art quilt Studio Art Quilt Associates
Textile Talks Art Quilts in Scandinavia
John Lefelhocz Global Exhibition: Intertwined
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art quilts
quarterly 2023
Issue No. 30
You spoke, we listened Sincere thanks to all those who responded to our 2022 AQQ survey. We learned that nearly one-third of you identify as quilt artists and about ten percent as artists in another genre. In general, you asked for more feature articles on various topics, a continuation of our popular “Artists to Watch” interviews from Diane Howell, and more on SAQA’s Global Exhibitions, from several perspectives. “Focus on Commissions” and “Collection Care and Development” will continue, but not in every issue, based on reader popularity. Because of the broad interest in art quilts internationally, we are continuing our emphasis on various geographic areas, hoping to add exhibition reviews from different countries to reflect SAQA’s worldwide membership. Quilt art trends in the wider art world is another area that we are exploring for future articles. Because of requests for more coverage of techniques, we will begin including detail images and an increased focus on process in “Artists to Watch,” plus detail images in our exhibition reviews and feature articles. Finally, AQQ will support SAQA’s initiatives in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, mentioned by several of you. Thank you again for taking the time to help us make AQQ relevant to your needs and interests. Sandra Sider, Editor editor-aqq@saqa.com
Contents Textile Talks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Art quilts in Scandinavia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 John Lefelhocz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 What’s bugging your art quilts?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Focus on commissions: Katherine Knauer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 SAQA Global Exhibitions: Intertwined. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Artists to watch Anne Bellas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Ildiko Polyak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Daphne Taylor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Valerie Wilson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Portfolio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Spotlight on collections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 2 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly
CORRECTION: We regret that the quilt on p. 45 of AQQ 29 was incorrectly credited to Margaret Hay Black. The quilt is by Margaret Black.
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. ©2023 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 SAQA Global Exhibitions contributing editor: Patty Kennedy-Zafred Designer: Deidre Adams Subscription: $39.95 for four issues — $34.95 for SAQA members Outside USA: add $15.00 Subscribe online: saqa.com/aqq Now available in digital format. Details: www.saqa.com/aqq-digital Questions: aqq@saqa.com
Cover: It’s a Balancing Act by Clara Nartey 69 x 53 inches (175 x 135 cm), 2022
Textile Talks in the virtual world by Pamela Weeks
W
hile searching for more information about British artist Ian Berry, I watched an hourlong Textile Talk episode on YouTube about this unique textile artist. The warmth of the video gave me the feeling that I was meeting him in person, and I was struck by Berry’s humility, generosity of spirit, unique use of denim, and amazing talent. He opened with a video featuring an artist whose network of makers was creating quilts for Ukrainian refugees, and then followed by his narration of a pre-recorded video of his own work, studio, and method. The session ended with a question-and-answer session. When I finished this excellent virtual experience, I wanted more. I found a surprising number (118 as of September 25) of Textile Talks YouTube videos on a variety of topics, from quilt history to art quilts to the origins of The Modern Quilt movement to wearable
art. All the presentations are visually rich and well organized, including images of past and current exhibitions, in-depth explanations of technique, clearly stated artistic purposes, generous sharing of sources of inspiration, the importance of collecting, and raising awareness on social issues through fiber art. Six participating organizations have contributed to the programs, and I watched two or three presentations from each. I will include just a few of the wonderful examples that impressed me. I interviewed Studio Art Quilt Associates Executive Director Martha Sielman, one of the organizers of the series. She explained that she had been meeting monthly for years with directors of other textile-oriented organizations. At the onset of the COVID-required shutdown, all were concerned about accommodating audiences no longer able to attend
above: Ian Berry in his Textile Talk: Ian Berry—A World in Denim. right: The first Textile Talk was Conversations with the Artists: 3D Expression. Artist Betty Busby constructing her sculpture.
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In Celebrating Modern Together, Heather Kinion uses Maritza Soto’s Go North to explain the characteristics of Modern quilts.
Lisa Ellis with her award-winning silk quilt Effervescence, from Quilters’ Save Our Stories.
exhibitions and events in person. Laura Chapman, Communications Coordinator at the International Quilt Museum, proposed a lecture series, and the six organizations worked together to organize several online programs, originally focusing on exhibitions that had limited viewing due to the pandemic shutdown. Studio Art Quilt Associates, International Quilt Museum, Surface Design Association, Modern Quilt Guild, Quilt Alliance, and San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, conceptualized the series and each took on a presentation to begin it. Topics could be anything to do with textiles. Initial challenges included how to staff the series and how to afford the extra staff time dedicated to its success. Sponsors were solicited and immediate affirmative responses were received. The organizers chose the Zoom platform, enabling them to reach a broader audience. The textile-friendly audience was hungry for programming, and the organizers worked hard to provide a wide variety of choices. 2 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly
SAQA premiered the series, beginning with an introduction of their organization, its activities, events, and purpose. This presentation solved a dilemma — how to share an exhibition during quarantine. The panel discussion included four of the artists featured in the SAQA Global Exhibition 3D Expression. Betty Busby, Shannon Dion, Patty Kennedy- Zafred, and Judy Martin shared images of their work, inspirations, and techniques. This format proved to be valuable for understanding the methods and materials used by quilt artists and was repeated in several other presentations in the series. Celebrating Modern was presented in July of 2020 by Alissa Haight Carlton, one of the Modern Quilt Guild’s (MQG) founders, Karen Cooper, executive director, and Heather Kinion, president of the board of directors. They educated their audience through lively discussion about the founding of MQG, defined “modern” in regard to quilts, and provided images of quilts that illustrated the various categories in which
A Kyrgyszstani woman stands in her room with traditional chests stacked with household textiles. Collecting Patchwork in Central Asia: A Discussion with Christine Martens.
Jo Andrews, creator of the podcast Hap and Haptic, presents an example of donated quilts for World War II refugees in Comfort in Textiles in a Time of Need.
modern quilts are judged at the annual QuiltCon conference and show. The informal conversation included their opinions on how MQG has influenced the quilt industry in the twenty years since its beginning as well as current trends used by MQG members, including more hand quilting and embroidery. A guest presentation, Hooked by Design, presented by the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Textiles, was a refreshing look at contemporary rug hooking. This is my current personal interest — I’m beginning my third rug — and I was delighted to find a world of contemporary designs through Susan Feller, Heather Goodchild, and Rachelle Leblanc. Their artwork spans topics that include human interaction with nature and family relationships, employing mixed media and fibers in hooking, three-dimensional construction and how to accomplish this technique, and freedom of movement in design. Katie Pasquini Masopust interviewed Lisa Ellis for the Quilt Alliance. To date, this episode has had
more than 1,200 views. Both artists are involved in the Quilt Alliance’s Quilters’ Save Our Stories, and the interview began with that initiative’s catch phrase: “Tell me about the quilt you brought today.” Ellis began by explaining her involvement in Sacred Threads, which was founded to express spirituality, joy, inspiration, healing, grief, and peace though quilt making. She also explained the origins of her quilt making and what she learns from working in a series. Collecting Patchwork in Central Asia was presented in August of 2022, and features collector and documentary filmmaker Christine Martens’s work with International Quilt Museum curator Marin Hanson to increase the IQM collection. Martens is a teacher and researcher who has travelled to Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian countries to study textiles and their use in women’s rituals. She provided brilliant images of the landscapes of these countries as well as the patchwork textiles used in furnishing see “Textile Talks” on page 89 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 3
Art quilts in Scandinavia by Katriina Flensburg
T
he major revival of quilting in Europe and Scandinavia began with the very first European Quilt Expo of the late 1980s. Nearly three decades ago, my growing interest in the field of art quilts caused me to send an invitation to other Nordic artists, the late Bente Vold Klausen (Norway), Charlotte Yde (Denmark) and Vuokko Isaksson (Finland) for a collaborative effort in introducing the genre of art quilts in our countries. Our work under the name Scandinavia Art Quilt Group resulted in several hectic years, with a number of well-publicized exhibitions in Scandinavia, followed by tours in Japan and Canada. We were way before our time. Our attempts to be accepted by the established art institutions of the
Hanne Ladegaard Sail Racing 27 x 36 inches (68 x 91 cm) 2020
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Scandinavian region turned out to be too draining to our resources. We abandoned our collective efforts but have continued the mission through our individual artistic engagements, with years of lecturing and teaching in our respective countries. Patchwork in combination with elaborate and expressive quilting, however, has never gained an extensive following in the four independent Scandinavian/Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The absence of a deep-rooted tradition over time has affected the general level of engagement in Scandinavia. Even though quilting, including art quilts, as a leisure-time activity has reached quite a few devotees today, the situation is tenuous regarding
Tina Sommer Paaske Loneliness 28 x 41 inches (71 x 103 cm), 2020 photo by Henrik Nielsen
the more professional individuals. A small number of artists, textile professionals and/or skilled artists with professional focus, utilize the approaches and techniques included in today’s standards of fiber art and contemporary quilt art. While a few promote their work with the term “art quilt,” in our countries “textile art” is preferred. In fact, Vuokko Isaksson is in the final stage of writing her doctoral thesis about the introduction of quilting as a genre of textile art in Finland. The lack of terminology that would clarify the difference between professionally focused artistic efforts and those of home sewing complicates the situation. In all four countries, the noun “quilt” is translated as and strongly associated with stuffed and/or pieced bedcovers assembled from leftover fabrics. This fact makes it difficult for those with professional intentions within the genre to have their art accepted in an environment ruled by the established, deeply rooted norms for defining “art.” The quilts of Scandinavian/ Nordic artists showcased here testify to their level of commitment to the genre: Hanne Laadegard (Denmark), Tina Sommer Paaske (Denmark), Annukka Mikkola (Finland), Pirjo Kekäläinen (Finland), Iina Alho (Norway), Turid Tönnessen (Norway), Ulva Ugerup (Sweden), Yvonne Kervinen (Sweden), and me (Sweden).
Hanne Ladegaard has been interested in fiber art all her life, attending numerous classes of creative fabric processing and methods of sewing. “Being an artist is not only my full-time occupation today but my calling,” she states. Her working process is intuitive, letting the theme guide her way to a deeper concept. Her work is mostly dyed and painted on fabric with acrylic paints, handmade stamps, silkscreen, thermofax, and a gelli plate. Paints are applied either on large sheets of fabric or on small gelli plates and, in the latter case, enlarged and transferred onto fabric using commercial printing services. Ladegaard likes tactile surfaces on her pieces and uses quilting to create the surface effect she seeks and to highlight the details. Most of her sales take place through solo exhibitions or grouped with colleagues. She enjoys her juried artist membership in SAQA. “However,” she says, “the context of art quilt is regrettably far too unfamiliar in Denmark to be commonly used in promotional connections.” Tina Sommer Paaske believes her love of fabric originates from the beloved soft toys of her childhood. “Fabric touches so many of our senses,” she says. “By reacting to touch, light, and temperature, it reaches us in multiple ways, communicating warmth, comfort, and wellbeing, providing a feeling of safety. And not to forget, as humans we are tied to a physical connec-
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Annukka Mikkola Glass Bead Game 51 x 83 x 1.5 inches (130 x 212 x 4 cm), 2020 photo by Eeva Mäkinen
tion with fabric all our life.” Paaske’s compositions are mainly based on issues that she finds urgent to highlight, issues that deeply move her. She hand-dyes her fabrics in colors and values that fit the subject and welcomes the challenge of sharing her reflections with the viewer. She enjoys the slow creative process of sewing because it allows time for those reflections. Her pieces are often introduced as conceptual series. Paaske is active as a juried artist member of SAQA. Annukka Mikkola is an award-winning, frequently exhibiting textile professional. She has an MA in Art and Education for Visual Art at the Aalto University of Helsinki and additional academic credits in the fields of craft, design, and architecture. Although Mikkola does not refer to her work as art quilts, it has many parallels— narratives, context, and techniques. “I have always been fascinated by cultural history, folklore, and the tradition integrated with art,” she says. “Every item carries a story of something already lived and forgotten, and instead of words I
prefer writing my diary with pictures and collections of objects where the original narratives are visually enriched and followed by a new one.” Her techniques and toolkit are changing, but she often returns to themes of recycling and ecology. Old items and textiles discovered during her travels as well as pieces of handcraft made by her mother are given a new life in and through her art. Mikkola finds it important to highlight the skillsets of past people and the time and effort involved in their achievements. Pirjo Kekäläinen is a devoted textile enthusiast. Attending a couple of creative classes of fiber art years ago was a starting point for her experiments in fabric and her engagement in textile art. After being introduced to fabric painting and dyeing, she continued to take special interest in preparing her own fabrics. Her creative process often develops from color, and her main inspiration comes from nature. Since her first engagement in art quilts, she has taken numerous classes led by renowned Finnish artists and teachers representing various fields of textiles. When not exhibiting on her own, Kekäläinen exhibits her work with a group of colleagues. She has won awards in domestic and international quilt exhibitions. Turid Tönnessen’s professional background as an art-and-craft educated fabric printer provided valu-
Pirjo Kekäläinen Sea Freezing 12 x 16 inches (30 x 40 cm), 2020
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Turid Tonnessen Invaded Space 39 x 39 inches (100 x 100 cm), 2017
able skills for her work with art quilts. Mixing colors to find a precise hue is one of her favorite steps of the working process. “I use the words ‘textile art’ when referring to my work, but I think that my working process is very deeply rooted in my skills as a craftsperson, and I’m still looking for an appropriate title to identify myself,” she says. Tönnessen enjoys learning new approaches of printing and fabric painting, keeping her eye out for classes of interest, taught mainly by international fiber artists. She sees her work and her involvement in the art quilt community as an interesting challenge rather than a second career and considers her experimenting, learning, and sharing with like-minded artists as the most rewarding parts of her engagement. Her pieces are reflective and mainly abstract, often highlighting organic elements. Tönnessen’s quilts have been exhibited and featured in books and magazines both within and outside of Norway. Yvonne Kervinen graduated as a textile artisan in Finland, the country of her birth, where the education covers a field of craft, product design, and economy and the design industry. Kervinen
Yvonne Kervinen Communication 28 x 34 inches (70 x 87 cm), 2022
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has created her collage-based art for years, using the term “art quilt” depending on where she is exhibiting her work. “Using this term often requires an explanation, but it certainly opens a window for interesting discussions,” she says. Kervinen hand-dyes most of her material, finding inspiration in the elements of everyday life as well as in distressing global issues. She loves recycling and uses a variety of materials, from cotton and linens to organza and other sheers. Individual pieces of fabric are constructed in multiple layers on the substrate. She hand-draws the pictorial elements, and then stitches everything in place by hand or machine, with dense machine quilting adding texture to the finished surface. Iina Alho began to embrace and develop her creative capacity a decade ago, when the choice of working with fabric came naturally to her. Spoken and written words such as poetry, quotations, and song lyrics are her sources of inspiration. The central context for many of her pieces is her wish to convey a message of hope. When starting to work on a piece, Alho seldom follows a plan. The process may be triggered by a quotation or an inspiring color, but her composition is mainly intuitive, based on improvisation. She applies techniques such as fusing, free- motion stitching, thread painting, hand embroidery, and embellishing. Alho shares her work continually on social media, and her quilts can be seen in SAQA’s virtual galleries and print publications. Ulva Ugerup’s humorous portraits with a feminist focus, often completed with profound embroidered comments, are her hallmark. In addition to her beloved scraps, she applies whatever found objects she finds interesting and fitting to her portraits. Ugerup is educated as a librarian and served as such until her retirement. In 1990, she visited a traveling exhibition titled Contemporary Quilts USA. The exhibition, organized by Boston University, was on view in Denmark,
Iina Alho Joy Is Not Made to be a Crumb 30 x 13 inches (77 x 32 cm), 2021
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Katriina Flensburg Memento Vivere 73 x 69 inches (185 x 175 cm), 2020 photo by John Flensburg
Ulva Ugerup Nine Muses 34 x 30 inches (86 x 76 cm), 2006 photo by Wanda Ugerup
close to her Swedish home. She refers to the experience as unforgettable: “I still have the catalog, a gift from a dear friend who tailored dresses for the Danish Royal Family and gifted me with some of her leftover fabric. I still use small pieces of those fabrics in my work. And I have never forgotten the quilts I saw that day! Some of the artists were Susan Shie, Faith Ringgold, and Denise Mucci Furnish. The exhibition was an eye-opener for me because I realized that I was free to express myself in whatever way I ever wanted.” Ugerup is a dedicated juried artist member of SAQA. As a current member of SAQA’s Strategic Initiatives working group, I have been able to witness SAQA’s highly professional and committed work for increasing global knowledge about the genre of art quilts. The work has been increasingly successful and the results achieved are very much appreciated by SAQA members. However, some targeted action outside SAQA’s current reach is crucial to secure more see “Scandinavia” on page 90 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 9
John Lefelhocz brings new layers of meaning to quilt art by Pamela Reynolds
F
or years, John Lefelhocz’s wife tried to convince him to visit Quilt National, the prestigious juried exhibition held every two years not far from his home in Athens, Ohio. “She bothered me from probably ’92 to ’97,” says Lefelhocz, who at the time was making wooden tessellated sculptures, mostly because he needed wedding presents for friends and couldn’t afford to buy anything. “Then I finally walked in there and I looked
at it and thought, ‘Oh, this is completely different from what I thought it would be!’” Lefelhocz was swept away. He had expected to see traditional patterned fabric quilts similar to something his grandmother, who taught him to sew, might have made. Instead, he saw cutting-edge multidisciplinary mixed media works that were a mind-blowing mashup of sculpture, photography, and craft. Intrigued, Lefelhocz began to mull over the kind of quilt he might make if he were to try his hand at quilt making. The answer came as a sudden revelation that led him to create his first quilt. It was immediately
Money for Nothing 33 x 73 inches (82 x 182 cm), 1998
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Riders on the Storm 33 x 60 inches (82 x 150 cm), 2010
accepted into the very next edition of the biennial quilt show he had ignored for so many years. Money for Nothing (1998) was a monumental representation of a $100 bill made with nylon window screening, Domino sugar packets, mint-flavored dental floss, green paper, and plastic flies. Lefelhocz bonded the packets, still filled with sugar, to a base layer of nylon screen, then, using graphic markers, drew imagery derived right off the face of a C-note. Using floss, he stitched another layer of screening to his sugar-packeted base, finishing the piece with a sprinkling of plastic flies. He was simply following the directive of the Quilt National entry form encouraging submissions taking innovative approaches. “Fabric,” therefore, must not necessarily mean cloth. “Stitching” must not necessarily mean sewing with thread. The idea for the piece, he says, “came from me sitting in my kitchen on a summer day, looking out the window screening, and saying, ‘that window screening could be a fabric-like material.’ And then thinking, ‘What is that fabric-like material doing? Oh, it’s keeping the flies from getting in here.’ And then, ‘Well, why are the flies trying to get in here? They’re trying to get at where the food is.’ It snowballed into this whole kind of mix of, you know, how can I get this all tied together?” From that point forward, Lefelhocz was hooked. He added quilting to an artistic repertoire that already included sculpture, tessellations, cartography, signage,
and web design, all things he does in addition to working in the Cycle Path Bike Shop in Athens, Ohio, which he has run with his wife, Maxine, for the last 37 years. Athough Lefelhocz fell into quilting almost reluctantly, contemporary quilt art has brought his greatest recognition. He has now been included in Quilt National four times and has consequently developed a devoted following among both quilt makers and art lovers outside the quilt world. “It has opened up an enormous audience to me,” he says, describing the show as “the Oscars of the quilting world.” So, why all the attention? Perhaps it’s the ease with which Lefelhocz combines disparate elements in unlikely juxtapositions not so dissimilar from Robert Rauschenberg’s collage and assemblage “combines.” Like Raucschenberg, Lefelhocz incorporates found materials that have included anything that connects to an idea he has in mind, from bicycle chain links (Riders on the Storm, 2010) to energy bar wrappers (Ohio Star Bar, 2003) to aluminum roof flashing and weed whacker line (Air Time, 2003). Starting off with a single idea, Lefelhocz free-associates, letting one thought fluidly morph into the next in a stream-of-consciousness dream state. In fact, one might compare his creative process to dreaming on fabric. “I can really layer up on the meaning of all the stuff I’m putting together,” he says. The genius is that allowing surreally improbable materials to co-exist together SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 11
Match Schticks 73 x 62 inches (182 x 155 cm), 2002
in the same piece suggests some sort of message that is left entirely to the viewer to interpret. In Match Schticks (2002), a quilt based on the Double Wedding Ring pattern, Lefelhocz incorporates more than 3,000 mock kitchen “matches,” paper, nylon net, satin, cotton fabric, duck cloth, peachskin microfiber fabric, rope, and gemstone beads. We see repeated images of a wedding cake, a corset, and dollar bills in the shape of bow ties. We may not know exactly what it all means, but one can imagine that it alludes to restrictive traditional marital gender roles in which women are bound into a narrow role of looking pretty and keeping their figures while men are expected to bring home a paycheck. But that’s only one interpretation. “I’ll put things side by side and I don’t like to go too far to make A plus B equals C,” says Lefelhocz. “I’m
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trying to say here’s A plus B. What’s your C, D, E, and F coming off of it?” In recent years, his work has expanded into an entirely new realm. His latest quilts incorporate LED lights that change color, an idea he hit on after a curator asked him what he would create if he couldn’t fail. Thinking hard about her question on a drive back to Ohio from Kentucky, he distractedly ended up in Tennessee, but hit on a big idea: he wanted to make chameleon-like quilts of light. “That’s the latest thing that really kind of grabbed my socks and just rocked my world.” And so these days, when Lefelhocz isn’t at the bike shop (bike sales soared after the pandemic swept the world in 2020, requiring longer hours at the shop), he can be found in his studio puzzling out the opensource coding for programmable lights to be used in his work that emit colors in random unrepeated sequences. Quilts like Light Waves (2016) and Facet/ Nation (Break Point) (2018) are part of his latest foray into light. In Light Waves Lefelhocz co-opts the traditional Ocean Waves quilt pattern, altering the perspective, tilting the plane, and animating the whole thing with light-sequence flashing to suggest a wave beneath translucent fabric. A second light array uses a lighted motif referencing the sky at the horizon above the ocean. The title Light Waves is a sort of pun referring to both the physical characteristics of the ocean and the physics associated with illuminated lights. This latest investigation seems natural for an artist with a technical bent, who originally attended college see “Lefelhocz” on page 89
above:
Divine Floods of Light 42 x 41 x 3 inches (105 x 102 x 7.5 cm), 2019 (time lapse #1 and #2 with LED) right: detail, no LED
Light Waves 21 x 69 inches (52 x 172 cm), 2016
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What’s bugging your art quilts? by Margaret Geiss-Mooney
O
ne of the sources of damage and deterioration for art quilts is the activity of certain pests that use all of the components of the quilts as a source of food and as a nesting place. Both the physical condition and the visual condition are affected when the insect pests go through their life cycles when in contact with the surfaces of the textile (consuming the different materials, excreting on the quilt, hatching, pupating, etc.). Because of the usual complexity of an art quilt structure, damage is possible to both exterior faces as well as to any interior batting. This article covers advice about the more common insect pests found in the contiguous United States: • Clothes moths (webbing Tineola bisselliella; casemaking Tinea pellionella) • Carpet beetles (i.e. varied Anthrenus verbasci; furniture Anthrenus flavipes; black Attagenus unicolor) • Silverfish/firebrats (common Lepisma saccharina; gray or longtailed Ctenolepisma longicaudata; fourlined Ctenolepisma quadriseriata; firebrat Thermobia domestica). The insects’ life cycles occur more quickly in higher temperatures and humidity, when undisturbed, and when there is an abundance of quality food. When you are displaying and storing your art quilts and quilt-making supplies, avoid environments where the temperature rises above 75° F and the humidity remains above 70% and is not well controlled over time. Ideally, to provide a level of physical protection, protection from light, and prevention of easy insect access, store your quilt-making supplies in non- absorbent opaque containers (look on the bottom of a plastic container for the following symbols: 1 PETG; 2 HDPE; 5 PP) that seal well. For the clothes moth species and carpet beetle species mentioned, the larval/caterpillar stage does the irreversible physical damage by eating
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protein-based materials (wools, furs, hair, feathers, leather) as well as all other natural and synthetic fibers that have been stained/dirtied with human sweat, urine, and body oils, dropped food and beverages, or are in close contact with the preferred protein-based materials. When you are creating your quilt, consider using synthetic fibers (e.g., polyester, acrylic, nylon) for stuffing, paddings, felt, and yarns as these fibers are less attractive as food to insects. Make sure that your quilt-making supplies are clean and not dirtied with food or beverage debris, human sweat, urine, or body oils. Quilt artists with pets that have fur, hair, or feathers need to take special care to keep their bedding and cages very clean. Both the nymphs (immature stage) and adults of the silverfish/firebrat species graze cellulose-based media (e.g., cotton, linen, rayons, acetates, starches from natural sources, papers). Stiffening your fabrics with starches from natural sources can also attract these pests. The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to control, identify, monitor, and prevent this unwanted insect activity means you are not exposing yourself, your family, and your clients to pesticides and insecticides unnecessarily. Pesticide or insecticide residues deposited on your art quilt also damage and cause irreversible deterioration of the components of your work over time and when interacting with other sources of deterioration, such as strong light and high temperatures. In order to protect your own health, if past pest treatments are known to you or if there is an obvious smell of mothballs or plastic pest strips, wear nitrile gloves (do not re-use the gloves) whenever handling quilts that smell like mothballs (paradichlorobenzene PDB, naphthalene) or dichlorvos (No-pest strips™). If the smell is strong, also wear a P100/N95 rated facemask and eye goggles, and work in a space with
cross-ventilation air circulation. Do not store art quilts that smell of mothballs/pest strips with quilts that have no odor. Your home is the first layer of defense against insects. Make sure the weather-stripping on your doors and windows is in excellent condition and seals well. Window screens should be installed and well fitting. Any holes or voids in the house (e.g., around pipes under sinks, electric outlets) should be sealed to exclude insects and rodents. Thorough and regular housekeeping is needed in the spaces where your art quilts are stored and displayed. This includes vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner using a crevice tool in all cracks and areas where the carpeting or flooring meets walls, light fixtures, windowsills, underneath furniture, and pet bedding and cage areas. This housekeeping disturbs insect activity as well as providing a means of periodic inspection of the spaces and your artwork, so that any insect activity is detected more quickly. If insect activity is discovered in your spaces during vacuuming, the hoses and nozzles of the vacuum cleaner should be washed after use with an unscented liquid detergent and hot water solution, rinsed with hot water, and allowed to air dry, with the dust bag removed and discarded immediately to the outside trash inside a closed plastic bag. If you bring cut flowers from the garden into your home, carefully inspect all of the flower heads and submerge them immediately in cold water for 15 minutes to help remove any adult carpet beetles present. Any art quilts coming into your home (whether returning from an exhibition or a new purchase) should first be isolated for at least two weeks and then inspected before being stored and/or displayed in your home. As a quilt/textile conservator in the field of preservation, I often speak of “ideal versus reality” recommendations. On this topic, the ideal is that you install and monitor sticky board-type traps in
the locations where your art quilts are located now (where displayed, where stored, where created) after first carefully inspecting all sides of your finished quilts and those spaces where the works are displayed and created, to confirm that you do not already have unwanted insect activity and damage occurring. Once the sticky traps are placed, inspect them every two weeks in the beginning. If you are considering loaning your art quilts to others, ask them first for information about their ongoing pest monitoring. If insects are caught on sticky traps, identify what is caught and learn about the insect species mentioned above specifically using references and resources, such as: • Local/regional agriculture extension services (most have informational PDFs about different insect pests on their websites) • Local biology/entomology department at a local college or university • Web-based resources available from pest professional companies (e.g., Insects Limited Inc. insectslimited.com) and museum collections care websites (e.g., MuseumPests.net). In addition to providing identification information, these resources also offer different pest information sheets and images of the pests and damage, as well as videos. If you take images of the caught insects, include a common item such as a coin or a ruler to provide scale in the overall images as well as the close ups. Once the insect is identified as a clothes moth species, carpet beetle species, or silverfish/ firebrats, you can then purchase pheromones for the appropriate insect pest to bait the sticky traps and use these baited traps in your spaces to determine exactly where the insect activity is occurring. Species-specific pheromones are available from the company Insects Limited Inc. see “Bugging” on page 91 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 15
focus on commissions
An ideal commission by Katherine Knauer
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n 2017, I received an inquiry from collector Jack Walsh (John M. Walsh III), who was assembling a collection of art quilts with the theme The Times They Are A-Changin’, referencing the Bob Dylan song. Each invited artist, asked to make a quilt specifically for this collection, could reflect on whatever interpretation of the lyrics came to mind. At the time, I had completed a series of quilts begun in 1991 expressing my concerns about the environment. I was dismayed by public apathy toward environmental degradation and disgusted by politicians and corporate leaders who choose greed over responsibility. The commission presented an opportunity to completely reverse course. Instead of hectoring the viewer with cautionary tales of human-caused disaster, I decided to celebrate the beauty and splendor of the natural world and create quilts in a spirit of gratitude and love. The Beautiful Sea became the first quilt of this new series. My quilt was inspired by a design of sea creatures by Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) that was first fabricated as ceramic wall tiles in Casa Milà, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The design had also been cast in concrete for use as sidewalk tiles in Barcelona. By cutting 30-inch hexagonal stencils from Mylar for a tessellated pattern, I was able to handprint the design. The fabric is a heavyweight dark indigo cotton imported from Japan. To create a blurry, uneven underwater effect, I first wet the fabric sections prior to printing so the colors would bleed slightly. One by one, I taped each damp fabric section onto the wall of my shower, printed it with turquoise ink, and removed it to dry and be heat-set. The process was 16 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly
repeated with a second huge stencil and silver ink for each piece of fabric. When considering options for the actual quilting, I experimented by making samples of hand quilting with regular quilting thread as well as with sashiko thread but was not satisfied with either. I did have some trepidation about contacting Jack and asking him how he would feel if I invited expert long-arm quilter and artist Rachael Dorr to participate in this commission. I bolstered my proposal with research into historical quilt-making processes, particularly from Barbara Brackman’s Material Culture blog in which she debunks “the myth of one woman, one quilt.” Jack was receptive to the idea and gave me the go-ahead. Dorr’s intricately patterned and thematic long-arm stitching added so much more to the quilt than what I could have achieved by hand quilting. She calls one of her stitch patterns “pebbles,” but I saw it as bubbles. It was perfect for the underwater theme of this quilt. The culmination of this commission experience was the premiere exhibition at the Arnot Art Museum in Elmira, New York, of all 11 quilts made specifically for this collection, where they remained on public view from September 24, 2021 until January 29, 2022. Jack and his wife Martha hosted a reception and dinner for the artists involved and the museum staff. The guidelines for the commission specified no particular size, only that each of the 11 participating artists (who were anonymous to each other at that point) create a “masterpiece”— an impetus to rise to the occasion. The deadline was reasonable, but especially important to me was the excellent communication between Jack and myself. Any questions
I emailed to him received a prompt, thoughtful, and thorough reply. It was gratifying and important to be paid my asking price for the quilt. The artistic validation, respect, and camaraderie provided by Jack as a seasoned collector cannot be overstated. On reflection, this commission was one of the high points of my decades of creating and exhibiting quilts — truly a dream commission.
The Beautiful Sea 82 x 82 inches (208 x 208 cm), 2018 photo by Jean Von machine quilted by Rachael Dorr
Katherine Knauer has been making quilts since 1976. Selftaught, she has been designing fabrics that frequently reference news headlines and printing them for her quilts since 1984. Her work has been included in many publications and exhibitions, both nationwide and internationally.
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A visual dialogue in fiber art by Patty Kennedy-Zafred
Elaine Longtemps FLINT 8 x 29 x 65 inches (28 x 74 x 165 cm), 2017 photo by Paul Takeuchi
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n a premiering collaboration with the National Basketry Organization, Inc. (NBO), SAQA presents Art Evolved: Intertwined, the first in a series of exhibitions featuring SAQA art quilts partnered with other art mediums or art organizations. The sixty works selected for Intertwined, thirty each from NBO and SAQA members, represent contemporary forms of sculptural innovation and basketry, partnered with innovative art quilts that defy traditional boundaries and definition. Juried by a panel of three expert curators—Jane Sauer, Beth C. McLaughlin, and Lisa Ranello—Intertwined will open its tour at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana, on June 30, 2023. The pieces selected from the SAQA entries are innovative and technically challenging and often created in response to political or social issues. In response to the disastrous water supply situation in the city of Flint, Michigan, Elaine Longtemps created FLINT, a complex three-dimensional piece, which includes a lead pipe along with rope painted red and
yellow, representating the colors that appear on an MRI scan showing a brain poisoned with lead. Multiple strips of fabric are inkjet printed with text, relating the story of this devastating health catastrophe. Connie Rohman reflects on the Japanese internment during World War II, creating a fabric map of the Topaz Camp in Utah, where her mother was a teacher. Utilizing vintage kimono fabrics and silks, it presents the camp in a map-like format with blocks of twelve barracks, each holding up to 300 detainees. The red lines reference Japanese kintsugi, a concept of breaking and repair in ceramics, relating to the shattered lives of the internees, as well as their resilience and attempts to regain normal life following their release at the end of the war.
Connie Rohman Topaz Internment Camp 48 x 50 inches (122 x 127 cm), 2021
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Larry P. Clifford Lexigons 48 x 48 inches (122 x 122 cm), 2021
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Larry P. Clifford’s innovative uses of materials surprise and delight in Lexigons. His “BiblioQuilts” are created using salvaged, discarded books, including not only the book’s pages, but also covers and spines. Clifford breathes new life into these materials arranged in quilt-like forms. The addition of dyes, inks, and acrylic paints produces vibrant, intriguing artworks. Part of an ongoing series, these quilts are created for public spaces as part of Clifford’s work with underserved libraries and schools. By selling print reproductions and posters of his art quilts, he helps to generate funds for the purchase of new books. Mastery of technique engineered the making of the works selected for Intertwined, including Valerie Maser-Flanagan’s Up the Rabbit Hole #4. Having worked on this stylized series for several years, she uses free cuts and line direction to make quilts that create the illusion of three dimensions design on a flat surface.
Valerie Maser-Flanagan Up the Rabbit Hole #4 52 x 54 inches (131 x 137 cm), 2019 photo by Joe Ofria
Mita Giacomini began with a piece of indigo-dyed silk which was draped, sketched, and torn, then meticulously woven together with other fibers to reference the fluidity of textiles in Metatextiles. Intricate surface weaving and free-motion quilting on wool, silk, and other fibers create a rich luminosity in this diptych.
Mita Giacomini Metatextiles 18 x 39 inches (46 x 99 cm), 2018
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Dorothy McGuinness Variations on a Theme 4 14 x 8 x 9 inches (36 x 20 x 23 cm), 2022
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Works selected from entries of National Basketry Organization members create a compelling dynamic in this exhibition with sculptural works unique in concept and vision. Using watercolor paper, acrylic paint, and linen thread, Dorothy McGuinness continues her ongoing series of complex basket-weaving techniques in Variations on a Theme 4, which presents increasing numbers of basket strands with each iteration, and is constructed using five starts woven together in a diagonal twill. This piece engages the viewer from any angle with both color and concept. Clay Burnette listed coiling, imagination, and persistence as his techniques in Tipping Point. The volumetric form is suspended, creating a sense of movement as a fourth leg appears ready to touch the surface. Burnette dyed and painted longleaf pine needles, then coiled them with waxed linen threads to produce an object that appears to defy gravity and expectations. Reflecting on climate change, Carol Eckert created The Last Parrots, depicting a family of thick-billed birds that once flourished in Arizona, considered sacred among the ancient peoples of the Southwest. Coiling of cotton, linen, and wire results in three specimens displayed in a vintage drawer, as if in a museum setting.
Clay Burnette Tipping Point 21 x 14 x 18 (53 x 36 x 46 cm), 2021 photo by Rick Smoak
Art Evolved: Intertwined will travel to additional venues over the next two years, including the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Art Museum in 2023-2024 and the Fuller Craft Museum in 2025. This provocative and inspiring exhibition is certain to delight audiences, showcasing the best of contemporary art quilts and basketry. Juror Beth C. McLaughlin says, “Both the art quilts and the basketry entries affirm the ongoing vibrancy of the fiber field and the ardent passion of its makers.” Patty Kennedy-Zafred is a quilt artist, printmaker, avid dyer, and writer. Her prize- winning work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is held in both public and private collections. Residing in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, she is an active member of multiple Pittsburgh art organizations.
Carol Eckert The Last Parrots 9.5 x 14.5 inches (24 x 37 cm), 2019 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 23
artists to watch
Anne Bellas Nantes, France Anne Bellas makes art quilts full of light and joy informed by her own innate color intuition. Her passion is to create and to deliver a message of wellbeing for the world. “ Artists to watch” feature stories are edited by Diane Howell
The beginning
Voisinage nocturne (Neighborhood at Night) 32 x 24 inches (80 x 60 cm), 2022
I discovered patchwork while on a trail walk with my husband across France in 2015, the year I retired. The woman who hosted us had beautiful traditional patchwork bedspreads in every room. When I came home, I started making a quilt from a magazine pattern. Then, I made one for each of my sons. After the third one, I stopped. Traditional quilting was too limiting and not creative enough for me. Fortunately, I discovered art quilts while browsing Pinterest pictures. I dropped rules and rulers and jumped into the medium.
Colorful style I’m not highly skilled at drawing and painting. I fear paintbrushes because once the mark is made, you cannot reverse it. Working with fabric is a slower process that gives me time to ponder, try, and retry ideas on the design wall before I sew. I have strong emotional attachments to color. Some I use more than others, such as yellow-orange, red, and blue. But I love all of them. Sometimes I find them so beautiful that I could eat them for breakfast!
Window views #6—Amoureuse (In Love) 16 x 12 inches (40 x 30 cm), 2021 24 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly
Since I lack formal art training aside from books, videos, and a couple of workshops, my strongest tool is my color intuition. It helps me translate my emotion into fabric. I need the freedom of shape, design, and color to express my feelings, which is why I mainly create abstracts. Landscapes and architecture influence me, and I’m interested in depicting the world at large. But what I mean or imagine is not the most important part. I want to give my viewers enough freedom to be able to see what they relate to.
Pieces in play I started as a piecer, and although I tried other techniques and use them once in a while, I remain a piecer at heart. I like sewing the fabrics together. I like the feel of it, even when I have to unstitch. I use a large design wall on which I might have five or six projects at various creative stages. I dye my fabrics with Procion dyes, and the fabrics I use are my great-grandmother’s and grandmother’s dowry linens.
Hommage à ma grand-mère (Homage to my Grandmother) 47 x 34 inches (118 x 84 cm), 2022 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 25
#1—Cathédrale des 1000 soleils (Cathedral of 1000 Suns) 47 x 33 inches (118 x 82 cm), 2021
I have a whole stack of white cotton and linen sheets and tablecloths, most of them embroidered with their initials. I cut them into pieces the size of fat quarters and dye them or screen-print them. These fabrics give special meaning to my quilts, since they have a long history. They were made some 130 years ago and were washed hundreds of times.
Series work My first series was named Rainbow because I wanted to repeat the same pattern in different colors to determine the feelings each would evoke. Last year, I started my Window Views series. Each piece represented a window view with a different mood. I imagined each viewer as a narrator who saw a different landscape that related to that person’s history, culture, and feelings. This year I started two new series: Cathedrals and Neighborhoods. I have made five quilts in the Cathedrals series and have several others planned in different color ways. They are a symbol of hope, humanity, and the possibility of being open to cosmic energy and spirituality. Neighborhoods is a way to show the diversity of people and housing. In a new-to-me technique, I am using an iPad and various apps to modify images of windows. I then have the results printed onto fabric by Spoonflower, a print-on-demand vendor. The benefits of working in a series are matter-of-fact. I’m able to develop a subject, to get deeper into the matter, to try different and various color atmospheres. It’s very rare that I make a one-ofa-kind piece. I need the variety. This process is like reuniting a family.
Voisinage ideal (Ideal Neighborhood) 24 x 24 inches (60 x 60 cm), 2022
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La lumière vaincra (Light will prevail) 42 x 34 inches (105 x 85 cm), 2020
Studio time I spend many hours in my studio daily. It’s a very small studio, just one 90-square-foot bedroom, where I have a cutting table on rollers so that I can access my fabric shelves, my sewing machine, and my computer. I have a design wall space despite the fact that the space is small. But I’m happy working in it because it’s my room.Art quilts are a passion and I’m ready to sacrifice my free time now that I‘m retired. I am an early bird, so I start by cooking both lunch and dinner. The morning hours in the studio are often devoted to the creative process: trying different compositions on my design wall, sewing (or unstitching) some pieces together. I take an hour break for lunch with my husband, then a one-hour walk. I return to my studio and work the rest of the afternoon. After an early dinner, I spend another couple of hours doing easy things, such as basting quilt layers or hand sewing a binding. At night I often dream of new ideas which I hope to do the next morning.
Looking ahead Some artists mean to show the problems in the world, be they social, political, or environmental. They want to make people more aware through their art. My goal goes in another direction. I see my art as a counterbalance to the misery, pressures, worries, and poverty in the world around us. I use colors in a therapeutic way so that viewers experience wellbeing. This is why I use mostly bright, joyful colors. I would love for my art quilts to be shown in public places where people look for help: hospitals, clinics, doctors’ or lawyers’ offices, churches, and the like. www.annebellas.com
Grande chaleur (Heat Wave) 21 x 13 inches (53 x 33 cm), 2019
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artists to watch
Ildiko Polyak Budapest, Hungary An abstract style and a committed approach to surface design make Ildiko Polyak a dynamic European artist. Her next collection promises to be a journey to enjoy.
photo by Andras Szabo
Art quilt discovery I began quilting in 1998. At first, I made two to three bed quilts per year, but I became increasingly bored with the repetitive nature of traditional patchwork. In 2005, I purchased a book by Jan Krentz and saw that there were other kinds of quilts to create. This was eye-opening, because I come from a country with no quilting tradition and the internet was not yet a go-to resource tool. A year later, I discovered Procion dyes, which really changed my art practice. I tried every possible product or process that I came across, but my orderly personality took over. Today, I prefer to make abstract quilts where handdyed fabrics and quilting designs play major roles. I often add text in the background or as embellishment. Between 2016 and 2019, I did a lot of hand stitching on plant-dyed fabrics, which was therapy after losing three loved ones in quick succession. I have mostly abandoned the handwork, but my love for natural dyes and eco-printing remains.
Materials and techniques I use mostly cotton or silk fabrics, which usually begin their lives as white sheets. I dye them using Procion dye or botanicals and apply other surface design techniques. A particularly attractive piece of fabric is the starting point for many of my quilts. I also add other materials, such as metal foil, nonwovens, or printable fabric sheets. Color is important in my work. I love bright, strong colors, even in garments. I love creating fabrics, so much so that I mostly work on them without any particular idea in mind, although some are created for specific projects. I love indigo dyeing, particularly stitched shibori, and I usually create a batch every summer. I also love screen-printing, whether traditional or breakdown. I have a Thermofax machine which I use to make stencils to add text or images to a work in progress.
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Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder 29 x 53 inches (73 x 137 cm), 2022
Irrespective of Skin Color 51 x 28 inches (131 x 72 cm), 2021
Process in play For a quilt, I need an idea before anything else. What do I want to convey? What would I like my viewers to feel? If I cannot answer this question, I usually fail. Once I have the idea, I start searching in my fabric stash for patterns, colors, or color combinations. Depending on the design, I sometimes have a fullscale pattern, but usually it’s a small sketch. One thing I always decide, more or less in advance, is the role of quilting. Can I use quilting to add meaning to the piece, or will it be filler? Will it have a prominent role or be an extra on the stage? Once the top is ready, I usually rest it on the wall for several days. Whenever I pass by, I consider whether it is enough, or if I should add something, or perhaps take something away. I am not particularly fond of picking out stitches, but I do so if necessary. I also ponder the quilting pattern and the thread colors. I like quite dense quilting. The final decision,
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The End of the Golden Age 55 x 43 inches (141 x 106 cm), 2021
of course, is the finishing. Should I make a binding or opt for facing?
Inspiration abounds I love nature and enjoy walking and hiking. Particularly since the COVID-19 lockdowns, I am more interested in humans, their feelings, behaviors, and actions, as well as artificial structures. I consider myself a fairly international woman, but I’m incurably Hungarian. I often draw inspiration from the lives of famous Hungarians, well-known poems, and popular songs. I am aware that this limits the appreciation of my work, but I need a strong emotional bond to the theme. My series are more like collections. I first made a collection of eighteen quilts, each inspired by eighteen poems by my favorite Hungarian poet, Attila Jozsef. I also made his portrait and named it Apparation. My plant-dyed, handstitched pieces are entitled Close to Nature, and they were shown together in 2019. In the past three years, the phrase, “The journey is the destination,” has been in my thoughts. Some of the recent pieces reference my travels, my other hobby, while others explore the meaning of life and the life I have had so far. Is it important what legacy I leave behind, or should I be more concerned about the journey?
Next steps
The Future Behind Her 44 x 32 inches (112 x 80 cm), 2021
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The journey collection entitled Camino was on exhibit in a major art gallery in Budapest in the autumn of 2022. While I’m active on social media, I normally do not show my final quilts, a few process photos only, so the eighteen new quilts on the walls were a moment of
Natural Path 80 x 45 inches (204 x 114 cm), 2021
truth. With the exhibition over, I have cleaned up my studio and cleared my mind, and I seek a new broad theme to explore for the next couple of years. In addition to my personal practice, I am a member of three art quilt groups, one Hungarian and two international. This involvement forces me to explore topics and techniques that I would not approach otherwise.
Missing Him 57 x 30 inches (144 x 76 cm), 2020
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artists to watch
Daphne Taylor Montville, Maine Daphne Taylor creates art quilts imbued with a commanding minimalist aesthetic. Thoughtful, meditative stitching enriches these abstract works with powerful emotion, inviting viewers to study her intricate lines drawn with needle and thread.
Quilt Drawing #26 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm), 2021 photo by Adi Alwar
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Quilt Drawing #24 38 x 38 inches (97 x 97 cm), 2020 photo by Kevin Johnson
Finding joy Drawing, painting, and the joy of making have always been a part of who I am. It is a first language that influences how I lead my life. I learned to sew at an early age. I sewed dresses of muslin, dyed them purple, and created clay buttons to adorn them. The blue chambray work shirt became an early backdrop for embroidered compositions, which led to denim skirts with appliqué and embroidery. During my formal art studies, each season I would take a week to sew new clothes. I remember thinking how contented and fulfilled I was working with thread and needle. Yet, it was not art. One summer when I went out to paint a landscape each day, I bought a bag of fabric scraps at a yard sale. I began to cut and compose with those fabrics, sewing them into large collages—quilt tops. I had no knowledge of quilt making, but I found that the creative process was the same as when cutting, composing, and gluing with paper. It was a new canvas, playful and fulfilling. The following days I would go out to paint, but realized that I wanted to be back in the studio with fabric. This inner
Quilt Drawing #25 - String of Breaths 59 x 34 inches (150 x 86 cm), 2021 photo by Adi Alwar
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Quilt Drawing #20 49 x 47 inches (124 x 119 cm), 2016 photo by Kevin Johnson
conversation with self about what I wanted to do was a huge, honest moment. I spent the rest of that summer in the studio sewing fabric collages. One of the greatest feelings is finding one’s medium as an artist.
Thread sketches While I’m known for my art quilts, I love to draw. Drawing is such a primal act for me; it is a place where I am most at home. In choosing to work in the quilt tradition, I aspire to bring drawing into that work. I keep sketchbooks to record life around me using a black pen. The use of black pen honors the language of line that I value in my drawings. The sketches give me a place to study my own mark making and to ponder how to use it with thread, needle, and fabric. My sketches capture the mundane, most often at the moment when light and darkness are at play. To draw daily is a contemplative practice in observation and perception. These sketchbooks document my life and are a major inspiration for my quilt work. In the past few years, I’ve tried to make time for small watercolor studies as well. The use of brush stroke and color offer the opportunity to study how color works and to enjoy the fluidity of a brush. There’s a spontaneity in my drawings and paintings that I don’t have when making a quilt, which easily takes a year to complete.
Quiet inspiration
Quilt Drawing #21 57 x 50 inches (145 x 127 cm), 2017 photo by Kevin Johnson
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I have always been interested in creating works that express great beauty and are full of deep silence. I wish to give the viewer an experience that pulls them into a contemplative realm. My Quaker upbringing — sitting in the silence of meeting for worship — is an early influence. I truly love the process of settling into my studio each day, knowing that I will be sitting quietly to sew, my hand finding a calm, rhythmic motion. I see my work as carrying the spirit of minimalism while being abstract. That said, my love of ornamentation, found in tiny color fragments
placed in borders or in quilting patterns, can challenge the pureness of minimalism. As I create each quilt, I always reassess my design decisions. It is here that the exploration of simplicity and minimalism reigns. My most recent quilts are made from whole cloth, silk fabric that I hand embroider and hand quilt. I choose to embroider shapes using repetitive lines. This act of sewing is very similar to filling in a shape with a pencil. I was intent on creating solid-colored shapes in early quilts, but in one quilt I saw the beauty of chiaroscuro — where a contrast of light and shade occur in drawing and painting. The delight of experiencing this moment through thread opened a door for future work.
Series approach For the past twenty-two years, I have labeled my quilts as part of the Quilt Drawing series. It just seems right, as my main goal is to explore the notion of drawing and to create beautiful, quiet quilts. Most often the quilt being worked on is reflective of things that are of interest and importance to me at that moment. I always have a series of small textile works in process. These small works are twelve inches or smaller. Here, I explore techniques and possibilities for future quilts. Their size allows for greater intimacy with the threads and scraps of fabric I’m working with. Their themes echo what my quilts are about and I see them as my sketchbook of textile studies. I’m always working on small pieces as I can take such work with me anywhere. Having been taught to value limitations, I keep a small bag ready with fabric scraps, scissors, and black, white, and gold threads—the essentials. When not near my studio, I’m always engaged in my work in a serious, happy way. Such times give me ideas on how to push my quilts into a deeper realm. While I would never have imagined spending my days hand sewing for hours, I’m most content and curious to see where I can push the hand-sewn line. Silk has a luminous painterly quality. When I’m surrounded by bolts of this shimmering fabric, I see whole-cloth canvases, anticipating my sewn line.
Quilt Drawing #27 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm), 2022 photo by Kevin Johnson
Quilt Drawing #19 47 x 45 inches (119 x 114), 2015 photo by Kevin Johnson
www.daphnetaylorquilts.com
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artists to watch
Valerie Wilson Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada When you view a Valerie Wilson portrait, you feel you’ve met that person somewhere in time. Realistic details are added through a subtle fold of cloth, a sparkle in the eye or a carefully staged setting—the magical elements of fiber art.
Pictorial journey I’ve always liked crafts, including making clothing, macramé, folk art painting, and hand embroidery. I started quilting around 2000, making traditional quilts with a friend. I soon tired of quarter-inch seams and straight lines. When I saw pictorial quilts at the Quilt Canada juried show, I realized that I wanted to create similar works. The concept of creating a three-dimensional look in fabric intrigued me, as did the freedom to create whatever look I desired. I wanted to become an artist.
The past is present My favorite subject, by far, is people. My current portrait series is based on people from the past. I source
Valerie Wilson with French Wonder
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vintage photos to use as inspiration. The history behind the images adds to the story. Viewers often reminisce about a particular time or person when they see my quilts. Previously, I did a series based on children’s moods using my niece and nephew as subjects. These were smaller works with fewer details than are possible in larger pieces. When I’m not doing portraits, I switch to landscapes (sometimes with people in them) and flowers.
Tactile treasure I’ve always loved working with fabric because of its tactile qualities and its ability to create a three-dimensional look in a two-dimensional medium. By carefully choosing fabrics, I can mimic the look of linen, fur, straw, weeds, grass, trees, and more. In portraits, the right choice of fabrics and values creates the looks of folds and draping in clothes or the planes of the face and hands, contributing to a realistic appearance. I can find inspiration in a pleasant afternoon spent looking through photographs to see which ones spark my interest. Sometimes it’s something I see in nature, and here photography helps me to capture a scene to interpret later in fabric. When creating a piece, I prefer to use raw-edge fusible appliqué, which allows quick adhesion of pieces to each other or to a background with the heat of an iron. This approach also makes it easier to rework an area, as compared to needle-turned appliqué, where individual pieces are handsewn. I dye my own fabrics so that I can create colors that are not available in commercial fabrics, especially for skin tones. I like to use a combination of commercial and hand-dyed fabrics. I’ll use all forms of cloth: hand-dyed or commercial cotton fabric, cheesecloth, sheers, velvet, or whatever gives me the desired look. I also use inks and colored pencils to add details that are difficult to add with stitching. I don’t precisely copy the images that my work is based on. I use them for inspiration and enjoy deciding what materials to use. When I did a commissioned portrait for a colleague, I used a photo of her husband taken when he was in the
Ed 25 x 21 inches (64 x 53 cm), 2016
Fanny 25 x 18 inches (64 x 46 cm), 2015
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The Boys in Blue 50 x 35 inches (127 x 89 cm), 2015
Royal Air Force during WWII. I sourced some militaria to add to the portrait, entitled Ed. This included the RAF wings for his uniform, the uniform button, and the badge for his cap, as well as a somewhat ragged uniform jacket that was taken apart and used for his jacket in the portrait.
Style defined My style is realism, and I consider myself a storyteller. I bring out interesting aspects that I see — the person’s stance, clothing, or facial expression, for example. I want the viewer to feel as though the subject could walk out of the quilt. If it’s a landscape, I want viewers to feel as if they can walk into the scene. My favorite part of creating a piece is the beginning steps. I start with a photo and, depending on the quality of the photo, some drawing is involved to create a pattern. The photo needs to be clear and in focus so that it can be enlarged without losing quality. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements to posterize the photo, emphasizing the various values. The next step is to create a pattern from the altered image, which involves decisions about what elements to leave in, take out, or modify. This can be a lengthy process, as I also decide what values to use in each area. Once the pattern is complete, I choose fabrics. I pull out lots of different fabrics and sort them by value. Occasionally, a particular fabric doesn’t work and I need to adapt my plan. Fusing the fabrics in place comes next. Once everything is fused securely, I stitch around all the pieces and later add detail with more stitching and the final quilting.
Lone Sentinel 36 x 24 inches (91 x 61 cm), 2018
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Long Forgotten 24 x 36 inches (61 x 91 cm) 2018
What’s next? My initial goal was to create good fabric portraits. Then it was to teach what I had learned to other people. I love passing on my knowledge to others. My current teaching focus is on portraits, although I’m adding more general technique courses. About a year ago, I started a group called the Portraits in Fabric Membership. The majority of the resources available to this group are hosted in a private section on my teaching platform. In addition, there’s a Facebook group for regular interaction and biweekly live Q&A sessions. This group was initially designed to provide support for people creating fabric portraits. However, the direction now seems to be evolving into art quilt techniques in general. It’s an exciting time! I’m moving more into teaching online and less in person. My involvement in the international fiber art group 20Perspectives with four themes a year keeps me busy. At the same time, I’m planning to try some different techniques and materials to spur my growth as an artist. www.valeriewilsonartist.com
Maple Keys 24 x 12 inches (61 x 30 cm), 2017
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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 through exhibitions, publications, and professional development opportunities. We host an annual conference, publish a quarterly Journal, and sponsor multiple exhibitions each year.
www.saqa.com
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Joanne Alberda Sioux Center, Iowa, United States www.joannealberda.com
Evening Light 71 x 27 inches (180 x 69 cm) | 2021 private collection
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Portfolio Ludmila Aristova Brooklyn, New York, United States www.ludmilaaristova.com
Byzantium 36 x 49 inches (91 x 124 cm) | 2014 photo by Jean Vong
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Alice Beasley Oakland, California, United States www.alicebeasley.com
Fandango 42 x 68 inches (107 x 173 cm) | 2022 private collection | photo by Sibila Savage Photography
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Portfolio Nancy Billings Coral Gables, Florida, United States nancybdesigns.com
Hanging By A Thread IV 40 x 60 inches (102 x 152 cm) | 2021 private collection | photo by Fabricio Cacciatore
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Arlene L. Blackburn Union Hall, Virginia, United States www.arleneblackburn.com
Wildflower Meadow 19 x 17 inches (47 x 43 cm) | 2022 private collection
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Portfolio Susan Brubaker Knapp Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States www.susanbrubakerknapp.com
Fern Dance 62 x 44 inches (157 x 110 cm) | 2021
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Joke Buursma Kilsheelan Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland www.jokebuursma.weebly.com
Light is Coming Through 49 x 35 inches (123 x 89 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Jette Clover Lier, Antwerpen, Belgium www.jetteclover.com
Leaving a Mark 40 x 42 inches (102 x 107 cm) | 2021 photo by Pol Leemans
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Shannon M. Conley Moore, Oklahoma, United States www.shannonconleyartquilts.com
Glycocalyx 48 x 48 x 18 inches (122 x 122 x 46 cm) | 2021
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Portfolio Lenore Crawford Midland, Michigan, United States www.lenorecrawford.com
Two Red Roses 37 x 27 inches (94 x 69 cm) | 2021
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Sandy Curran Newport News, Virginia, United States www.sandycurran.com
VOTE 58 x 49 inches (147 x 124 cm) | 2021
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Portfolio Denise A. Currier Mesa, Arizona, United States deniseacurrier.com
Rhythm Incline – Botanical Journey 40 x 27 inches (102 x 69 cm) | 2008 private collection
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Jennifer Day San Antonio, Texas, United States jdaydesign.com
De Colores 20 x 30 inches (51 x 76 cm) | 2021
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Portfolio Giny Dixon Danville, California, United States www.ginydixon.com
Sticks and Silk 50 x 8 x 8 inches (127 x 20 x 20 cm) | 2021 photo by Sibila Savage
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Sarah Lykins Entsminger Ashburn, Virginia, United States www.studioatripplingwaters.com
White’s Ferry II 24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Linda Filby-Fisher Overland Park, Kansas, United States
We Rise 3 Medicine Wheel Series 14 x 11 inches (36 x 28 cm) | 2021
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Lisa Flowers Ross Boise, Idaho, United States www.lisaflowersross.net
Leaf Stack #39 45 x 36 inches (114 x 91 cm) | 2020
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Portfolio Carole Ann Frocillo Burbank, California, United States caroleannfrocillo.com
Just For Today – I Am Enough 20 x 16 inches (51 x 41 cm) | 2021 private collection
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Mita Giacomini Dundas, Ontario, Canada mitagiacomini.com
Dance Lessons 39 x 39 inches (99 x 99 cm) | 2021 private collection
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Portfolio Cara Gulati San Rafael, California, United States caragulati.com
Shell Swirl 34 x 34 inches (85 x 85 cm) | 2021 photo by Black Cat Photography
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Lynne G. Harrill Flat Rock, North Carolina, United States www.lynneharrill.weebly.com
Triple Play 20 x 37 inches (51 x 93 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Jaynie Himsl Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada www.jayniehimsl.ca
May I Have Your Attention Trees – Orange 30 x 18 inches (75 x 46 cm) | 2022
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Jean Howard Auxvasse, Missouri, United States www.jeanhowardquilts.com
Tangled Roots 61 x 61 inches (154 x 154 cm) | 2020
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Portfolio Patty Kennedy-Zafred Murrysville, Pennsylvania, United States www.pattykz.com
Spirits Rising 71 x 30 inches (180 x 76 cm) | 2021 photo by Larry Berman
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Catherine Kleeman Ruxton, Maryland, United States www.cathyquilts.com
Counting the Days 36 x 36 inches (91 x 91 cm) | 2018
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Portfolio Irene Anna Koroluk Taroona, Tasmania, Australia www.irenekoroluk.com
Hidden Autumn 26 x 29 inches (65 x 74 cm) | 2018 private collection | photo by Bruce Champion
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Deborah Kuster Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, United States www.deborahkuster.com
Same But Different 34 x 34 inches (86 x 86 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Amelia Leigh Southwick, West Sussex, United Kingdom amelialeightextiles.co.uk
And They Tried to Divide Us 45 x 38 inches (115 x 97 cm) | 2020 photo by Katie Vandyck
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Hsin-Chen Lin Tainan City, Taiwan, Republic of China www.linhsinchen.idv.tw
Life Journey of Flowers II: Vitality 35 x 35 inches (90 x 90 cm) | 2018
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Portfolio Salley Mavor Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States www.weefolkstudio.com
Birds of Beebe Woods 30 x 24 x 1 inches (76 x 61 x 3 cm) | 2012
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Elizabeth Michellod-Dutheil Le Châble, Valais, Switzerland www.elizabeth-michellod-dutheil.ch
Aerterna 47 x 31 inches (120 x 80 cm) | 2020
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Portfolio Jo-Ann Morgan Surfside Beach, South Carolina, United States www.picturingblackpower.com
Elegy for Elijah 50 x 41 inches (127 x 104 cm) | 2021
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Kathy Nida El Cajon, California, United States www.kathynida.com
Coronawood 81 x 77 inches (206 x 196 cm) | 2020 photo by Gary Conaughton
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Portfolio Laura Petrovich-Cheney Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States www.lauracheney.com
The Light in Your Eyes 30 x 30 inches (76 x 76 cm) | 2021
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Margaret A. Phillips Cos Cob, Connecticut, United States
Art Appreciation 10 x 7 inches (25 x 18 cm) | 2016
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Portfolio Heather Pregger Fort Worth, Texas, United States www.heather-quiltz.com
Driftwood 60 x 45 inches (152 x 114 cm) | 2022
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Sue Reno Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, United States www.suereno.com
Stellar Nurseries 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm) | 2021
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Portfolio Connie Rohman Los Angeles, California, United States www.connierohman.com
Reaching 27 x 22 inches (69 x 56 cm) | 2020 photo by Mark Harvey
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Alison Schwabe Montevido, Uruguay www.alisonschwabe.com
Sunburnt Country 16 x 24 inches (40 x 60 cm) | 2021
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Portfolio Teresa Shippy Santa Ana, California, United States www.teresashippy.com
1957 Austin Healey (Front) 29 x 22 inches (74 x 56 cm) | 2018 private collection
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Bonnie J. Smith Port Hueneme, California, United States www.bonniejofiberarts.com
Shadow Play 34 x 38 inches (86 x 97 cm) | 2021 photo by Blue
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Portfolio Joan Sowada Gillette, Wyoming, United States www.joansowada.com
Looking at Light 46 x 41 inches (117 x 104 cm) | 2021 photo by Tim Williams
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Linda Syverson Guild Bethesda, Maryland, United States www.lindasyversonguild.com
Waste Not Want Not 38 x 38 inches (97 x 97 cm) | 2020 photo by Mark Guild
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Portfolio Gwyned Trefethen Cohasset, Massachusetts, United States www.gwynedtrefethen.com
Sunrise Over the Atlantic 42 x 59 inches (107 x 150 cm) | 2021 photo by Dana B. Eagles
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Jean Wells Sisters, Oregon, United States jeanwellsquilts.com
Quiet Moment 47 x 33 inches (118 x 83 cm) | 2022 photo by Gary Alvis
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Portfolio Marianne R. Williamson Mountain Brook, Alabama, United States movinthreads.com
Winter Light 54 x 30 inches (137 x 76 cm) | 2022 photo by Gregory Case Photography
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Zara Zannettino Highbury, South Australia, Australia
Intriguing Iridescence 16 x 16 inches (41 x 41 cm) | 2020
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Portfolio Pamela Zave Summit, New Jersey, United States zaveartquilts.com
Roll 31 x 53 inches (79 x 135 cm) | 2018 photo by Yolanda V. Fundora
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Textile Talks from p. 3 yurts and apartments and employed in weddings and feasts. One of my favorite episodes is Comfort of Textiles in a Time of Need, in which Jo Andrews is interviewed by Amy Meissner for the Surface Design Association. Andrews, originator of the Haptic and Hue podcast, is a reporter who has travelled the world to find and share stories about cloth. Andrews was moved by photos of Ukrainian refugees carrying plastic bags of their belongings, mostly textiles, and it launched her into deeper research into the many ways we find comfort in cloth, especially during times of crisis.
Lefelhocz from p. 12 There are many more episodes to experience, and thousands of aficionados are accessing Textile Talks online to explore the vast world of fabric, textile art, and clothing. To access Textile Talks, visit SAQA.com/textiletalks. Pam Weeks’ love for quilts began at the time of the United States Bicentennial in 1976. She made traditional and then art quilts, but soon fell in love with antique quilts and now researches quilts and women’s history. She is co-curator with Sandra Sider of an art quilt exhibition and book titled Deeds Not Words: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage. Weeks’s other books are Civil War Quilts and Portable Patchwork. She is the Binney Family Curator at the New England Quilt Museum.
planning to major in engineering but later switched to mixed media. The future promises even more exploration, since Lefelhocz revels in asking questions and pushing the boundaries. “My new works with the LED lights behind them are starting to make me ask questions about, well, what if it wasn’t lights? What if it was little fans?” John Lefelhocz’s website is Juxtapassion.com. The word, he says, is a combination of “juxta,” meaning adjacent or close to, and “passion,” the resulting strong emotions, excitement or zeal. Pamela Reynolds (www.pamreynolds.com) is an artist, visual arts writer, and author of the book Revamp: A Memoir of Travel and Obsessive Renovation.
Hudson River Valley Fiber Art Workshops Create, experiment, and learn with us at our historic Victorian property in New York’s inspiring Hudson Valley.
2023 Workshops Apr 2-8 Apr 12-16 Apri 16-22 Apr 23-29 Apr 30-May 6 Jul 30-Aug 5 Aug 6-12 Aug 13-19 Aug 20-26 Aug 27-Sep 2 Oct 8-14 Oct 15-21 Oct 22-28 Nov 1-5 Nov 5-11 Dec 10-16
Sue Spargo Sandra Mollon Sue Stone Denise Labadie Sarah Ann Smith Joe Cunningham Lisa Binkley Cindy Grisdela Deborah Fell Jane Sassaman Katie Pasquini Masopust Sue Benner Lesley Riley Jen Duffin Marjolaine Arsenault Susan Lenz
www.fiberartworkshops.com | info@artworkshops.com | (518) 966-5219 | @HudsonRiverArt
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Scandinavia from p. 9
Upcoming Exhibits at RMQM
positive development. Organizing and structuring work for reaching art and cultural institutions, especially their key decision makers internationally, should be strongly considered if we are to establish a global presence for the genre of art quilts in the realm of fine art.
July 17—October 14, 2023 January 16—April 16, 2023
RMQM Recent Acquisitions
Lea McComas | A Stitch in Time
Moments Captured in Fabric & Thread
Sharon Schlotzhauer | Quilt Art Joy of the Journey
Art Quilters with Altitude | Elevated Threads The Art Quilters with Altitude present a group exhibit entitled Elevated Threads as a way to ponder how their art helped them redirect their focus and elevated their sense of joy in 2020.
April 17—July 15, 2023 Logs on a Roll | Log Cabin Quilts
Quilters created their take on log cabin blocks with modern, contemporary, and traditional versions on an old classic.
Jane Mathews | Paper Quilts Too!
Katriina Flensburg is a Swedish-Finnish textile artist and educator based in Uppsala, Sweden, and a juried artist member of SAQA. She studied American quilting while living in the Bay Area of California and continued her textile studies in Sweden at Uppsala University. She established her studio, authored an educational book about American quilting, and started the Quilt Academy of Sweden, which today hosts an international artist residency named Art’n Fiber.® Flensburg’s work has been repeatedly included in prestigious juried and invitational international exhibitions. She is represented in public and private collections, including the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, and featured in numerous publications.
Junk Mail to Works of Art
October 16, 2023—January 13, 2024
19th Century Patchwork Divas Reproduction of Historic Quilts
Diana Fox | Outside the Frame’s Edge Art Quilting at a New Level
January 15—April 19, 2024 Men at Work! This is a call for entry with
Log Cabin: The 100K Pieces Project
Amy Pabst Solo Exhibit Amy’s amazing quilts in miniature giving log cabin blocks a new modern twist.
more information available at www.rmqm.org
Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum 200 Violet St. #140 Golden, CO 80401 www.rmqm.org - 303-215-9001
Shared Foundation by Marisa Marquez
SPIRITUALITY • PEACE • HEALING • GRIEF • INSPIRATION • JOY
2022 Traveling Exhibit
Visit our website for dates and locations throughout the USA SPONSORED BY:
Sacred Threads Seeking New Leadership Interested? Visit the website to learn more.
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Bugging from p. 15 In reality, the insect activity you might notice could include small adult moths fluttering or running about, larva or caterpillars crawling on the quilt, dead adult moth, small beetles crawling about, small beetles, alive and dead, in light fixtures and in windowsills, small pellets or frass (excreted residue); fiber debris, casings/cocoons/ cast skins present on quilt surface or in locations close to the quilt), and/or physical damage to your art quilt, such as grazing of wool pile surfaces, losses or holes in the quilt components. In order to identify the active insects, collect samples of the live and dead insects, debris, and pupal casings/ cocoons/cast skins in separate small, clear containers that can be closed (a small clear drinking glass covered with a piece of plastic wrap works well). Take images of the collected sample (including a coin or a ruler for scale), overall as well as close ups. Also take images of any damage noted, indicating scale. Using the previously mentioned references and resources, identify the culprits.
by cleaning, by freezing, or by oxygen anoxia. Cleaning your art quilt (after testing) using water or dry-cleaning solvent may not be possible if the piece is physically fragile and/or has components that are not fast in water or the solvent. Freezing must be done within appropriate parameters not easily available in home freezers and oxygen anoxia is not a practical DIY option. The company Preservation Arts in Oakland, California, offers oxygen anoxia treatment services for quilt owners. If you prefer, you can contact a professional conservator to assist you by using the free online referral service offered by the American Institute for Conservation or entering the phrase “Find A Conservator” in your search engine. The conservator can provide
such services as examination, vacuuming, freezing, wet cleaning (after testing), and repair of damage. [Ed. note: The reader may not hold SAQA and/or Margaret Geiss-Mooney responsible or liable for any consequential, special, or incidental losses or damages by following the advice provided to the best of our knowledge, information, and belief in good faith.] Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney is a conservator in private practice since 1979 based in Oregon. In addition to providing conservation, collections care, and management services (including disaster preparation and response), she also offers lectures and workshops. She was elected to Professional Associate status in the American Institute of Conservation in 1992. Geiss-Mooney served on the Board of Directors of the California Heritage Quilt Project 1985-1997. She can be reached at meg@textileconservator.com www.textileconservator.com
Possible responses Any art quilt with insect activity should be isolated immediately by placing it separately in a large, clear polyethylene garbage bag. See the instructions on how to safely isolate your art quilts in my article in AQQ Issue 21, 2020. The next step is carefully and thoroughly vacuuming all surfaces of the quilt. See the instructions on how to safely vacuum your art quilts in my article in AQQ Issue 22, 2021. Ideally, the vacuuming will take place out of doors so you do not potentially spread the insect activity to other parts of your home. The next step is to kill all three stages of insects (eggs, larval, adult; egg, nymph, adult) affecting your quilt SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 91
spotlight on collections
new acquisitions
Tumbling Blocks, 63 x 66 inches (157.5 x 165 cm), 2016
photo by Heidi Swoboda
Collection of National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky
Geraldine Warner
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I started by hand-piecing the colored blocks using silk scraps from recycled blouses and dresses. With this very traditional design, it was important for me to find a way to make it fresh for the viewer, so I tilted the top block to add visual tension, finishing the quilt with free-motion quilting. This work was selected for a special exhibit, In the American Tradition, at the Houston International Quilt Festival in 2019. I was pleased when the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, acquired it for their permanent collection.
Hunger in a Time of Quarantine, 60 x 40 inches (150 x 100 cm), 2020 Collection of Museo Nacional de Colombia
Karen Miller
During the 2020 pandemic lockdown in Bogotá, my sister shared a photograph by Colombian artist Camilo Rozo. His haunting image depicted pieces of red fabric hanging in some of the windows of an apartment complex, home to people relocated from Colombia’s earlier civil war, indicating to their neighbors that they were suffering from food scarcity. After my quilt on the subject of hunger toured in an exhibition, it was acquired by the Museo Nacional de Colombia in 2022.
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UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Microscape
Primal Forces: Earth
Sustainability
Layered & Stitched: 50 Years of Innovative Art
Center for the Arts of Greater Lapeer, Michigan Jan. 4 – Feb. 18, 2023
Wingate Museum of Art, Conway, Arkansas Feb. 3 – March 17, 2023
Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Provo, Utah March 24 - Dec. 29, 2023
International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska May 1 – Dec. 31, 2023
SAQA is dedicated to bringing thoughtprovoking, cutting-edge artwork to venues across the globe. Our members continue to challenge the boundaries of art and change perceptions about contemporary fiber art.
For complete listing:
www.saqa.com/art
For more information, contact William Reker exhibitions@saqa.com | 216.333.9146