Ellen's Blog

Modern Patchwork is now available

2012-03-28T20:06:00Z

We're pleased to announce our latest special issue, Modern Patchwork Magazine, is now available for pre-order. Click here to learn more and to order your own copy: http://www.quiltingdaily.com/blogs/specialissues/archive/2012/03/28/modern-patchwork-2012.aspx. Please let us know what your favorite project is!

Announcing "From Sketch to Art Quilt" Reader Challenge finalists

2012-03-19T21:36:00Z

We are pleased to announce the finalists of our latest reader challenge, From Sketch to Art Quilt. We received 114 entries, and the photos of your quilts and sketches truly impressed our editorial staff. This challenge seems to have hit a chord with many of you, and your stories were inspiring. We thank you all so much for participating and sharing your work with us.

It was hard to choose but here are the finalists:

Terry Aske

Kathleen Baumann

Stella Belikiewicz

Linda Moon Daughtry

Ai Sawada Goodwin

Cindi Goodwin

Robert Hartley

Beth Markel

Kaye Martindale

Ann L. Scott

Marian Zielinski

The details

If you are a finalist, your artwork must be in our offices no later than Friday, March, 30 2012, along with a flat shipping and handling fee of $15 (U.S. and Canada) or $25 (all other international). This fee, which must be paid in U.S. dollars, covers the shipping costs, packing materials, and handling for the return of your entry. The entire piece and all of its packaging must weigh less than 5 lbs. and fit into a standard shipping/mailing box (no larger than 12" x 4" x 14") or padded envelope.

Finalists should mail their entries to:

Quilting Arts Magazine/INTERWEAVE 

Attn: From Sketch to Art Quilt Reader Challenge 

490 Boston Post Road,  Suite 15

Sudbury, MA 01776

Thanks to all for participating!

Announcing the Time Flies Reader Challenge Finalists

2012-01-09T15:58:00Z

If you've ever listened to Frank Sinatra's "It Was a Very Good Year" and felt a little nostalgic for the good old days or perhaps have a favorite memory or moment in time that makes you smile whenever you think of it, then you know how quickly time can fly by. Quilting Arts is pleased to celebrate these cherished moments and memories with our "Time Flies" Reader challenge.

We received approximately 60 entries, and were thrilled by the innovative ways that Quilting Arts readers shared their memories and translated them to stitch. We ask the following challenge finalists to mail their entry to us so that we can better determine if we can find a place for their piece in Quilting Arts Magazine.

Congratulations to:

Donna Anderson

Cynthia Frenette

Barbara Huck

Sandra Kohler

Kim Krier

Carol Lang

Roger Lucas

Patricia MacDonald

Michelle McLean

Elizabeth Penttinen

The details

If you are a finalist your artwork must be in our offices no later than Wednesday, January 18, 2012, along with a flat shipping and handling fee of $15 (U.S. and Canada) or $25 (all other international). This fee, which must be paid in U.S. dollars, covers the shipping costs, packing materials, and handling for the return of your entry. The entire piece and all of its packaging must weigh less than 5 lbs. and fit into a standard shipping/mailing box (no larger than 12" x 4" x 14") or padded envelope.

Finalists should mail their entries to:

Quilting Arts Magazine/INTERWEAVE 

Attn: Time Flies Reader Challenge 

490 Boston Post Road  Suite 15

Sudbury, MA

01776

Thanks to all for participating!

Interview with QA Cover Artist Cynthia St. Charles

2011-12-08T16:30:00Z

A warm welcome to the December 2011/January 2012 Quilting Arts cover artist Cynthia St. Charles. Not only is Cynthia an incredibly talented and prolific quilt artist, but she's also a repeat Quilting Arts cover artist and a frequent contributor to the magazine. A native Montanan who works out of a studio in her home outside Billings, I was curious to learn more about how Cynthia became a full-time studio artist, what her work space is like, and if she finds some of her inspiration in that big Montana sky. Read on to learn more about this award-winning quilt artist.

ES: How did you get started as an art quilter?

CSC: I was actually sewing primitive farm scenes back in the 1980s, but I got distracted with other things for a few decades. I got back into art quilting about 10 years ago. At that time I was in the midst of a very stressful career working with severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed youth as a School Psychologist. I was also a single parent without much of a social life. I needed an expressive outlet and I found working with fabric to be extremely therapeutic. I started out making traditional quilts, but before long, every bed in the house had three or four quilts and I was bored with the repetitive piecing. I had been dyeing the backs for my traditional quilts from the beginning, so the transition into creating hand-dyed and hand-painted fabrics was an easy conversion.

The Internet opened up a whole new world for me. I was exposed to many inspiring quilt artists, techniques, and opportunities. The idea of showing my work was intriguing, and I was astonished to learn how many opportunities and venues there were for art quilts. I was impressed that occasionally the top prize might be a new sewing machine. I was using a mechanical sewing machine from the 1950s at the time and it had its limitations. I desperately wanted a new machine, but I did not feel I could afford one. I decided to try and win one by entering as many contests and shows as possible. My first three entries into big juried shows earned me some nice cash prizes, but not a sewing machine. I have had work juried into many shows since then, and I have done very well. However, I have yet to win a sewing machine!

In 2004 I found the courage to walk away from my professional career as a School Psychologist. I was determined to establish myself in a new career as a textile artist and that has been my primary occupation ever since.

ES: Please tell us a little bit about your studio. What is it like? Do you quilt every day?

CSC: My studio is in basement of my home. It is roomy, with an attached wet studio and has been furnished with salvaged materials. A 17' x 5' worktable fills the center of the room. The surface was salvaged from a local store that was remodeled and the cabinets underneath were salvaged from another store that went out of business. My design walls are 8' x 8' and 4' x 4'. There is a full wall of bookshelves and another full wall with windows. I have a huge ironing surface that is 3' x 5' and attached to the wall with hinges, so it can be folded out of the way. My wet studio has a dedicated sink and washing machine.

I work in my studio every day during the fall, winter, and spring. I am extremely motivated and dedicated to my work and I often begin my work day as early as five in the morning. In the summer I don't usually spend a lot of time in the studio, but I do work outside dyeing, painting, discharging, etc. My summers are primarily dedicated to outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, backpacking, camping, photography, and gardening. So summer is my least productive, but most inspiring period.

ES: What are your biggest sources of inspiration?

CSC: I live amidst great natural beauty in Montana. I am constantly inspired by the landscape, the wildlife, and seasonal changes. My palette is strongly influenced by seasonal colors. In spring and fall I tend to use the colors I see in the landscape. In winter I work with a lot of bright saturated colors, apparently in response to the white and brown landscape. I get a craving for color!

ES: What is your design process like?

CSC: I am primarily a surface designer, and my work is driven by surface design. I get a huge adrenaline rush from the intuitive process of painting, printing, and mark making on fabric. I love hand carving my own printing blocks and creating Thermofax screens from my own photographs.

I make so many fabrics that at some point I just have to force myself to stop and use them somehow. The availability of venues for art quilts is the primary reason I often turn to creating wall hangings or art quilts (even though I do not especially enjoy or excel at free-motion quilting). Most of my art quilt ideas come to me as a fully formed image that will appear in my mind out of nowhere, often at random times. As soon as possible I sketch out my idea, which may then require some degree of research in order to accomplish my original conception.

ES: You work in a wide variety of techniques and styles. Do you work on multiple projects at the same time?

CSC: In a typical work day I will move from the print table to the sewing machine, and to the design wall multiple times. I do work on several pieces at a time, and I frequently have a number of pieces in different styles and techniques going at once (sometimes as many as 10 pieces may be going at different stages of completion). I am definitely a multitasker.

ES: Any tips you'd like to share for art quilters looking to expand their skills and expand their surface design knowledge?

CSC: Do the work. Don't be afraid to experiment. Nothing is ever wasted. Some of my worst surface design mistakes turned out to be my best finished work.

Cynthia's art quilt, "Chickadees" is featured in the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. You can also learn more about Cynthia by visiting her website: cynthiastcharles.com

Photos by Cynthia St. Charles

Calendar Giveaway Winner + A Glimpse inside the QA December 2011/January 2012 Issue

2011-11-18T19:06:00Z

A huge thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for a Quilting Arts 2012 calendar. I loved reading your stories about your art quilting memories from 2011! The randomly chosen winner of the calendar is kjheaverlo. If you could please email me at eseeburger@interweave.com by December 16th I will get your calendar in the mail. And please do check back soon if you didn't win; we have more giveaways in the works!

I'd also like to share how excited I am about the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Quilting Arts. I adore the cover by Cynthia St. Charles. Her piece "Chickadees" was a Judge's Choice quilt from our 2012 Calendar Contest. There is a gallery of Judge's Choice quilts in this issue of Quilting Arts.

If forced to choose, I'd have to say that one of my fondest art quilt memories of 2011 was the day all the Quilting Arts calendar entries arrived at our offices. There was such a spectrum of techniques, motifs, and talent represented. So to kick the weekend off right I thought I'd give you a glimpse inside the December 2011/January 2012 issue and post another Judge's Choice quilt from the newest issue of Quilting Arts. It is by Deb Sorem and she has written a lovely description of her inspiration for this piece which is included alongside her quilt in the magazine. The magazine goes on sale on December 6th.

I hope you have a great weekend filled with all things quilting!

Ellen

Quilting Can Be a Challenge

2011-10-18T14:01:00Z

From inspiration, to design, to finished piece, there are certainly times when working on an art quilt can be a challenge. Luckily the kind of challenge I'm referring to today is the fun kind: a Quilting Arts Reader Challenge.

There have been quite a few reader challenges this year at Quilting Arts. There was the incredibly popular "Save My UFO," our text inspired "Tag You're It," and the hilarious "Greatest Pet Peeve" (which will be featured in our upcoming December/January issue), to name just a few. But I think my favorite QA reader challenge so far is one that you still have time to participate in. There's just a little under a month left to enter the Quilting Arts Fabric Swap. We've already begun to receive gorgeous hand-dyed fabrics in our offices and I absolutely can't wait to see more. This challenge is the perfect opportunity to test out those surface design skills and receive some new fabric at the same time. If you'd like to enter this challenge, read below for more information.

I hope to see some of your surface-designed fabrics in our office in the next few weeks!

Quilting Arts Fabric Swap!

In celebration of all the surface design techniques presented in the August/September 2011 issue of Quilting Arts, we thought it would be fun to host our first-ever fabric swap. We invite you to get creative and pull out your dyes, paints, discharge pastes, stamps, stencils--you name it--and create your own set of four fat quarters to swap with someone else.

The rules

Design a set of 4 fat quarters on any kind of fabric (4 pieces, each 18" x 22"). You may finger paint, ice dye, discharge, stamp, stencil, or use any other surface design technique you like. You are free to make 4 fat quarters that are the same, or 4 different fat quarters using various techniques--it's up to you! (Though you may want to make enough extra to keep a sample for yourself.)

Note: Your fabric must be free of any text or images that are protected by copyright, unless you have the expressed written permission from the person or institution that holds the copyright and you provide that written permission with your submission.

Staple a business card or a 3" x 5" card with your preferred contact information and a brief explanation of your surface design technique to the back of each piece of fabric. (This information will travel with the fabric to the recipients.)
Take a picture of your fabric, and print out a copy of the photo to include with your submission. On the back of the photo, please include your full name, mailing address, email address, and phone number. This information will be used for any questions we have about your submission and also to mail your fabric swatches to you.
For safety, place your fabric in a plastic bag for shipping.
Include an entry fee of $6 (U.S. and Canada) and $14 (all other international), to cover postage and handling. All funds must be in U.S. dollars and made payable to Interweave. Exchange participants, including international residents, may charge the entry fee to their credit card. We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Please include the necessary information, including the expiration date and CVV code with your entry.
Your fabric must be in our offices by Monday, November 7, 2011.
We will swap and mail the fabric no later than the week of January 16, 2012.
Some of the fabric may be featured in an upcoming issue of Quilting Arts Magazine and/or on our website.
Please send your fabric to:

                                 Quilting Arts/INTERWEAVE
                                  ATTN: Quilting Arts Fabric Swap
                                  490 Boston Post Road
                                  Suite 15
                                  Sudbury, MA 01776

If you have any questions, contact Ellen Seeburger at eseeburger@interweave.com.

Note: By submitting your fabric to our challenge you are authorizing Interweave to publish your fabric in upcoming publications and promotional materials, on our website, and in other Interweave e-media. Interweave will not be held responsible for loss or damage due to circumstances beyond our control.

Interview with QA Cover Artist Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum

2011-10-04T12:34:00Z

The October/November issue of Quilting Arts magazine has the perfect autumn cover, featuring fall leaves that are both printed and stitched in a lively design. The artist behind this piece, Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum, shares her easy-to-make reusable silk screen technique in this issue. I can't wait to try out her method of printing myself!

And since she is the newest Quilting Arts cover artist, I was of course eager to speak with Enid and learn more about how she discovered art quilting as a form of personal expression, what her studio is like, and where she finds inspiration. More of Enid's art quilts can also be found in the Online Extras section of our website. Read on to learn more about Enid.

How did you get started as an art quilter?

I have sewn since I was a young girl. I started quilting pretty late-about 12 years ago. I learned traditional quilting techniques and am in awe of the beautiful work traditional quilters do, but it felt too restrictive for me. I'm not good at following rules in craft. I quickly found that quilting didn't need to be restrictive and that I could do whatever I wanted to do with fabric, even adding materials other than thread!

Can you tell us a little bit about your studio? What is it like? Do you quilt or print fabrics every day?

My studio is my refuge and my happy place. There is so much work that is waiting to be done that when I'm in there I find it hard to leave. This last year has been a tough one for my little family. My husband suffered from brain cancer and passed away just about a month ago. It was working in my studio (even if it was just five minutes of tidying up) as well as our six-year-old boy that kept me balanced and positive. It is my sanctuary. It is full of color, ideas, tools and materials, paint, dye, brushes and markers. It is a work and play room all in one.

I try to work every day and I write, design, sew, and read. I print or paint fabrics when I am experimenting with techniques or when working on a specific quilt, but not every day.

What are your biggest sources of inspiration?

Inspiration comes from the world around me. I love the rolling prairies of the Midwest-the hills and fields, the barns and silos, the cows always grazing. I love the sweeping curves of freeways merging through cities. I love color charts in paint stores. I love architecture. I love the language of old hymns. I often see quilts in nature and especially in man's connection with nature such as a railroad track winding through fields and woods.

What is your design process like?

While I collect drawings, photographs and ideas, I rarely make a complete scale drawing of my quilt. My designs are often first realized in fabric. One of my award-winning quilts came from seeing a sunflower field in North Dakota. My sketch was three lines on a scrap of paper. I wrote by each "yellow," "dark green," "blue". Another winning quilt was inspired by a drive through the countryside on a gray foggy winter day. I joked with my husband that you couldn't see where the horizon and the sky met and that I should make a quilt like that -a sheet of white. It became perhaps my finest quilt. I plan quilts on sleepless nights and will begin finding the fabrics, or creating them with dye or paint the following day. With larger quilts I usually create a small prototype to check the proportion and color before committing large amounts of fabric to a quilt that ends up just not working.

Your art quilts have a refined, modern feel without too much embellishment. How do you know when a piece is finished?

I compete in quilt shows against traditional quilters, requiring finishing techniques that hold up to the scrutiny of traditional judges. While I don't use traditional designs or patterns, I want my stitch length even, my binding filled, and perfect mitered corners. My threads are buried properly and my invisible stitches should be invisible. Without patterns, creating a piece is intuitive. I work over the entire surface of the quilt to ensure that the quilting is balanced and that the quilt lies flat. I want any embellishments to enhance the design, never dominate it. I want the design itself to communicate something without trying to be realistic or photographic. Because I work over the whole surface in stages, I am able to pause and stand back, sometimes photographing the quilt in order to step away from it. This process helps me judge whether the quilt is finished. Sometimes it is finished way before I expect it to be!

"Little Dotty Trees"

Any tips you'd like to share for art quilters looking to expand their skills and expand their surface design knowledge?

Play. Explore. Cut lots of pieces of plain muslin about 12" x 12". Try a different surface treatment on each and write on the fabric what you did. Spend lots of time in craft, art, and hardware stores looking at things to print with, to create patterns with, and to color with. Constantly ask yourself "Would this work with fabric?" "What could I do with this?" Read about techniques that are tried and true but also about those that are new. Play a lot.

But I would also add to use good workmanship in your quilts. An art quilt can also be an award-winner in a quilt show.

To learn more about Enid, visit enidgjelten.com

Quilt Shop Spotlight: Cool Cottons, Portland, Oregon

2011-09-28T15:52:00Z

Our Quilt Shop Spotlight continues with a visit to Cool Cottons in Portland, Oregon. Owner Marie Ritten was kind enough to share the story of how her shop got its start, how Cool Cottons fits into Portland's DIY scene, and what unique fabrics and materials she carries. Read on to learn more about Cool Cottons.

Thank you so much for taking the time to be interviewed. Can you tell us about how Cool Cottons came to be?
Cool cottons has been in business for four and a half years now! We are located in a 100-year-old house (which showcases fabric beautifully) on SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland, Oregon. The sewing and crafting community in Portland is so vibrant and a real DIY attitude rules. We've got new moms and dads outfitting their baby nursery or making their first quilt, expert sewers looking for the newest contemporary fabrics for garment sewing or intricate piecework, and a lot of "collectors" who just need to have a piece of the latest beautiful Japanese fabric to add to their stash. We are extremely fortunate that Portland crafters love to shop local and really support small independent businesses.

I have always loved fabric, crafting, and sewing. I started quilting when I needed some handwork to occupy me while I was working in a call center for an airline. Seventeen years later, a transfer across country, and dozens of quilts later, I was offered a buy-out that enabled me to move to Portland and open Cool Cottons. Originally I started with a business partner (who I have since bought out), we wanted a place that was a bright happy place to be. That is one of the best parts of this business; it's hard to be in a bad mood when you're surrounded by such fabric goodness. It's not a bad way to spend the day.

What fabric lines, items, and products do you carry in your store?
Although our emphasis is on contemporary prints (Free Spirit, Michael Miller, Moda, and Westminster) we do have almost all of the Kaffe Fassett shot cottons and a large selection of fabrics by Robert Kaufman, Northcott, and Kona Bay solids that modern quilters use to such great effect. Japanese fabrics from Kokka and Yuwa are also well represented (from gorgeous Nani Iro double gauze to the cotton/linen lines from Echino and Heather Ross). I recently ordered the Lotta Jansdotter line "Echo" from Windham.

What sort of classes and events do you have?
Since the rise of several sewing studios in Portland we no longer offer much in the way of classes. There are five studios that have opened in the past two years within five miles of us and between them they do a great job of reaching every age and skill level and offer more variety than we as a small shop could ever hope to. We get a lot of new customers from their referrals and in turn we send folks their way. That said, we do have a Block of the Month Quilt Club that has proven to be popular with both novice and expert quilters. For some it's about learning new techniques, and for others it all about the social time.

Is there a short story or anecdote you'd like to share about your store or your customers?
When you open a fabric shop you expect to get the quilters and garment sewers in. What surprised me is also what the rest of the world is doing with fabric. We've had book binders, people knitting with fabric strips, costumers, doll makers, photographers looking for back drops and lots of sewers and non sewers alike making curtains. We've even rented out our fabric for a photo shoot!

What plans do you have for the future?
No particular plans for the future. I love what I do so I hope to be able to keep on doing it. Hopefully the fabrics I love will be what my customers are looking for...so far so good. I don't have as much time to sew as I once did, but my favorite part has always been playing with different fabric combinations, and now I get to help other people do it too.

To learn more about Cool Cottons, visit coolcottons.biz

Photos by Marie Ritten

Quilting Arts 10th Anniversary Postcards

2011-09-16T13:03:00Z

We love to celebrate here at Quilting Arts. Whether we've just finished wrapping up an issue, found an exciting new product we want to share, or discovered a new artist we can't wait to work with, there are certainly a multitude of reasons to be joyful. So when we asked readers to help us with our biggest celebration ever--our 10th anniversary--we knew we wouldn't be disappointed.

In the December 2010/January 2011 issue of Quilting Arts, we asked readers to send us celebratory fabric postcards. Over the course of 2011 we have been overwhelmed by the warm response. Each time the mail comes, we eagerly await the arrival of 4" x 6" postcards from Quilting Arts readers--and they just keep coming.

So as autumn approaches, and 2011 starts to wind down, I thought we'd keep the Quilting Arts 10^th anniversary celebration going strong by regularly featuring some of the postcards on my blog. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I do!

Anabeth J. Auten

Cindy Mumford

Cindy Green

Giveaway Winners

2011-08-26T15:10:00Z

Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the giveaway by sharing tips, tricks, and words of wisdom on how to incorporate depth and perspective into art quilts. It was so much fun to learn more about how different quilters tackle design issues and to read through all the comments--68 in all! I'm most certainly looking forward to asking more about your design secrets in the future. There is such an inspiring amount of collective knowledge, talent, and sense of community among Quilting Arts readers!

The randomly selected readers (I've included their comments below, just for fun.) will receive a Quilting Arts grab-bag of goodies. If your name is on the list, just email me your address at eseeburger@interweave.com by September 9, 2011 and I'll get your prize to you.

Tish@7 wrote:

"I like to use patterned and transparent fabrics to give the illusion of depth."

strattons158 wrote:

"During the process I take pictures with my digital camera to get a better perspective of the details. Just looking at the picture actually on the camera gives me inspiration to add or subtract from what I have. It also lets me go back to a previous decision when the new direction doesn't work out. That is probably the best advantage of the digital camera."

Jasssper wrote:

"I love creating art quilts, I am currently working on a window shade. I draw out on paper what I want the finished piece to look like. I like to make sure the scale of the subjects look good. something farther away will be smaller than something close. Also I try to use bolder fabrics for the closer and more muted tones for the farther away pieces. It is always such fun."

A Little Art Quilting Perspective + A Giveaway

2011-08-19T12:34:00Z

There are a number of design considerations to think about when planning an art quilt---composition, color theory, texture, value. Working at Quilting Arts Magazine, I feel pretty lucky to have the opportunity to see on a daily basis how individual artists tackle design issues and create quilts that burst with life. When I see a quilt with a motif rendered in a unique angle or a landscape quilt where it feels like I'm quite literally standing in the scene gazing toward the horizon, I get excited. I love the feeling of looking at a piece of cloth that has been transformed to convey depth and perspective.

And since Quilting Arts readers are so adept at using depth and perspective as design elements in their art quilts, I thought I'd not only share a few samples from our Reader Gallery, but also ask you to share your own tips and tricks for conveying depth and perspective.

I'll be giving away three Quilting Arts grab bags to readers who comment below. To participate, simply leave a comment describing your tip or trick. I will announce three randomly chosen winners on Friday, August 26, 2011.

"Cornered" by bofogray

"Crystal Creek" by calna

Quilting Arts August/September 2011 Letters to the Editor

2011-07-21T14:20:00Z

Here at Quilting Arts, just one of the many reasons we enjoy receiving Letters to the Editor is that it gives us a chance to know exactly what you thought of the latest issue and what suggestions and feedback you have to make QA even better.

In the upcoming August/September 2011 issue of Quilting Arts we share several letters to the editor from QA readers. A few of these readers also submitted photographs of their work alongside their letters. I'm excited to post a few of these photographs below.

If you'd like to share how a particular issue or article in Quilting Arts has impacted you, or just let us know your thoughts about the magazine, you can submit a Letter to the Editor by emailing me at eseeburger@interweave.com.

VisTA Group Quilt (right) with a quilt by, and photograph of, Kathy Kaser (left)

Two years ago, Sue White gave a 'Quilt Faces from Photos' workshop to our friendship group, VisTA (Visionary Textile Artists), in Washington. She took photos, making sure they had good light and dark contrast by standing us next to a window.

Even though I'm not a skilled quilter, she made it fun and doable. I was stymied when it came time to do the machine quilting, but when Sue said, "It doesn't have to be your face, just a face," I was freed from my inhibitions. Twenty-four of us completed the project and showed our quilts in a group quilt at the Tri-City Quilters' Guild annual show, at a public library, and again in Sequim, Washington for a month.

A friend in Canada has been asking for the instructions, so I was delighted tell her that the June/July 2011 issue of Quilting Arts has everything she needs. Thank you.

Kathy

Photos by Kathy Kaser

Art quilt by Nancy Wilkinson

Dear Quilting Arts Magazine,

In 2003 a lone quilter in my local guild who had a background in art formed a small group of fellow quilters interested in art quilting. Shortly thereafter one of us discovered Quilting Arts Magazine and brought it to one of our meetings. Your magazine has been an inspiration ever since. You even had an article about forming art-quilting circles ("Starting a Small Art Group," August/September 2010). Our group has grown in membership and consequently the interest in, and appreciation of, art quilts has grown immensely among our guild members. Thank you Quilting Arts for continuing to inspire and teach those of us who are interested in quilting as art.

Becky, Dale, Cindy, Eleanor, Harriet, Joyce, Juanita, Judy, Linda, Nancy, Pam, and Rita

Photo by Nancy Wilkinson

Portrait Art Quilts From Our Readers

2011-07-12T12:24:00Z

It seems as if summer is just flying by and I can't believe we're already well into July. Here at the Quilting Arts offices we're hard at work on the August/September 2011 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. And while I can't wait for this issue to hit the stands, in the meantime I thought it would be fun to celebrate both summer and the Quilting Arts June/July 2011 portrait issue by sharing some summer-themed portrait quilts from Quilting Arts readers. It is so exciting to see how different artists translate portraiture to fabric and stitch and to have the opportunity to learn more about their individual working processes. So a warm welcome to Maggie Dillon and Robbie Porter!

Maggie Dillon

"Celebrating family memories with a glimpse of a personal relationship and natural daily life exemplifies my work. My goal, when executing a piece, is to bring a photograph to life, not just recreate the image. With each batik fabric differing, the tangled pattern is always a mystery. The irregularity of batiks lends itself to the shapes I use in my layering technique. Variances in pattern cause shadow and highlight, giving my work its characterizing appearance. The thread work blends the stitching around the edges. Whether it's a couple sitting at a waterfront, an old man reading his bible, or a family portrait, I enjoy capturing a moment. I use photographic references to create representational portraits of an occasion among friends, a glimpse of a relationship and natural daily life, or a celebration of family; my artistry presents memories."

To learn more about Maggie and her work, visit maggie-dillon-designs.blogspot.com/

Photo by Maggie Dillon

Robbie Porter

"The idea for this quilt happened when my daughter sent me a cell phone picture of my granddaughter Katie in the garden smelling a coneflower. What struck me the most was the flow of her hair and how beautiful the colors would look in fabric.

It took two years to select and collect the fabrics and plan the idea. The face image is hand drawn on fabric and painted with acrylic paint combined with fabric medium. A portion of the fence behind her face was also painted. A hole was cut in the hand-dyed purple background fabric to create an opening to insert the painting of the face and the fence. The remainder of the design, including the hair, portions of the fence and the coneflowers was created with a fused-appliqué technique. After all of the fusing was complete and the quilt was layered I began the joyful process of free motion quilting the designs. I have always loved to draw and for me free motion is a natural extension of that skill. I think of my sewing machine like I would a sketching pencil.

My granddaughter Katie loves her quilt and it will become hers after her grandmother has an opportunity to enter it in a few quilt shows."

To learn more about Robbie and her work, visit embellishedspirit.blogspot.com/

Photo by Robbie Porter

If you were inspired by the June/July issue of Quilting Arts to try a new portrait technique, or if you've been making portrait quilts for years, we encourage you to share your work in our online photo gallery.

Spotlight: The Art Quilt Gallery NYC

2011-07-01T12:08:00Z

The Art Quilt Gallery NYC has generated quite the buzz since it opened in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City this past April. It's no wonder considering the lineup of incredible quilt artists they've already booked for shows including Noriko Endo, whose work is currently on display.

Owners Cathy Izzo and Dale Riehl opened the commercial gallery alongside their well-known quilt shop The City Quilter. Cathy Izzo was kind enough to answer my questions about The Art Quilt Gallery NYC and I was excited to learn more about how the gallery came to be and what shows they are currently planning.

You are the only commercial gallery in New York City focused solely on contemporary art quilts. How did The Art Quilt Gallery NYC come to be and how did you decide this was a niche that needed to be filled?

Dale and I had been attending International Quilt Market in Houston for many years. In Houston you get to see the cream of quilting from around the world, the best of the best, and it's so striking. We talked about how more people should see the amazing quilts we were able to see in Houston. In New York City not as many people know about art quilting and we wanted to show people what's really going on in the art quilt community.

We had an unexpected opportunity to expand our store and when that happened we decided to devote part of the new space to the gallery. If we'd had to get a new space to open the gallery, it most likely wouldn't have happened. Opening The Art Quilt Gallery NYC is very close to both of our hearts, and we feel the amazing work being done by art quilters today should be seen by more people.

I've read that you seek to counter the age-old misrepresentation that quilts can't be high art. Can you share how this influences the way you run the gallery?

Traditionally quilting has not been considered fine art, I think, partly because it's mostly women who do it and it's something that started out as a domestic art-out of necessity and use. And while not every quilt is necessarily classified as art, there are quilts that are art. The first artist we chose to exhibit was Daphne Taylor who is not as well known as some art quilters. But she has a fine arts background, with a master's in painting. She switched to creating textiles about 15 years ago and she has been an artist all her life. We felt she was a good example to be the first exhibitor in our gallery.

Your quilt shop, The City Quilter, has long been a destination for quilt enthusiasts, including international tourists and locals alike. The shop is located next door to the gallery. What audience are you hoping to draw into the gallery? Are you hoping to broaden the audience to non-quilters?

Most quilters who come to New York City seem to seek us out if they can. Now they have something extra to see. To be able to interact with world-class quilts almost every day of the year is an inspiration. We've had so many quilters come in and say that they had no idea that art quilts were like this. Our core customers are thrilled to see this level of work. On the other hand, we're trying to get non-quilters in. It is a commercial gallery, so the art is for sale. We try to draw other clientele such as interior decorators and people who buy art for public buildings.

What has been the response you've had from the NYC quilting community?

Everyone who walks into the gallery is so happy. People who come bring their friends back to share the work. It's very gratifying and we've gotten a lot of thanks which has been nice.

You also have lectures and special events. Is there an educational aspect to the gallery?

Definitely. Our second exhibit is with Noriko Endo and she will be teaching two classes and giving a gallery talk open to the public for free. We have a great opportunity to have world-famous art quilters come to New York City and interact with visitors. Carol Taylor will also be teaching an upcoming class. It's wonderful to get this caliber of quilter to teach and lecture.

What are your future plans and how do you choose art quilters to exhibit in the gallery?

Carol Taylor's "Explosions in Color" opens on September 9, 2011 followed by "Material Witnesses," 22 quilts, each 36" x 36" from the 22 members of the Manhattan Quilters Guild. Judy Doenias is co-curating with me. We pour through books of quilts that we love, research people's submissions, and enjoy picking out people and have a lot of fun in the process. The potential for sale is an important consideration.

Can you tell us a little bit about the space? How large is it and how much space do you have to hang quilts?

The gallery is about 30 feet deep by 20 feet. It's not huge. For Daphne's exhibit we had 21 quilts Noriko has 11 quilts.

Noriko Endo's "Impressionist Quilts" is on display at The Art Quilt Gallery NYC, June 16 to August 6.

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 to 6 pm
Sunday & Monday by appointment only

133 West 25th Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues

212-807-9451
info@artquiltgallerynyc.com

A huge thank you to Cathy Izzo and Dale Riehl for graciously sharing their experience opening and running The Art Quilt Gallery NYC.

Have you been to The Art Quilt Gallery NYC or are you planning a visit? Please leave a comment below.