding (1). For larger quilts, a person on each side makes the process much easier.

We’re using a layer of tissue to cover the surface of the quilt. This helps protect against wear on the painted surfaces and provide protection to all of the appliquéd edges. It will also help with shifting if the quilt needs to be adjusted throughout the folding process.

Consider the size of your box. The quilt should fit the box comfortably without being pressured or crunched in any direction. Depending on the areas of the quilt that dictate your folds, aim to fold just shy of the length and width of your box. Make as few folds as possible.

a few inches thick and slightly longer than the width of the folded-over quilt. Lay this across the quilt top, and evenly fold the quilt over the tissue. The first tissue roll is placed right above the painted section (2).

Then create another tissue roll and place it at the edge of the top of the quilt, and fold again. The tissue pieces should rest inside the fold, supporting it and creating a gentle curved fold, not a hard, flat crease. Here, I have no choice but to place the tissue on the painted section because of the size of my box, but I doubled the amount of support tissue (3).

Continue to “roll-fold” the quilt the rest of the length until you can bring the bottom edge up and over to rest on the backing. Ideally, you want the quilt label to be visible when the folding is done (4).

Next, create one or two smaller tissue rolls to place in the opposite orientation. For Allegretto, we need only to fold it over the opposite direction once for it to fit in the box. The last fold will be off center, away from the painted section. Do your best to avoid folding on half- or quarter-lines (5).

A layer or two of tissue paper should be laid into the bottom of the box, covering all sides. The quilt shouldn’t rest against the box surfaces. Once the quilt

is laid inside, another layer of tissue covers the top, and can be tucked along the sides as well. You can also use clean white cotton fabric to line the box and cover the quilt (6).

Create a list of materials and techniques used in the piece, especially if you think that the quilt may be passed on to a new owner at some point. That person could then make informed decisions about its care in the future. A history of the piece and its inspiration could be valuable as well. The outside of the box should be labeled with enough information to identify the quilt inside without opening the lid.

In the long term, it’s good practice to unpack the quilt periodically, to check it and the storage materials for signs of deterioration and pests. If possible, the quilt should be refolded in different places, to reduce the likelihood of creating permanent creases. Some quilts, like this one, may not have many options for re-folding if the surface allows only for folds in specific places. Do the best you can!

Store the box in a section of the house that you live in, meaning an area that stays at relatively stable

temperature and humidity (no attics or basements, please).

Laura Hendrickson is the Registrar and Collections Manager of The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. With more than 650 quilts in the museum’s collection, regular outgoing loans, over fifteen incoming exhibits each year, and specialty loans to the museum, she stays busy constantly. When there is time left for her own quilting, she makes miniature quilts to try new techniques and styles.

Fibreworks

Art quilts in South Africa

by Jeanette Gilks

Fibreworks members are humorously described today as “Ex-centrics” by member Celia de Villiers because the South African art group, founded in 1998, has moved from the traditional tenets of most quilt groups to the outer edges. Here some of the members talk about their love affair with textiles.

Rosalie Dace

Diaspora

45 x 38 inches, 2015

photo by Diane Herbort

Fibrearts member Rosalie Dace says, “Sometimes my pieces are made by machine and sometimes by hand, but generally both. They might be functional quilts or garments, or most times abstract explorations of color, line, and texture.” These simple sentences cover the entire history of textiles from its ancient hand-crafted and functional past to the contemporary idea that textile art can be a manipulation of the elements of design using cloth as a medium. She says, “Textiles fascinate me. The tactile quality and human history of cloth allow me to be part of an age-old tradition of folding, stitching, and feeling cloth.”

Abstract surface design is also typical of the work of Odette Tolkdorf: “Several ideas converge in one work and I inhale influences from many sources. I usually work in a direct, improvisational approach.” This intuitive, holistic way of working characterizes the way Jenny Hearn works, too. It’s an “all-at-once” way of seeing, when the artwork itself is the guide, with the artist merely following. She says, “I never know where a piece of work in going till I get there, and manipulating the fabric is demanding and difficult. I’m not always in control. But when the work becomes whole, that is the magic and the peace.”

Jenny Hearn Wyeast (Volcano IV) 74 x 74 inches, 2012

photo by Dion Cuyler

Many artists re-work textiles that have previously been used for other purposes. Tolksdor’s Pentimento contains material from a vintage Australian woollen blanket and mulberry bark cloth from Tonga. The original life of the found material continues on in the new artwork. The wool remembers the old sheep, and the bark-cloth remembers its tree. There seems to be a yearning of all things to be in some kind of relationship with other things. Pentimento, an art-historical term that refers to the presence of earlier marks made by an artist during the drawing or painting process, illustrates a desire to resurrect relationships between painting and stitching.

Kathy Harmer Fox creates crossovers between painting and embroidery. She says, “My art quilts are informed by my ability to draw, and my paintings have been enlivened by my ability to stitch. One genre feeds the other, increasing the visual value of each.” She begins by layering cut pieces of dress

Odette Tolksdorf Pentimento

29 x 19 inches, 2008

photo by Christopher Baker

Kathryn Harmer Fox

The Tattoo Artist 53 x 32 inches, 2019

material, pinning each snippet of fabric to the canvas base. “Some are faded with wear while others are garish, but once they are stitched, they become an eye or a tattoo.”

Annette McMaster quotes Louise Bourgeois: “I am not what I am, I am what I do with my hands.” McMaster suggests we become who we are through the actions of our hands, and that becoming who we

Annette McMaster

A Tribute to Desmond and Leah Tutu

30 x30 inches, 2016

photo by Ockert Kruger

are is a lifelong, practical journey. “Our work is never perfect, but a stimulus for the next creation, be it through drawing, painting, or collage.”

Sally Scott uses fabric to tell stories. Raised in the bushveld of Zimbabwe and Botswana, her works are a form of visual journaling. She says, “They become a kind of incomplete autobiography, weaving together my life experiences, my passion for Africa, its people and its landscape.” Although The Nurturer is a symbolic skirt displayed on a wall, the history and function of cloth as means of body covering is layered into the content of the work. Other skirts in this series represent aspects of the natural life cycle and express the idea that human beings are an integral part of

Sally Scott

The Nurturer

20 x 40 inches, 2018

collection Lalibela Game Reserve

nature. She says, “l love the feel of fabric, soaked in its saturated colour, rich in its various textures and characteristics. It is seductive and expressive.” This in-the-flesh relationship quilt artists have with their work is transferred to the viewer. They want to touch the work, and they often ignore the “hands off” signs at exhibitions, peering behind an art quilt or furtively bringing the corner of it to their cheek. Textile art illicits a powerful sense of touch.

For Celia de Villiers, the conceptual underpinning of the work is essential. “The art quilt should be more than merely pleasurable, beautiful, or decorative.” She makes deliberate use of repurposed post-consumer materials to comment critically on the environmental and biological effects of sea pollution. She asks, “How can technical manipulation of the medium reflect and transmit the contemporary creative involvement

see “Fibreworks” on page 95

Celia de Villiers Litany

78 x 118 inches, 2015

Betty Busby

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Betty Busby’s creativity flows through unfettered experimentation. The result is a universe where abstract forms color a viewer’s perspective of the smallest detail.

Lured by textiles

My first exposure to quilting was as a teen at the Kutztown Fair near my home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where magnificent Amish quilts were on display. Although the lure of textiles was strong, I chose a different path and majored in ceramic sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design.

After graduation, I founded a ceramic tile manufacturing company in Southern California in 1976 and operated it for 18 years. When my son was born in 1989, I put the business up for sale and moved to New Mexico to provide a healthier environment for him. As a single parent, I put my art on the back burner for several years as I concentrated on raising him.

But those Amish quilts continued to beckon. I began to make original work that included my own hand-dyed fabric and designs mainly due to lack of funds. Dumpster diving and thrift store recycling were involved, too.

Focused efforts

I didn’t become a full-time fiber person until about 2003, and I became aware of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) at about the same time. I resolved to join

Lamina 55 x 32 inches, 2018

“Artists to watch” feature stories are edited by Diane Howell

as a Juried Artist Member (JAM). The next few years were spent building my resumé by making lots of work and entering shows. Following the requirements for applying to become a JAM is a good exercise for most artists, whether professional or not. It helps you focus on the strengths and weaknesses in your work, and get organized with a clearer view of what you want to accomplish.

I applied to the JAM program and joined SAQA in 2008. It was a major shift in my career path. Although all my work was original, until that time I had been setting traditional limitations in my mind: Work needed to be made of cotton, pieced, and big enough to cover a bed. I found the calls for entry for SAQA exhibitions prescribed works that were considerably smaller. This shift in scale helped me break away from my self-imposed taboos. Also, my gallery representation was then on the East Coast; they also requested smaller works to go into New England homes. At that point, I realized if it didn’t need to be a blanket, it could be anything!

One thing that keeps me going is the excitement of new ideas, materials, and techniques. While working

Look Inside 47 x 43 inches, 2018

Vertex 56 x 66 inches, 2019

to complete one piece, I may conceive how to expand its idea, which could lead to another piece along the same lines. Or, I may decide to revisit a previous series if the inspiration strikes. I don’t plan series, themes, or anything of the kind that would be too restrictive. Any of my working styles may be continued at any time.

Although I experiment constantly, I don’t begin a new piece until I complete whichever one is in progress. Finished means that it is ready to hang, labeled, photographed, and put in my database. This allows an on-hand inventory of pieces available for exhibition, sale, and classroom samples.

Nod to experience

My background in ceramics and manufacturing greatly influences my approach to fiber art. I had to invent glazes and machines to make my ceramic products as well as kiln furniture to fire them successfully. I had to keep abreast of current developments in that field and conduct constant trials of new materials to see what combination would work.

Swim Team 50 x 52 inches, 2018

Interior Design 36 x 24 inches, 2018

I apply the same systematic approach to my work in fiber. I have been using multiple types of nonwoven fiber for several years. These artificial fibers allow me to achieve a greater range of expression than using woven materials alone. Additionally, I’ve been using electric cutting machines for several years to accurately create very detailed designs that I draw freehand and import to the cutter software.

I am still attracted to all types of fabric, from rough handspun raw silk to slippery synthetics. I find that using newer technical products with these fabrics is an effective way to showcase their beauty.

Past and future

My fiber sculptural work began about eight years ago as a way to revisit forms I loved in ceramics. Ginger Jar, a 63-inch-tall reinterpretation of a classic Chinese form, was accepted for SAQA’s 3D Expression exhibition.

Newer work tends to pure abstraction. One of these pieces is Coloratura, a series of nine wall-mounted wrapped tubes which will tour with the Quilt National

2019 exhibition. However, three-dimensional work is an order of magnitude more difficult to execute than something that hangs on the wall, and shipping costs are punitive. For those reasons, I haven’t devoted myself to it full-time.

I have been in charge of the SAQA exhibitions in New Mexico for the last ten years; two are currently touring, and two more are in the works for 2021. I’ve also been privileged to work with many other SAQA volunteers as the regional exhibition coordinator along with Cynthia Levis. There are twenty to thirty regional exhibitions on the books at this time.

Looking forward, I’m excited to curate once again an invitational mixed-media sculptural exhibition in the Capitol Rotunda Gallery in Santa Fe in August 2020. Selected artists are given free rein to create installation work of any dimension. This model allows greater freedom of expression than does a standard survey exhibition.

Creating new work for this show, combined with commissions and an extensive teaching schedule, is what I will focus on for the near future.

bbusbyarts.com

Ginger Jar 63 x 21 inches, 2013

Dark Lichen 46 x 60 inches, 2017

Ramona Conconi

Melide, Switzerland

Ramona Conconi’s quilts radiate a world of color. Her palettes energize her quilts, born of emotion and exhibited with hope for a heartfelt connection with viewers. Within her art practice, she can create works that make a statement about the state of the world.

Art quilt evolution

I have always been interested in fabric and thread. When I was seven, I made an appliqué quilt with my mom. My entry into traditional patchwork came in 1984 when I lived in the French-speaking area of Switzerland. Quilting was popular in Switzerland at the end of the 1980s, and my work paralleled its evolution in techniques and materials.

From 1993-95, I worked in a specialty shop in the German region of Switzerland. This experience was my introduction to professional quilting. I started attending workshops presented by several American and English quilt artists. I also taught myself, first in the shop and then in Ticino, located in the country’s Italian section. It was there that I opened my own atelier at home.

In Germany, I met Nancy Crow at one of her workshops. She inspired me to create abstracts and to work

photo by Davide Stallone

improvisationally. Learning to create from an emotional level, yet grounded in the basic principles of art and color, was a mind-opening experience for me.

Inspirational world

I love colors, especially bright colors. We are surrounded by colors every day. Daring combinations can be found as you walk down a street, visit a museum, leaf through a magazine, look at people’s clothes, or examine the colors of a rooster. I often capture colorful images with my iPhone. Photography gives me many ideas for contemporary art. I also go to museums to be immersed in color. I live in the district of Lugano, which has many good museums, and am lucky to be near Milan and Zurich, home to many more art venues.

I love to experiment, and I often wake up with a new idea for a color combination I know I must try. I also find direction in my sketchbook, where I draw shapes. My quilt Boetti’s Squares is an homage to Italian artist Alighiero Boetti, a conceptual artist whose work I admire.

Setting a style

I never know how my quilt will look until the end. I let myself find further inspiration in the creative process. I work on a piece until I feel it’s finished and I’m happy with it.

Although abstract, my work should not be described as geometric I have never gotten along with mathematics! From my photos, I select forms and background colors rather than landscapes and houses. You can see this preference in other areas of my life. I don’t like to wear figural prints. I wear solid colors, perhaps because of my mother’s family’s somber Lutheran roots.

Emotional messages

Some of my work simply plays with forms and colors, allowing viewers to interpret an emotion as they look at them. It’s interesting to see how people from different cultures react to my quilts. Quilts from my Signs series, such as Lights in the Fog or Monocolore, are

Boetti’s Squares 85 X 79 inches, 2016

photos by Davide Stallone

Lights in the Fog 81 x 110 inches, 2017

Repetitions #1

much more popular in northern Europe, whereas my brightest pieces, including Repetitons #1, elicit a greater response in southern countries like Italy. Children love Boetti’s Squares

I’m a socially engaged person, so sometimes my work makes a statement that’s taken to heart by viewers. I’ve seen women cry in front of a quilt I made for people fighting cancer. I have had a quilt with the image of the Palestinian wall accepted into an exhibition as a political statement. I recently finished a quilt called Is This Love? to focus on feminicide, something that is still present in Italy and Switzerland. For the 2019 SAQA Benefit Auction, I commemorated the boat people who drown every day in the Mediterranean Sea as they try to reach Europe.

Is This Love?

57 x 71 inches, 2016

photo by Davide Stallone

55 x 55 inches, 2019

photo by Davide Stallone

Creative process

Since I work improvisationally, I’m free to experiment with shapes and colors, but I try to do so in a focused way. For about 15 years, I worked with my Signs series. I started by building a box to hold wooden dice. Then I drew lines on the dice to represent seamlines. This allowed me to play with the dice within the framework of the box to create black-and-white layouts that were the basis for the quilts in this series. After the layout was set, I had only to concentrate on selecting colors and values for the finished pieces.

For the past three years, I’ve been working on a new series, Repetitions, which uses new shapes that repeat in a different order. I hope my style is recognized in this new direction. While this series in many ways is an outgrowth of Signs, the dice box has been officially retired.

I am continuing to expand my color combinations to give viewers new emotions to experience in my work. I plan to increase the number of exhibitions in which I participate, and I’m readying an exhibition with another quilt artist that will take place in a couple of years.

As I move forward, I hope people find a moment of joy or reflection when they stand in front of my work.

ramonaconconi.com

Una Ciotola di Umanità (One Bowl of Humanity) 6 x 6 x 3 inches, 2018

photo by Davide Stallone

Mediterranean Drama 12 x 12 inches, 2019

Monocolore 28 x 20 inches, 2015

photo by Sandro Mahler

Patricia KennedyZafred

Murrysville, Pennsylvania

The silkscreened images in Patricia KennedyZafred’s work seem to reach out to viewers. Some do so from the vantage point of history; others proffer imagery from a modern place in culture. All have a dynamic story to tell.

Artful possibilities

I have sewn since I was a little girl, first stitching doll clothes and later my own garments. In 1988, I discovered a quilt shop in Pittsburgh where I took my first quilting class. My early quilts were based on traditional patterns but evolved into Amish-influenced original designs that I hand quilted.

My game-changing moment came when I joined the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh. The guild offered workshops with top quilt artists, including design with Risë Nagin, dyeing with

When Winter Came, They Were Gone 72 x 30 inches, 2018

Jan Myers-Newbury, and advanced appliqué techniques with Terrie Hancock Mangat. My mind was opened to the meaningful work that I could create. I worked on art quilts with intent and began to enter exhibitions.

I have an educational background in journalism and photography, so storytelling became the natural basis for my work. While the images I select express a story, they also allow the viewer to see the work through the lens of their own experiences, memories, and emotions. In several works, news articles or text graphics from the images’ time period are included to foster understanding.

Developed interest

The photographic image has always been a passion for me. As a child, I was captivated by the pages of Look and Life magazines with their big, glossy pages. I experimented in my own darkroom during college and for several years thereafter. I carried my camera wherever I went, developed my own film, and printed the images. That darkroom was a magical place. Today, I feel the same sense of wonder when I silkscreen images onto fabric.

Converting photographic images to silkscreens is a complex process. Prior to making the screens, I correct, crop, and size the images in Photoshop. Many vintage images have flaws or distracting backgrounds that need to be removed. The image file size needs to be reasonably substantial to produce a high-quality silkscreen. I am fortunate to have Artists Image Resource in Pittsburgh as a technical resource and a physical print studio in which to work.

A large majority of my historical images come from the Library of Congress online catalog. If the file available for download is too small, a higher resolution file can be ordered. It is important that any image be in the public domain or free from copyright. For some newer images, I secure written permission for use in my quilts. I do the same with older images that are still protected by copyright.

A matter of style

My style is reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s use of repeated images, but I’m also influenced by artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein.

My favorite part of making art quilts is dyeing the fabric and printing the silkscreens. Once the images

Coal Town: Silent Canary 44 x 78 inches, 2017

are selected, I begin to dye the fabrics in colors that further express the subject matter and highlight the images. My quilting is simple to keep the focus on the imagery. Many people initially believe my pieces are printed from an inkjet, or are commercially produced after being created on the computer. They are often surprised to experience the nuance inherent in layering ink onto hand-dyed fabrics, something difficult to capture in a photograph.

My work has evolved significantly, both in subject matter and techniques. Over the years, I have experimented with several methods to transfer images onto fabric. I made works from printed acetate, inkjet prints, Gocco prints, xylene transfers, and even photographic paper printed in the darkroom that was pieced and stitched.

The silkscreen process offers the broadest possibilities, and I have used this approach for more than ten years. Individual images can be larger, resulting in work that is dynamic and commanding. My ability to produce a proper substrate in the dye buckets has

American Portraits: The Family Farm 44 x 77 inches, 2015

A Separate Reality 48 x 36 inches, 2016

Shift Change

12 x 36 x 25 inches, 2018

significantly improved with practice. Most of my fabrics are dyed at least twice, using various resist methods and gradations.

Fine tuning

My art reflects my interest in people, their stunning diversity, personal struggles, and place in history. Many quilts from the past ten years show people in roles that no longer exist or are fading: family farmers, coal miners, steel workers, and child laborers. They are reminders of our country’s past. In the Native American and the Japanese Internment series, they also reflect dark times in our history. The quilts featuring contemporary images of African women, taken by Dietmar Temps, present startling differences in culture, beauty, and tradition in today’s world.

In the past decade, the images I have chosen are primarily historical, which is a step away from my earlier work that featured personal photographs. Now, whether using vintage photos, postcards, or the work of contemporary photographers, my subject matter varies. Typically, one image captures my heart. I then expand the story with accompanying photographs that were taken during the same period or by the same photographer.

Some of my quilts fall into a series, either because the images remain compelling or because I want to improve upon the previous work by presenting it in a new way. My recent American Portraits series uses images of farmers from the Dust Bowl era silkscreened onto vintage feed sacks. The feed sacks are challenging in their acquisition and preparation for

printing. Printing each one is a wild card, as no two are the same weight or weave.

Lately, I’m on the cusp of change. I am taking additional tutorials to learn to create multicolor silkscreens. I believe this step will result in more complex images and layered backgrounds. Future series may again include my own images to create new stories that reflect on my personal experiences. pattykz.com

The Jewels of Kenya 45 x 33 inches, 2017

Geri PattersonKutras Morgan

Hill, California

Geri Patterson-Kutras’s art quilts guide you down city streets, take you on a walk with old friends, and introduce you to neighborhood pets. From there, your imagination takes over, and you find yourself searching for what lies around the corner in her colorful world. It is a journey to be enjoyed by artist and viewer alike.

City Windows 33 x 46 inches, 2018

All photos by Gregory Case

Flight plan

My mother had a degree in clothing design and loved to sew. There were always cloth scraps that I could give new life in collage. Like so many other quilt artists, I tried my hand at traditional quilting. I love its history and beauty, but its exacting nature is too structured for me.

Quilting as an art form offers me the ability to be Peter Pan. I can fly and tell my own stories in cloth without a rigid structure. It doesn’t matter if the points are not perfect; what matters is the narrative and my ability to convey it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and art quilts invite the artist and the viewer to bring a unique experience to the work.

Subjects & messages

I love architecture and landscapes. There’s a rich complexity between the two. Each time you add a new element, you create a new relationship. Like actors in a play, each personality shapes and affects the production.

More and more of my quilts are based on architecture. I don’t see it as static, because it’s influenced by how it’s used and its age even the rotation of the earth and the shadows of the sun and moon alter its appearance, shaping a mutable narrative.

While these quilts are a current focus, some of my most powerful pieces are about people and life. Lately, more of my quilts focus on creating smiles. We’re living through a very critical period in history. Politics, climate change, the challenges of the connected world all can become overwhelming. We forget to see the small moments that warm our hearts and make us smile. Against the façade of the big city, there’s the little dog that patiently sits on the sidewalk, waiting for a kind stranger to pet it or its human to come home.

Stylish images

I love reading to children and have discovered how wonderful the illustrations in children’s books are. Illustrators create images to capture attention and challenge the imagination to see more. My style

Homes Great & Small 39 x 38 inches, 2019

Roof Lines 42 x 27 inches, 2016

allows pictures to tell stories through images that draw attention and then engage the viewer with unexpected details. I want my work to give viewers pause to create their own stories.

It’s the color, texture, and malleability of our materials that spark my imagination. Sometimes my design comes first, while at other times I find a piece of fabric that informs its place on the design wall.

I’ve been blessed with a lifelong love affair with creativity. My journey really changed after I retired and I returned to college to complete an art degree. This marked a major shift in the way I approach art. I gained a sense that this is my passion as well as the self-confidence to explore a new path. I am more focused and belong to a community that shares my passion and desire to speak through art.

Inside the process

Most of my work begins with a photograph. I’m an avid photographer and so are my daughter, Rachael, and my husband, Pete. Our photographs inspire the majority of my work. One of my favorite and most powerful pieces, Friends, was inspired by a photo Pete took of two elderly women walking together in Nice, France. I’ve probably shown and discussed that piece hundreds of times. Regardless of ethnicity or gender, people identify with it. There’s something magical about capturing a quiet, unexpected moment and being able to enlarge that moment while maintaining its intimacy.

My process starts with a photograph. Using it as my source, I sketch out a drawing. Once I’m satisfied with the composition, I enlarge it to a workable size at a local print shop. The design is never static; it can and does change as I work with it. One of my favorite parts of the design process is gathering fabrics to articulate my story. The composition is pinned to the design wall so that I can step back periodically and assess its progress.

Friends 62 x 57 inches, 2010

The Neighborhood 64 x 42 inches, 2018

I use a machine blanket stitch around each cut-out shape to secure the jigsaw of pieces together. I like the finished look of the blanket stitch. The work is quilted using a walking foot on my sewing machine. Unexpectedly, I find that I love to write stories or little ditties about my work. As a child I hated writing, but now it’s an important component of my work.

I think the most important thing we should understand about ourselves is that we’re never too old to follow our creative spirit and try new pathways. Like our art, we are a work in progress that needs to be nurtured and developed. I sometimes wish I had recognized this calling much earlier in my life. Then again, some of us find our work is richer because it’s informed by our life experiences and desire to tell our stories.

What’s next?

I want to develop the architectural genre further. I’ve become very interested in the art of South Korean artist Choi So Young and her work depicting urban landscapes using recycled denim garments. I’d like to explore incorporating recycled clothing because it adds another layer of interest and history to a narrative.

I’m also teaching and lecturing, which is very enjoyable. I will be teaching at the Empty Spool Seminars in Pacific Grove, California, in 2020 and 2021. www.geripkartquilts.com

Wonky Little Town 35 x 31 inches, 2019

Pablo Picasso said, “To draw, you must close your eyes and sing.” This exhibition explores all the wonderful ways in which music can serve as inspiration for the creative process.

Both music and art elicit emotions, create different moods, suggest movement, and can reflect light, depth, and color. Over time many artistic practices and processes have been shaped by sound and visual expression. The boundaries between music and art blur, as one becomes inspiration for the other.

Frances Holliday Alford

A Figment of Imagination 52 x 52 inches | 2007

Debra Goley Blue Ice 38 x 27 inches | 2016

Paulette Landers

Sonata for a Stone 60 x 60 inches | 2017

Shannon M. Conley Nestling 44 x 34 x 4 inches | 2018

photo by Mike Cox

Betty A. Hahn Waltzing Silks 36 x 48 inches | 2019

Carolyn I. Skei San Antonio on My Mind 30 x 30 inches | 2019

Mary Mattimoe My First Favorite 32 x 41 inches | 2019

photo by Jim Crawford

the collector’s bookshelf

Reviewed by Patricia Kennedy-Zafred

PatchwOrk imp rov

all containing tips and tricks. Color, pattern, and repetition, which she refers to as the building blocks of quilt making, are represented with examples and explanations. How to build a color palette of fabrics, both solid and patterned, is explained in a clear, easy way, encouraging the development of a color identity that resonates with individual preferences based on natural inclination. Shell challenges the reader to create from a very personal point of view rather than adhering to any preconceived rules or styles.

Improv Patchwork: Dynamic Quilts Made with Line & Shape

By Maria Shell

Published by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., 2017

ISBN 9781617454967

95 pages, Softcover, color illustrations throughout $22.95 (eBook also available)

Improvisational cutting and piecing of fabric is at the crux of the process of many quilt artists, in large part due to many innovators including Nancy Crow, who developed the concepts and techniques now widely used in contemporary quilt making. Recently, a wide variety of books has hit the shelves explaining how to develop these skills, but one of the best is Maria Shell’s Improv Patchwork:

Dynamic Quilts Made With Line and Shape

Shell not only takes the reader through her journey as an artist and quilt maker, but also inspires and encourages fearlessness, intuition, and the benefits of creativity. She carefully organized the book for both the beginning and advanced quilt maker, with chapters on tools, working space, and supplies,

Subsequent chapters display in vivid detail the techniques used to cut all kinds of shapes and stripes, either with a ruler and rotary cutter or freehand. There is no right or wrong way to cut or piece, as evidenced by Shell’s unique examples. Constructing small pieces into larger blocks of strips, stripes, or pieces that resemble polka dots or stars, results in vibrant, colorful quilts. Using simple and clear instructions, she breaks down the apparent complexity of the projects into easily constructed components.

Shell’s own artwork fills the pages in a visual delight of color, pattern, and piecing. Her inspiring work is almost musical quick staccato notes interspersed with calmer, quieter interludes.

The final chapters offer advice on putting the pieces together, along with what to do with leftover bits, and helpful resource pages. Improv Patchwork is not a recipe book of specific patterns, but rather an instructive demonstration of techniques to be used as a starting point for the development of a unique personal style in the design and construction of a quilt.

Maria Shell

Dynamic Quilts Made with Line & Shape

Why We Quilt: Contemporary Makers Speak Out About the Power of Art, Activism, Community, and Creativity

By Thomas Knauer

Published by Storey Publishing, 2019

211 pages, hardcover, full color, $29.95

ISBN 978-1-63586-033-7

In our fast-paced, demanding world of the 21st century, dominated by technology and social media, the slow, thoughtful process of making quilts continues to thrive, and the quilting industry is flourishing. Why we continue to pursue with such commitment the somewhat impractical process of cutting up fabric only to sew it back together is potentially confusing to one who does not quilt. Thomas Knauer attempts to explain the myriad of reasons why individuals continue to cut, sew, and stitch within the textile framework of the quilt in his delightful new book, Why We Quilt

Included in this very personal reflective narrative are fascinating chapters regarding the historical development of quilt making, as well as page after page of beautifully photographed quilts. The book features the work of forty contemporary makers, including several of Knauer’s works. Knauer’s own personal journey to quilting and his study of its history is intriguing and revealing.

Through individual profiles, Why We Quilt expresses the compelling need felt by so many makers to continue to extend quilting traditions into the modern world. Clearly expressed by most, including

Knauer, is the desire to be creative, to express feelings or statements, and most importantly, the desire for connection within the quilting community, which continues to grow and expand due to the internet. Many quilters speak of their guilds, classes, and workshops as not only furthering their technical abilities, but also creating a desired social opportunity, the nature of which is based on the mutual shared appreciation for quilting, creativity, and the process of making.

Knauer intersperses historical chapters throughout the book, beginning with colonial quiltmakers and extending to today, including representative photographs of quilts across an historical timeline. Those early quilts may have been decorative, but also often served a political purpose as a fund-raising tool or in support of a cause, as expressed in early signature quilts. He traces the influence of the fabric industry on the design and colors of quilts, and the boom created by the availability of patterns that even a novice stitcher could attempt. The American Bicentennial contributed to a revival in quilt making, spurring creative concepts and new ideas in the expressive forms that continue today, including art quilts.

The need to create is at the heart of most quiltmaking today. Why We Quilt features makers who are widely diverse in style, from traditional to art quilts. Some of the artists included are familiar names, such as Linda Gass, Joe Cunningham, Kathy York, and Chawne Kimber, yet other featured makers are new and unfamiliar, many quilting only for themselves and their family, not for show or exhibition. Through their work, they are connected to the worldwide quilting community, sharing the same sense of commitment. Quilts continue to bring together families, generations, and individuals, offering a sense of connection to the past, to one another, and to our creative impulses.

Portfolio

Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) is pleased to present our Portfolio gallery. Each issue of Art Quilt Quarterly features a selection of artwork by juried artist members of SAQA, the world’s largest organization devoted to art quilts. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to immerse yourself in these pages of wonderfully innovative artwork merging the tactile, technological, and traditional aspects of quilted art.

Founded in 1989, SAQA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt. Now composed of more than 3,600 members in 39 countries, SAQA promotes the art quilt through exhibitions, publications, and professional development opportunities. We host an annual conference, publish a quarterly Journal, and sponsor multiple exhibitions each year.

In 2019, exhibitions of SAQA member work will travel to Australia, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, and thirteen states across the U.S. They will be displayed in 12 museums and 19 major quilt festivals and seen by several hundred thousand visitors. Information about SAQA and these exhibitions is available at www.saqa.com. Full-color catalogs of many of the exhibitions are also available.

Pamela Gail Allen

Kingston, Ontario, Canada www.pamelart.com

Jennifer May Bowker

Canberra, ACT, Australia

www.jennybowker.com

After the Last Sky

80 x 91 inches (205 x 232 cm) | 2018

photo by Andrew Sikorski

Joke Buursma

Portlaw, Waterford, Ireland

www.jokebuursma.weebly.com

Gaelforce 44 x 35 inches (113 x 90 cm) | 2019

Maryte Collard

Siauliai, Lithuania www.marytequilts.eu

Volcano Fissures

24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm) | 2019

photo by Doug Conley

Vicki Conley

Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico, USA vicki-conley.com

Sherri Culver

Portland, Oregon, USA

www.sherriquilts.com

Equal value, different shades

29 x 27 inches (74 x 69 cm) | 2019

photo by Hoddick Photography | private collection

Sue Portfolio

Dennis Brisbane,

www.suedennis.com

North Reading, Massachusetts, USA

turtlemoonimpressions.wordpress.com

Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry

Port Townsend, Washington, USA

www.bryerpatch.com

Canyon #1

30 x 30 inches (76 x 76 cm) | 2018

Canberra, ACT, Australia

Black Mountain #3

27 x 54 inches (69 x 137 cm) | 2017

private collection | photo by Andrew Sikorski

Dianne Firth

photo by Mark Wallenfang

Mita Giacomini

Dundas, Ontario, Canada mitagiacomini.com

Three Sixty 30 x 30 inches (76 x 76 cm) | 2019

www.sandygregg.com

photo by Joe Ofria

Betty Ann Hahn

Sun City, Arizona, USA

bettyhahnfiberart.blogspot.com

Quarks

50 x 38 inches (127 x 97 cm) | 2017

Rosemary Hoffenberg

Wrentham, Massachusetts, USA www.rosemaryhoffenberg.com

Still Life

60 x 44 inches (152 x 112 cm) | 2018

photo by Joe Ofria

Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA

www.annjohnston.net

Wave 14 30 x 50 inches (76 x 127 cm) | 2017

photo by Owen Carey

Ann Johnston

Conway, Arkansas, USA

www.deborahkuster.com

Northborough, Massachusetts, USA

www.highinfiberart.com

48 x 36 inches (122 x 91 cm) | 2018

photo by Joe Ofria

Hsin-Chen Lin

Tainan City, Taiwan www.linhsinchen.idv.tw

Passion Flower

36 x 18 inches (91 x 46 cm) | 2017

Le

www.elizabeth-michellod-dutheil.ch

Jeannie Palmer Moore

Kerrville, Texas, USA

jpmartist.com

Wrightsville Pier

48 x 36 inches (122 x 91 cm) | 2017

photo by Bob Hill

Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix

Geneva, Switzerland

www.elisabethdelacroix.com

photo by Olivier Junod

photo

Marilyn Prucka

Monroe, Michigan, USA

www.marilynprucka.com

Wheat Fields and Water

36 x 36 inches (91 x 91 cm) | 2018

photo by Eric Law

Kim H. Ritter

Houston, Texas, USA

www.kimritter.com

Rising 72 x 72 x 3 inches (183 x 183 x 8 cm) | 2019

photo by Bogdan Mihai

Maya Schonenberger

Miami, Florida, USA

mayaschonenberger.com

Bonnie J. Smith

Port Huneme, California, USA

www.bonniejofiberarts.com

Water, Water, Everywhere....

78 x 63 inches (198 x 160 cm) | 2017

photo by Spring Mountain Gallery

Byron, Illinois, USA

www.virginiaspiegel.com

Boundary Waters 92

52 x 37 inches (131 x 93 cm) | 2018

photo by Deidre Adams

Virginia A. Spiegel

Tiziana Tateo

Vigevano,

Portland, Oregon, USA

judithtrager.com

Redwall Canyon

photo by Ken Sanville

Judith Tomlinson Trager

Desiree Vaughn

Elk Rapids, Michigan, USA

China Memories: The Gate, The Flower, The River

75 x 28 inches (191 x 70 cm) | 2018

photo by Gregory Case

Isabelle Wiessler

Gundelfingen, Germany

www.isabelle-wiessler.de

Sphere 1

42 x 51 inches (107 x 130 cm) | 2018

International Honor Quilt

for four hours. She considers her piece in the IHQ to be one of the highlights of her career as a quilt artist.

Beatrice Schall, a painter, collaborated with Kim Irwin, who quilted their piece honoring Center/Gallery in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, of which Schall was a founding member. Lucy Lippard, who spoke at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in the late 1970s, praised this cooperative feminist gallery for contributing to a vibrant art community. Schall says that it was important to her to be a part of the women’s history honored by the IHQ. Miriam Schapiro and Nancy Spero were among the artists who participated in the programs at Center/ Gallery, which closed in 1984.

When the Brooklyn Museum acquired The Dinner Party as a gift from Through the Flower, the University of Louisville made a home for the International Honor Quilt, a truly historic work of feminist art. Art Quilt Quarterly recognizes that contribution in 2020, commemorating the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and 100 years of women’s suffrage in this country.

(Ed. Note: I am very grateful to Susan Hill for reading the article and correcting errors. She was a principal artist for The Dinner Party as Head of Needlework, and co-author with Judy Chicago for Embroidering Our Heritage. Hill also was a member of the installation team for The Dinner Party, with responsibility for the International Honor Quilt.)

Fibreworks from p. 17

of the artist? Medium and concept are inseparable in my artworks. As my thinking and creative processes are essentially sculptural, I attempt to bend, and go beyond, the rules of traditional quilting and use textiles in a three-dimensional manner.”

“The textile arts such as quilting and embroidery have played a big role in the social issues of race, gender, class, and politics,” says Phumzile Dhamini. She grew up in rural areas where grass weaving is practiced. “I learned to recycle materials from my mother and am influenced by African beadwork.” Always promoting healing and cohesion among women, her work weaves together threads of post-colonialism and multiculturalism, demonstrating their interconnections, through which tradition can be both upheld and transformed.

The artworks here are transparent. We can look at them, and then with further looking, we look through them. They comment on the ongoing discussions concerning “women’s work” and the evolving nature of these ancient craft practices in contemporary quilt art.

fibreworksart.com

Jeanette Gilks has been making, teaching and assessing art for about 40 years while teaching in secondary and tertiary institutions. In 1988 she founded Garret Artists, a drawing workshop for students and teachers, and in 1998 she co-founded Fibreworks. This group has exhibited in South Africa and abroad. She currently teaches creative thinking skills and drawing to students at Vega, a tertiary college in Durban specializing in branding. Some of her work can be found on Instagram: jeanettegilks

spotlight on collections

new acquisition

Outlaw Animals: Jackrabbit

77 x 72 inches, 2012

As I often do in my work, I question established hierarchies. This series, Outlaw Animals, champions animals that are often designated as having no value. The animals: jackrabbit, rattlesnake, skunk, and armadillo, are often considered “varmint” animals. Miraculously evolved, they are suited perfectly for the often rugged and sparse environments

that they inhabit. In the judgments of humans, however, they are often discounted and even despised. Particularly persecuted are those creatures that most resist having their lands taken away from them by human development. Many of these species have no closed season or bag limit, which means that hunters are allowed to kill as many as they can catch.

Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art

Annie Helmericks-Louder

The

The INNOVA has become the industry’s benchmark with its core foundation in industrial design. There are many new innovative hardware and software features streamlining the setup and use.

The integrates a new power supply box, eliminating the need for consumer purchased power surge protectors. It houses all the power needs of the INNOVA longarm systems, provides ltering, and simpli es wiring. Addition of AutoPilot is e ortless with plug-in components at the rear of the machine.

• Viewing windows for LED diagnostics.

• Integrated strip LED lighting system with black light, dim, and bright.

• Integrated needle laser light.

• Fully adjustable handles with multiple joints allowing nearly 360 degrees of rotation for perfect positioning.

• Power button at front of machine.

• Integrated Lightning Stitch control system with new horizontal orientation and new user interface.

• Integrated Autopilot when activated.

• Integrated PantoVision when activated.

• Tested at speeds up to 4000 stitches per minute.

• Automotive sound deadening insulation.

• Cooling system for increased life.

• 10 Year limited warranty see website for details.

• Integrated Grand Format Embroidery for AutoPilot, needs only to be activated.

• Another INNOVA exclusive innovation, High De nition Stitch for AutoPilot! HD Stitch allows the user to de ne parameters for perfect cor ners and points.

With a beautiful new sleek and color ful design, the is sure to be appealing to the quilter ’s sense of sophisticated style.

new Sleek, Colorful... Sophisticated