This past fall I lectured to a quilter’s group in Northern Virginia. My quilt talks consist of a PowerPoint supported lecture where I go through my history of quilting. I then discuss the quilted homes process I developed. And finally I talk about my fiber-art pieces; reviewing my techniques, showing samples, and doing a demonstration. It is always so much fun! As someone who would never voluntarily speak before a group of people, I am remarkably calm during these lectures. Probably because I’m talking to “my people.” THEY get me, these ladies who quilt. ❤
At the end of my lecture, I offer a prize to the quilter who can recall a specific detail from my talk, such as the style of my first quilt. The prize is a one-on-one class about my quilted art technique. This prize serves two purposes. First, it keeps the quilters engaged and attentive during my talk. And second, it allows me to practice teaching my art quilt technique. I hope that one day I will be able to offer these classes, just like I offer the quilted homes.
About a year ago I held one of these classes for a woman who wanted to capture her sweet dog Buddy in fabric. This was the end result:
She even got his eyebrows and whiskers!
The winner from my fall lecture had the idea of creating an art quilt for her guild’s upcoming show in 5 months. The quilt had to represent her favorite song, which was Blue Bayou by Linda Ronstadt. She had spent weeks collecting photos to convey the image she wanted to create and was eager to learn how to convert these images into a quilted piece of art. I explained my process and advised her that we would need a single image to work from. To accomplish this, I utilized open source AI art and provided my student with an image to work with.
She was pleased with the image and after emailing back and forth, we held a Zoom call where I worked with my student, advising her on fabrics and helping her with the process. In the end, this is what she submitted….
And won first place in her division!! I am so humbled by this experience — and proud of her!
I have always loved the process of transforming pieces of fabric into quilts. For years I collected scraps, just to be sure I'd have the right piece for the project at hand. Eventually, as my skills progressed, my hobby grew into art. I moved from simple quits, to 'landscape quilting' and then eventually onto portrait work. I am new to the art field and am self-taught, learning from my mistakes as well as from my successes. I create my images using only fabric and thread. I remain true to this limitation for two reasons; first, I love the challenge of finding new ways to depict ever more challenging subjects. Second, fabric work remains my true love. I enjoy the hunt for fabrics; where other artists might blend oil paints, I love finding that perfect shade or pattern for a specific need. I refer to my style as "gestalt impressionism" for one needs to take a step back from my pieces to get the whole picture. My view point changes by what is influencing me at the time. Recently I've begun to focus on the journey of the individual. I enjoy working on portraits of people whom I feel have lead interesting lives.
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