Does this look like a quilt to you? When I first saw it in one of the galleries at the San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum this past weekend, I thought immediately that this could be a fine art painting. The colors! The shapes! It is truly awesome. The museum currently is displaying a portion of the entries into the 2011 Quilt National.
In fact that's what I thought over and over as I walked through the galleries at the SJQ&TM...the colors! the shapes! These are quilts?
The quilt in the photo is one of the entries in the 2011 Quilt National and winner of the Juror's Award...it's by textile artist Jean Evans. It's titled "My Space." I found an article done last year on the website for the Delmarva Town Crier which said of this artist and her work:
Jean Evans of Medina, Ohio, says she takes “an energetic, enthusiastic, ever-evolving approach” to her creations. She first translates her thoughts into sketches, then drawing and paintings, then a full-size drawing. She prefers large shapes, curved lines, and a graphic look and hand quilting, with hand appliqué.
The day I visited the quilt museum there was also offered a presentation by one of the jurors of the 2011 Quilt National - and an internationally known art quilter herself - Nelda Warkentin. It was an interesting talk. While she showed slides of her own work, described her process, showed a selection of quilts from the 2011 national show, I began to feel an affinity for art quilts because of my own experience with mosaic work. Both art forms work with piecing...applying something onto/with something to create something new . Also both art forms can be appreciated in two very different ways:
- both art quilts and mosaics can be viewed from a distance and their overall picture
will appear. As example, the quilt above looks like an abstract painting of a room - see the chair, the table with the vase of flowers, the chair with the folded newspaper? In the photo to the right of my mosaic work can you see the setting sun? the tree?
- both art quilts and mosaics have a whole other dimension when seen up close. For quilts, when you stand right up to them
you see the thread, the construction and all the myriad details [can you see the stitch lines in this little detail photo?] For mosaics you see the individual tesserae as in this example
I said in the title for this post that these quilts aren't 'your grandma's quilts.' That was strictly an attention-getter as I've always been deeply appreciative of the textile art of quilting...whether the quilt is done in traditional made-for-your-bed designs or constructed using innovative techniques and meant to be works of art - art quilts.
Nelda Warkentin, in her presentation, showed a slide of a quote by someone [sorry, I didn't get the name of the person] who had given her this definition of art quilt: "...A successful art quilt, which hangs in space without frame or any barrier between the art and its viewer, reverberates with the power of its textured textile presence...."
I like what Nelda says on her website about her work:
"My work is about rhythm, pattern and symmetry. For me, one bird in flight is interesting, but birds flying in formation are mesmerizing. The same is true for other patterns around me - blades of grass, ocean waves...."
I feel a similar way about my mosaic work. I like movement and shape and the of manipulation of color.
The gift shop at the museum had some cool merchandise from quilt and textile artists. As I walked around looking at what was displayed, my eye was caught by a flash of pink. It drew me. Gracefully draped on a manniquin was a lovely pink scarf. I touched it, I looked it over. It was beautiful. But, I walked on. However, after I'd taken time in the galleries being amazed at the beauty of the art quilts displayed there, back I went into the gift shop. Seems I just had to have
that scarf! It's made by cdd Silhouettes, Wild Imagination On Fiber Arts. This scarf is 100% pure silk and the texture is done by a process special to the artist.
All in all I had a wonderful mini-vacation last week. What now? Tomorrow evening I"m attending a presentation by an artist who works in glass - spending the evening with my two daughters; and this weekend I'm attending the Women's Power Strategy Conference 2012 in Marin County - looking forward to the keynote address by Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, California Arts Council Chair.
Some photos from my mini-vacation:
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