Mickey DePre, Mickey is sometimes something of a night owl working on her quilts in the quiet of the night. She blogged the other day about making a “Farmers Wife” quilt by a certain date. Some of her regular readers started asking questions, hence this mornings blog post.
I just had this conversation with a friend from the old Alex Anderson message board yesterday. Most, not all, most art quilters started quilting with traditional quilts, fabrics maybe even hand piecing. Melly Testa, an art quilter for sure, does a lot by hand although her quilts do not have a traditional look.
I like that the quilting community is so broad in aspect – allowing a lot of room for quilters to express who they are in this particular art form. It’s why I’ve titled my lecture, “Quilting is a Beautiful and Complicated Art”. The process of creating a quilt is an art form in and of itself. There are a lot of details as quilters that we need to think through in order for a quilt to become a quilt. Fabric, pattern, using the fabric in the pattern for the best effect, batting, thread weight and color for quilting, trapunto (?), backing, type of quilting. Each step has an effect on the next and adds to the overall beauty of a quilt.
I’m glad that traditional work is still very much alive, including hand work, especially with quilters like Jinny Beyer. As I look around I see a lot of quilters enjoying the process of hand work in a way that gives them great fulfillment as quilters. Hand work and reproduction fabrics are still wildly popular and will always be in the quilting community with good reason.
I’m appreciative too that a lot of quilters lean more towards art quilting and using fabric, thread and batting in non traditional ways. There are a lot of quilters who bridge both traditional and art quilting and will always retain their love and appreciation for traditional quilting and it’s beauty.
Whether traditional or art quilting is where you find the deepest beauty in the process of quilting the important thing from my view is enjoying the process and the beauty of the finished quilt.
Happy quilting!
Teri
Teri, I so agree with you!
Teri,
Sounds like an excellent lecture. I like that you understand the place for all types of art form in quilting. Maybe you can help people to appreciate some of the more “Artsy” quilts. I hear many grousing at meetings when we have speakers who do art form quilting. I do more traditional because I am too lazy to design something and to get doing it.
Here! Here! I totally agree. 🙂
That star quilt is so beautiful that it hurts my heart that it isn’t mine!
I have aspirations of making art quilts, but there are just too many gorgeous ‘traditional’ quilts out there crying out to be made!
Teri,
I agree with all you’ve said. Quilting should be a refuge, a relaxing time in your “zone”.
I just went to Nancy Crow’s exhibit; she describes herself as a master piecer. Then I read on the Quiltart list about a show she’s curating in Germany to highlight piecing-she feels people are going more for the instant gratification of fusing rather than taking the time it takes to piece a creation.
Your post goes right along with this. Thank you.