I began my quilting life in the mid 1990s when inspired by Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts. I thought, "Why not make a quilt for my son's bed?" I was hooked. Soon my background in art history and the decorative arts led me to leave more traditional quilting patterns behind in favor of a more personal expression. I love the instant response I see when people view my quilts. I believe that art quilts can add so much to a home or office environment and working closely with a client on a commission is one of my favorite modes of communication.
Artist statement: As an artist, I am especially drawn to color and texture which I use to create images in cloth. The natural world, decorative art and architecture all inspire my work. I usually use my own sketches and photographs as the basis for my quilt designs. My work is mostly representational and incorporates multiple techniques including piecing, applique' and textile paints to fulfill my vision. I also use embellishments: hand beading, textile trim and yarns. I'm especially interested in free motion machine quilting to add detail, depth and dimension to my work.
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Online shop:sallyquilts
I am a textile artist working full-time from home in the UK. I work entirely by hand, making art quilts and small stitched cloths from mainly recycled materials such as old linens and clothing. I dye most of my fabrics and threads myself and occasionally sell hand-dyed materials.
Artist's statement: Although my formal art training is in paint, I prefer the tactile quality of textiles as a medium of expression. Cloth is with us throughout our lives, a constant presence that touches us, both literally and figuratively. Our very first experience following our birth is that of being wrapped in a cloth; as preparation for the grave, we are wrapped in a shroud.
I choose to work by hand because I love the feel of the needle and thread through cloth, and I like to feel the way the cloth is responding to stitch. I think of the process of stitching as a quiet conversation between myself, the needle and thread and the cloth itself. The act of piecing scraps of cloth together is a metaphor for the way our lives are composed of brief moments joined together. I also think of the many women before me who have sat quietly and stitched, either for duty or for pleasure. I prefer in general to work with natural materials - linen, cotton, silk, wool - and I remain mindful that these were once part of living organisms. I try to remain respectful to the cloth, to the process and to tradition.
Nurtured from childhood to create with my hands, I continue the journey of playing piano, working with watercolors/collage art, taking photos, creating good-tasting cuisine, and yes, playing with fabric.
Beginning with my first crewel embroidery project at the age of eight (and eventually sewing shortly thereafter), working with fibers has been a great love for me. I discovered the joy of quilting in 1996 and have never looked back.
I began as a traditional quilter and in the past couple years have ventured into the area of art quilts. I still return to the my ""roots"" as a quilter, but the freedom of art quilting is definitely feeding my soul.
I am currently a local yoga and health education instructor for local community colleges. I also have a small holistic health practice here in Southern California.
I enjoy a diverse and interesting life, full of people I love and work I enjoy.
I sell my work through my Etsy site and at local holiday craft and art shows.
I do a combination of machine and hand work on my fiber art pieces. My quilt art tends to involve raw-edge applique work with rich vibrant batiks. I also perform my own free motion quilting from stippling and scroll work to the scripting of words into many of my quilts.
I also do commissions, having recent opportunities to create Tree of Life quilts for many loved ones and Etsy customers. I offer a basic price scale and work closely with the buyer to create the image they desire. I have also done custom orders on other quilts as well. It is a pleasure to "co-create" with the buyer. I have learned much from the ideas and inspiration of those I create pieces for.
Artist's statement:
My work is typically a reflection of my life...
A new granddaughter? Baby quilts...
A yoga profession? Yoga bags...
A sewing hobby? Pin cushions...
A look at beautiful lilies on the side of the road? A Calla Lily quilt....
Ultimately, my mission is to create pieces that bring joy to the recipient.
Fine artist, quilt maker, teacher, lecturer, gallery owner, writer, business person, these are the hats I am wearing at the moment (in the order in which I like wearing them). For 23 years I traveled to eleven countries on five continents to teach quilting art and lecture about my work. In 1997 I started the Bryerpatch Studio Internet Store, where I sell the fabrics I design from Benartex, and the patterns, instructions, and workshops on CD-ROM which I publish.
In 2005 I left the Fox Valley of Illinois, where I had lived my whole life, and started a new life in Paducah Kentucky's award-winning, historic LowerTown Arts District where most of my neighbors are also artists. I built a new studio, gallery and workshop center, where I continue teaching without having to take my whole show on the road. I love being part of a real community with lots of cultural activities avaliable within walking distance. You can visit my gallery and shop online at www.bryerpatch.com.
Artist's statement: I make original, fine art for the walls of homes and businesses, from fabric that is stitched together and quilted. Most of my work is made from 100% cotton fabric, which is dyed and painted, then pieced, appliquéd, embroidered, and quilted on my sewing machine.
The focus of my work is on the qualities of color, line, and texture, which will engage the spirit and emotions of the viewer, evoking a sense of mystery, excitement, or joy. Illusions of movement, depth, and luminosity are common to most of my work. The inner glow is created by hand dyeing or painting my fabrics in gradual progressions from light to dark.
Both my geometric color studies, and my more organic, curved seam abstracts are inspired by visual impressions, collected in my travels, in my everyday life, and in my imagination. Although some of my quilts include pictorial images, my work is most often about seeing, experiencing, and imagining, rather than pictorial representation of any specific object or species. When recognizable objects appear, they represent the emotions and flights of fantasy evoked by those objects. My intention is to focus on positive energy and depict that in my work.
I intend for my quilts to be seen and enjoyed by others. It is my hope that they will lift the spirits and delight the eyes of those who see them. I am constantly learning and my work evolves as I find new images in my imagination and develop the techniques to create them in cloth. As a teacher I believe that the magic of art lies in our heads and in our hearts. I love sharing my techniques with others so they can share their magic with me.
I made my first quilt in the early 1980's - a simple traditional design using fabric squares individually cut from templates, hand pieced and hand quilted. In 1992 I started my business, Goose Tracks Quilts, making traditional quilts and quilted accessories.
In 1999 I created my website and my business evolved into making primarily custom memory and memorial quilts. Over the years, I've made quilts for people all over the United States and around the world.
Artist's Statement: While I enjoy working with people to create custom one of a kind quilts, I have an increasing interest in learning the design elements and construction techniques that go into making art quilts. I look forward to developing my skills and creating my own designs in fiber art.
My name is Monika Kinner-Whalen. I am a quilt maker and fibre artist living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Much of my art is inspired by the prairies and my world around me. I am an avid photographer and I often incorporate my photos into my work. Much of my fibre art is smaller scale with much color, embellishment, and fine detail. My quilts are all original and made from beginning to end by me. I have some things for sale, but I do love commissioned work. You can read about this process through my Etsy Alchemy page. My business name is "My Sweet Prairie". As I delved into fibre art, integrating my photos with my quilting skills, I would try to think up names for each piece. "My Sweet Prairie" fit everything I created. And so that name fit perfectly for my business.
My quilts can be seen on display at McNally Robinson's Booksellers, as well as at The Centre Galleries on occasion (both in Saskatoon, SK).
Artist's Statement: As a sewist and an avid photographer, Fibre Arts is the perfect marriage for me to express my love of the Canadian Prairies. As I began to see my own artistic identity emerge in my work, I decided to moved forward through the use of Etsy, Blogging, joining rings, and becoming a member of quilt and craft guilds. My mission is to continue creating, learning, and exploring mixed media and fibre art. I work to expand my art and stay current with trends and techniques while maintaining a public presence for others to enjoy my work.
Location: Saskaton, Saskatchewan, Canada Online shop: MySweetPrairie Blog: MySweetPrairie Memberships:
Saskatoon Quilters' Guild
Saskatchewan Craft Council Languages spoken: English
Spring on the Prairie, 2010 (4"x6") by Monika Kinner-Whalen
I've been sewing since I was in high school (in the 60's), and now own my own sewing school in Redondo Beach, California.
After sewing garments for years, I succumbed to quilting, and love it! Since I've collected fabrics, and scraps for years, I decided to make some art pieces and love doing it!
Location: Redondo Beach, California, USA Online shops: Sew Creative Cafe Sew Creative Cafe on Etsy Brick and mortar:
Sew Creative Cafe
1726 Aviation Blvd.,
Redondo Beach, CA 90278 Languages spoken: English
A life long love of the written word and art led me to dual Bachelor of Arts Degrees in English Language and Literature and Fine and Applied Arts from California State University at Los Angeles. I have published poetry, have taught business writing in the academic/business sectors, and was the manager of a surgical fellowship program at the University of Southern California.
My commitment to education is equaled only by a passion for my family and for the arts. Early on I was a freelance cartographer for the University of California, Los Angeles, sold miniature paintings to such establishments as “The Egg and the Eye”, a Los Angeles folk art gallery at that time, Robinson’s Department Store and Virginia’s Gift Shop at Knott’s Berry Farm. I received a Presidential Recognition Award for my contributions to Los Angeles’ Allesandro Elementary School’s mural project, while I also taught arts to a group of gifted students. I created an adult sized rocking horse, the plans of which grew into a small business operation and experienced a level of international success through such publications as Popular Mechanics.
All the while I immersed myself in quilting, sewing formal gowns and original designed clothing. When not sewing, I was painting and had my work exhibited at California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that a colleague prevailed upon me to attend one, just one, local quilt guild meeting. Henceforth an entirely new focus and passion began to consume my artistic applications. I became part of a group that spearheaded the formation of an art quilt subgroup and I joined “Quilt Visions” of San Diego, Studio Art Quilt Associates, and Quilts on the Wall. The rest is history. I was hooked. Due to a set of very fortunate circumstance, I was able to exit the world of academia, move to Vista, California, where my entire hilltop home has become a studio filled with the wonder of color and fabric.
My art quilts have sold from Glendale, California to the Gulf shores of Florida with resulting commissioned requests and are exhibited at a local retreat center. As with any passion, there are never sufficient hours in the day to quickly enough follow the muse into ever-new territories. Every day, in some way, is dedicated to the arts with a special emphasis on the art quilt genre and fabric surface design. My days are filled with designing, and stitching, and painting and dinking in the untold wonders of the world that keep creativity alive. As a result of popular demand, I am now formulating class outlines and will teach various aspects of fiber arts commencing in August, 2010.
Artist Statement: My mission is to create lasting works of art that elevate the spirit, bring joy and pleasure to others through visual and tactile interaction, and thereby spark the innate creativity in others.
We are a nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded originally in 2003 by Anne Copeland. We seek to make good networking connections and locate more resources for physically/developmentally challenged fiber artists. We also are seeking to provide opportunities for children to have a safe and wonderful, inexpensive means to express their creativity through some of our current and ongoing venues. We have long wanted to provide this opportunity, so this year is our first challenge geared to include children. You can find the challenge on our blog site under Calls for Entry.
We have events where pieces are sold to raise money for worthwhile causes and to assist the physically/developmentally challenged artists. We also do Smilebox presentations online, and we have done online show catalogs that can be printed out to include in a portfolio or to just have to remember the events the fiber artists enter.
Mission: Our mission is to assist physically/developmentally challenged and emerging fiberartists who wish to be professional with getting good exposure for their work and teaching them professional development. Although the nonprofit is located in Southern California, we serve physically challenged fiber artists in the United States and abroad.
Founder, Anne Copeland, is an AQS certified appraiser who specializes in art quilts, wearables, art dolls and other textile items. She also appraises regular antique and traditional quilts, but specializes in the more contemporary items. Anne lectures and teaches some classes, especially her quilt restoration class, which is quite popular.
We are ‘our’ journey…
I take great joy in the process of telling visual stories through my quilt art and the transformation of fabric through surface manipulation and embellishment.
I had spent 20 years bringing ATM/POS networking and products to life, and I find it amazing now that I get to share my creative spirit and joy as a quilt artist, author, teacher, lecturer full-time. It has truly been exciting path I have followed since leaving my corporate job in 2003. A path that has let me share my method of quilt top construction, (Fast-Piece Appliqué™) through my first book Dream Landscapes: Artful Quilts with Fast-Piece Appliqué and now brings me even more fun opportunities as my second book, Exploring Embellishments: More Artful Quilts with Fast-Piece Appliqué, is due out in June 2010.
In my earlier Dream Landscapes I introduced the Fast-Piece Appliqué construction method that makes curves and circles easy to sew—opening a world of design possibilities. It set me free from squares and blocks and leaves me lots of time for my favorite activity of stitching and embellishment.
I travel and provide a line-up of related workshops and lectures, and I love to teach Fast-Piece Appliqué™, and designing the world with shapes along with many, many ‘how to’s on using embellishments of all types and using wonderful materials to create surface design and one-of-a-kind embellishments.
I really enjoy that in my workshops I get to help each student find their individual voice by providing possibilities. I do this by teaching fun ways to add color, texture and dimension to fabric and quilts.
My quilt art journey has taken me on twists and turns I had little expected, like appearing on Simply Quilts, or as in June 2009, I appeared on The Quilt Show, with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. Just the other day I was filmed for an episode of Quilts Out Loud! Seeing my work and words in print on websites and blogs and on the pages of personally revered magazines like Quilting Arts, American Quilter’s Society, Quilter’s Home, and Quilter’s Newsletter magazines is really wild. But, best of all I take great pleasure in sharing my quilt art in regional, national and international exhibits, galleries and museums.
In 2009 I had two solo exhibits and a traveling exhibit, Back-Road Journeys: Quilts by Rose Hughes. My personal exhibition journey continues with a full schedule in 2010 and I have quilt art scheduled in exhibits with Studio Art Quilt Association, Quilts on the Wall: Fiber Artists and other group and solo events.
Artist's statement: My mission is to use my personal art, inspiration and teaching abilities to encourage others to enjoy the color and art of life's simple things and find time and opportunity to pursue these fearlessly.
After spending many years in a room filled with an ever-changing assortment of teenagers, I am now retired from teaching and enjoying the pursuit of my passions, the greatest of which is bringing art quilts to life. I focus on exciting colors, strong designs, and precise workmanship; my pieces are created to enhance the environments of homes and corporate settings alike, and I am available for commissions of all types.
Artist's Statement: I express my passion for color in my art quilts by using hand-dyed fabrics and whimsical geometrics that play with each other and invite me in for the fun. The machine-pieced and appliquéd constructions are layered with cotton batting and backing and are then machine-quilted with rayon threads to add dimension and shine.
I share Danny Kaye's philosophy that "the world is a great big canvas -- and you should throw all the paint you can on it." Music and mathematics are my muses, and I strive to create art quilts that reflect my love affair with color. Radiating motifs are used to create rhythm, the use of symmetry brings harmony, and dramatic machine-quilted curves add lyrical movement.
Location: Schenectady, New York, USA Online stores: DEsigned By Diane Evans DEsigned By Diane Evans Blog: DEsigned By Diane Evans Memberships:
Studio Art Quilt Associates
Professional Art Quilt Alliance
Adirondack Regional Textile Artists Alliance Languages spoken: English, French (slowly)
I am a mixed-media textile artist. My main focus is art quilting and I usually create with a representational style, although I sometimes will play with abstract styles as well.
Although I didn't always enjoy all steps of quilting, I now find I enjoy each step of the process--the first sketches, the fabric choices, the textural stitching, and the glorious color. I will even look forward to sitting down and hand stitching on a binding.
I have no formal art degree. All of my experience comes from my own experimentation, practice, and a few online classes. Some of my favorite subjects in my art are female faces, flowers, birds, and cats.
I live in Mandan, North Dakota, and am married to a wonderful and supporting husband, have one grown son, and am "mom" to several cats. My other interests include painting, reading, bird watching, and flower gardening.
I am author of the book Creative Paper Quilts: Applique, Embellishment, Patchwork, Piecework; co-author of Creative Ways with Fibre & Stitch, and co-Author of Creative Ways with Books and Journals. I teach online through Three Creative Studios.
Artist's Statement: Time honored traditional quilting processes have crashed head on with new and innovative mixed-media techniques. Art quilting is in full swing and I’m embracing it whole-heartedly. I am enraptured with each step of the process--the first sketches, the fabric choices, the textural stitching, and the glorious color.
The visual texture of commercially printed fabrics along with the additional quilted texture is a springboard for my work. I have a love affair with color and enjoy using many fabrics to portray a single color thought.
My name is Leah Day and I'm a quilter and online quilt store business owner.
I'm looking to connect with other professional artists who make money not by selling art pieces, but information (patterns, tutorials, videos, etc) on how to make art.
I'm also thirsty for knowledge about how to balance it all: business, creativity, family, without going insane!
Artist Statement: I love quilting because with fabric and thread you can create 3 dimensions of design using color, shape, and texture. I experiment with texture on a daily basis on my blog, where I'm working my way through 365 different textures to create with thread on fabric.
Although I'm now working through a series of quilts featuring goddesses, I don't currently make quilts for sale. Instead, I create patterns and videos on techniques to offer for other quilters and fiber artists.
My earliest creative memory is from kindergarten, making a mosaic from seeds and beans. This was the beginning of a life-long quest to find the perfect medium to express myself.
Over the years, I’ve dabbled in many creative activities such as beading, drawing, painting, knitting and sewing. Although I enjoyed all of these, none held my interest for long. Then in 1998, a friend invited me to join her at a one-day quilting course. Finally, I had found an artistic medium that fascinated and inspired me! I discovered the work of other art quilters and started designing my own quilts. A perfectionist by nature, the precision demanded by the complex quilts I create, combined with my passion for beautiful and vivid fabrics, makes art quilting the perfect outlet for my creativity.
I am fascinated with nature themes, as well as geometric patterns. Sometimes the concept for a new quilt is based on a specific color combination I want to use, sometimes on a photo I’ve taken of leaves or flowers or a landscape. For commissioned pieces, the starting point is usually a specific size and color theme. The design always evolves during the creative process, and the final quilt is often quite different from my original concept.
Since 1998, I’ve completed more than 60 art quilts. I sell and exhibit in the US and Canada and on the Internet. My goal is to continue to evolve as an artist, exploring new subject matter and techniques in my art quilts.
