Friday, June 28, 2013

Artist Profile: Rachel Parris

Rachel Parris
Birmingham, Alabama

1,  What year did you make your first quilt?  Traditional or art?  I made my first quilt in 2006. It was an art quilt

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?  My first entry consisted of my journal quilts at IQF in 2006. Houston at the International Quilt Festival

3.  What is your artistic style? Pictorial, personal, and story based.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  See number one. LOL  No, I don't think so.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest? I am fascinated by crazy quilts and might have a go at that someday. I especially like the ones that have a digital image in the middle.

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist? Photography, block printing.

7.  What do you have coming up?  This exhibit, An Exquisite Moment  Otherwise, I want to just work at my own pace for a while and see where it takes me.

8.  Where will your art take you from here? Who knows? I hope it takes me to new friends. I hope it continues to lead me to confidence in myself. I hope it leads to a deeper appreciation of the beauty that is all around us.

9.  Describe your studio space: My studio space is divided. I have a guest bedroom upstairs that serves as my "work/design" space. I use folding tables from Costco set up on risers, and I mostly work standing up. Supplies and fabric are stored in the closet in plastic bins or folded on the shelf. My "design wall" is a piece of insulation board that I can wiggle in between the toilet and the tub in that bathroom. My sewing machine is in the dining room downstairs.  Oh, my computer, which I use a lot is in the master bedroom. For me, quilting is a very active sport.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?" My BIGGEST challenge, aside from coming up with an idea,  was my decision to work with felt as my batting and backing on a piece this large. My machine only has a 6" harp and I struggled.


Thursday, June 27, 2013

Artist Profile: Carolyn Ryan


Carolyn Ryan
Thousand Oaks, California

1,  What year did you make your first quilt?    Traditional or art?  In 1971 I created a “famous quotations” quilt for my friend, who was recovering from an illness. I knew as I handwrote each 12-inch block that quilting was to be a rich part of my life.

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?  In the mid-‘80s my Amish-variation quilt was in the Glendale Quilt Show in Los Angeles. I remember it because I found out what happens when you hand-quilt on black fabric over a white batting. 

3.  What is your artistic style?  Abstract Expressionism comes into play in almost every piece I create. I’m looking for a mood and a conversation with the viewer. I think that’s why my palette is often warm. I’m working to get comfortable with the mood potential of cooler colors, but it’s a challenge for me.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  My break-out textile art piece was a full-size pieced triangle quilt with realistic 45 records in the foreground, and a large, hand-painted sax player. The piece was lively, showing a reverence for rock ’n roll and for great musicians of the era. I think my core style has remained, and many lessons learned have refined and enriched my approach.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  I have deep respect for so many textile artists: I am drawn to, and fascinated by, the minimalist Asian mark-making look, where form and line is predominant. Every time I see a good piece in this category, I want to try it. The result is always the same – I can’t quite get there, it’s just not in me.

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  My word as a printmaker inspires me “see” in black and white, and to use more contrast in my textile pieces. I have used etching plates and collagraphs to print textiles on a large press. I also use acrylics to paint some of my work. My career in photography journalism helps, as I use my digital camera often to capture moods for my pieces.

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  I currently have 7 framed prints in the Ventura County Government Center, and a mixed media piece (collaged fabrics/framed) in a local show won first prize this month. I am showing work in two or three exhibitions in August and September. I am also VP of the Thousand Oaks Art Association, and working in the artist community offers many opportunities to show my work.

8.  Where will your art take you from here?  I have a kernel of an idea for curating a show mixing literature, music and textile art. I’m in the fun stage – just playing in my mind – no pressure, and no work yet! I’m also working on a series of 7 18x24 textile pieces depicting mood in various abstract compositions. Since I have no agenda for these pieces, it’s a freeing and playful experience. I think we all need this feeling – it keeps our artwork fresh.

9.  Describe your studio space:  My space is one of our 3 upstairs bedrooms. Of course, I long ago overflowed into the guest bedroom next door. Why keep such a good space tidy and silent for 10 months out of the year? Half the time when a friend calls to see what I’m up to, I’m cleaning, organizing, re-arranging fabric and tools. It’s part of the whole creative routine. I also have a funky little outside studio – where I can really play with wet media.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  My brain really rebelled against this banner format. Composition becomes a challenge, and I finally divided my piece roughly into 1/3 and 2/3s to create a focal point, and still have weight at the bottom. The movement in a piece this narrow is pretty much restricted to vertical.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Artist Profile: Diane Rusin Doran


Diane Rusin Doran
Glenelg, MD

1. What year did you make your first quilt? Traditional or art?  I made my first quilt in 1986 or 1987. It was traditional.

2. What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts? Venue?  The first show in which I entered an art quilt was the 1995 Hoffman Challenge. My quilt was accepted, and traveled with the challenge for a year.

3. What is your artistic style?  Some of my quilts are abstract, some are more representational, and some combine the two
styles. Generally I create the quilt top with complex digital imagery, combining heavily
manipulated images from a variety of sources. Heavy machine quilting adds depth and detail to
each piece.

4. Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  Absolutely! I used to love piecing traditional and innovative geometric designs.

5. What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  I really enjoy other surface design techniques, and have many as yet unrealized ideas for quilts that use them.

6. What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  Collage, photography, painting, and various print making techniques greatly inspire me.

7. What do you have coming up? Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  I write a column on quilting filler designs for Machine Quilting Unlimited.

8. Where will your art take you from here?  I love to experiment, and am continuously looking at new ways to incorporate digital imagery and surface design into my work.

9. Describe your studio space:  My studio space is reasonably large but in dire need of organization. It’s in the basement, has great lighting, but sadly no windows.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  I was dreading quilting the background, knowing that it would involve numerous starts and stops. I finally decided to quilt as much of it as I could without stopping, and quilt additional details of the flowers over top of the background design. This strategy worked great!

http://oohprettycolors.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Artist Profile: Cynthia St. Charles


Cynthia St. Charles
Billings, Montana

1,  What year did you make your first quilt?  1974   Traditional or art?  My first quilt was for my first dorm room at college.  I made it from scraps leftover from clothing I'd made during my high school years.

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Pacific Northwest Quilt Fest 2004, Seattle Center near the Space Needle

3.  What is your artistic style?  I consider myself a printmaker.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts? For many years I experimented with a range of styles and techniques as I searched for my artistic voice.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest? I love building a fabric collage and overprinting it in layers.

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist? I have been studying abstract painting in depth lately.  I am also influenced by collage and primitive indigenous designs and patterns.

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc. In fall 2013, Quilt Life (the magazine by Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims) will feature an article about my current series which includes handwritten passages from both of my grandmother's screenprinted as a design layer.  My "An Exquisite Moment" piece "Winter Walk II" is part of the series.

8.  Where will your art take you from here? I've just completed a 3 month solo show at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado that was very successful.  I plan to seek out new venues for future solo shows. 

9.  Describe your studio space: Spacious but cluttered in the daylight basement of my home. 

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  With a theme like that - I initially felt the quilt would have to be "exquisite"!  I don't feel my work can ever be described as exquisite, so I focused on creating something that was meaningful in a deeply sentimental and personal way.
 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Artist Profile: Susan Fletcher King


Susan Fletcher King
Houston, Texas

1. What year did you make your first quilt? Traditional or art?  I started quilting in 2003 after receiving a 1-hour lesson from a friend on how to use a rotary cutter and ruler.  I began with traditional quilts and an old sewing machine and I remember calling my mother who sewed quite a bit and asking her what a "bobbin" was. 
2. What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts? Venue?   In 2005 I entered IQA but was not accepted.  That was a good thing!  I realized that I had a whole lot more to learn!

3. What is your artistic style?    My background is as an illustrator and graphic designer and I carry that into my quilts - especially my illustration style which is mostly grounded in realism.

4. Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  Yes, I went from traditional to art quilts in just a couple of years.  As soon as I had learned some (not all) of the rules, I wanted to start breaking them!

5. What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  I love the merging of different media with fabric - rusted metal and fabric together is really exciting!

6. What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?   I like good watercolors and pen and ink line drawings.  I try for those effects in some of my quilts.

7. What do you have coming up? Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.   I will be completing an Artist's Residency this year at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.  There is an annual gallery show that I will be participating in in Feb of 2014 and other things as they come along.

8. Where will your art take you from here?    I hope to be able to participate in more residencies if possible.  I would like to do more "out of the box" work that will allow me to grow and stretch my creative muscles.

9. Describe your studio space:  Small with every surface cluttered while I am involved in a project.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  The long, narrow size was difficult for me to work with and I felt like I was trying to wedge the proverbial square peg into the round hole.

http://susanfletcherking.com 

Friday, June 21, 2013

Artist Profile: Karen Rips

Karen Rips
Thousand Oaks, California

1,  What year did you make your first quilt?    Traditional or art?   I made my first quilt in 1980.  I took a class at Louis's Quiltworks in Sherman Oaks, CA, and made an entire full size bed quilt by hand.  I will never so that again, but I learned so much.

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?   The first show I was juried into was called "At The Cutting Edge - Contemporary Fabric Art" at the Ventura County Museum of Art in 2004. What a wonderful feeling it was to have my work recognized as art.  That feeling persists today when I'm juried into a show.

3.  What is your artistic style?  My style is abstract realism.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  I think my work was more realistic at the start of my career, but has become more abstract as I have become more comfortable with myself.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest?   I have always been attracted to very simple embroidery lines and would love to incorporate that more in my own work.  I don't feel I have the confidence yet to do that very well, but I'm working at it.

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  Right now that medium would be encaustic.  I love the depth you can get with layers of wax, and would love to be able to reproduce that with fiber. 

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  I am in Quilt National 2013, which opens at the Dairy Barn in Athens, Ohio on May 24th, and my friend Paula Chung and I will have an exhibit at the Visions Gallery in Chandler, AZ  titled "A View Within" from Sept. 13th through October 26th

8.  Where will your art take you from here?  The next goal I've set for myself is to be in national art show.  Of course, when you say where will my art take me, I would love to go all the places my work travels to.

9.  Describe your studio space:  I am fortunate to have a large studio in my home, with a wet area for dyeing and surface design, and a dry area for my design wall and sewing machines.  When I'm working I'm messy, but I try to clean up between projects.  That being said, I often have 2 or 3 projects going on at once.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"   To be honest, the theme was difficult for me.  I kept trying to think of the one exquisite moment, then finally relaxed into realizing there are lots of exquisite moments every day.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Artist Profile: Deborah Boschert

Deborah Boschert
Crofton, Maryland through until mid July
Lewisville, Texas after that


1,  What year did you make your first quilt?    Traditional or art?  In 1996, I followed a "Quilt in a Day" book to make a pieced quilt using the winning hand block.
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2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?  I think it was the Quilt Fest of Jacksonville, FL in about 2001 where I won an Honorable Mention ribbon.

3.  What is your artistic style?  I create collages with fabric and stitching often incorporating botanical images, contemporary compositions and personal symbols.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  I wouldn't say I've changed my style so much as gained much more focus about exactly what techniques, symbols and materials I like to use.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  I love all kinds of quilts, but I haven't made anything outside of my personal style in quite some time. (I'm not sure I even remember how to sew a traditional seam with "right sides together.")

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  Embroidery, story telling, contemporary landscape painting

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  My quilts are included in Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge. They will be on view at Midsomer Quilting in the UK in July and at the AQS Quilt Show in Michigan in August and the AQS Quilt Show in Iowa in October. I am also thrilled to have a quilt accepted into the special exhibit Tactile Architecture which will premier at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October.  I've hosted two webinars with Quilting Daily: Using Unexpected Materials in Fabric Collage and Using Sheer Materials in Fabric Collage. Both are available for download anytime. 

8.  Where will your art take you from here?  Who knows?! I'm hoping my art continues to bring about opportunities for all kinds of growth -- professional, personal, social!

9.  Describe your studio space:  My studio space is currently getting packed up. My family will be moving from Maryland to Texas this summer. My studio space in our new home will be a bit smaller, but it has much better light!

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  It was challenging to create a quilt that fit my personal style and came together in a pleasing design, but also expressed some personal emotions -- even if those emotions are only clear to me.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Artist Profile: Lyric Montgomery Kinard


Lyric Montgomery Kinard
Cary, North Carolina

1.  What year did you make your first quilt?    Traditional or art?  1992, a log cabin made of old denim jeans, two layers of batting, and a twill backing. For some reason I thought a picnic quilt should be very heavy.



2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?  1994, I entered my first bed quilt, a card trick block made in primary colors with white and black alternating blocks and appliquéd alien blobs with googley eyes. It won "best first quilt" at the Capital Quilt Guild quilt show.

3.  What is your artistic style?  Right now I work in two styles, small textural and improvisational abstracts with lots of hand stitching, or large whole cloth surface designed representational work.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  Many times over the years. I began as a traditional quilter but made a quick turn into art quilting but have had a number of shifts as my interests change and the allotted time for art has expanded as my children have grown.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  Photo-realism with intensely colored cloth - but I'm not interested in pursuing it right now.

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  I love all media - especially ceramic sculpture, glass, and illustrative and realistic painting.

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  I'll be in Houston at IQF this fall, and at a NC retreat with the talented Susan Brubakker Knapp in November.

8.  Where will your art take you from here?  To a quiet place of peace, order, and beauty!

9.  Describe your studio space:  A 12' x 12' doorless room, right on the main floor of the house - no closets, crammed as full as it can get.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  The design and creation of the cloth came in a wonderful and effortless flow - then slammed to a sudden halt when I had to figure out what to do with the quilting.


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Artist Profile: Susie Monday

Susie Monday
Pipe Creek, Texas

1,  What year did you make your first quilt?  Must have been about 1995 -- when Sue Benner did a workshop at the Southwest School of Art and Craft!  Traditional or art? self-portrait art

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts? Fiber Artists of San Antonio annual exhibition, about  1995, or the Southwest School of Art and Craft , same year. Venue? Witte Museum, and the Southwest School of Art Navarro gallery

3.  What is your artistic style? Narrative, expressive, eclectic

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts? no

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest? abstract

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist? All of them, but particularly folk art paintings and sculpture, as well as Mexican artists such as Morelos and Kahlo

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.   Work in Exhibits at Kerr Arts and Cultural Center in Kerrville, TX, and Bihl House in San Antonio, as well as SAQA exhibits in BIrmingham, Long Beach and Houston at the International Quilt Festival. I'll have work in an upcoming book by Lesley Riley, and an article in the Quilting Arts Holiday Gifts issue.

8.  Where will your art take you from here? I'd LOVE to teach on a cruise ship or at an international school -- of course, I haven't yet applied anywhere... I'm trying this year to enter as many exhibits as possible, just to push my productivity and see where that takes me!

9.  Describe your studio space: The studio of my dreams, rapidly filling up with fabric! I have an entire small house next to my residence that is just the right size for teaching the kind of small group art retreats that I love to host, and just the right size for me to completely turn into chaos, without it taking me more than a day to put it all back. 

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?" The biggest issue so far is that I could have sold it three times already! I guess I need to work on a series. I think the theme really strikes a chord with people.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Artist Profile: Judy Coates Perez


Judy Coates Perez
Sacramento, CA

1,  What year did you make your first quilt?    Traditional or art?  I made my first (and last) traditional quilt in 1989

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?  I think it I entered my first art quilts into the Austin Area Quilt guild show in 1998.

3.  What is your artistic style?  I'm not sure if I could pin it down to one, but I guess I would have to say my work is representational and most often painted in a graphic style.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  It has been a continuous progression of styles, mediums and techniques over the years, but I think my work has had continuity throughout.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest? I sometimes think about wanting to make what one now refers to as a 'modern quilt'

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  For a number of years I worked in clay, throwing pots and hand building. I loved carving designs in the surface of my work before firing and also painting elaborate designs with glazes which definitely related to texturing the surface of my textile work with quilting stitches. 

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  I'll be teaching at some wonderful venues this year: June 30- July 2 Idyllwild Arts, Idyllwild, CA, August 14-17 AQS Grand Rapids, MI, August 24, 25, Shake Rag Alley School of Arts and Crafts, Mineral Point, WI, Oct 28-Nov 3International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX  

8.  Where will your art take you from here?  Onward and upward! and hopefully somewhere good :-)

9.  Describe your studio space:  My studio is a 15' x 19' room in my house, conveniently next to the kitchen, laundry and a small bathroom. I have a 4'x8' work/sewing table in the center with flat files, file cabinets, several cupboards and shelves for storage as well as an antique dresser that I keep all my cut fabric in.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  Deciding which 'exquisite' moment to choose.


Friday, June 14, 2013

Artist Profile: Cheryl Sleboda

Cheryl Sleboda
Plainfield, IL



1,  What year did you make your first quilt?    Traditional or art?  I made my first quilt in 1997, and it was a block of the month kit from JoAnn Fabrics.  That very first quilt is still unfinished because I started hand quilting it and found it not to my taste.  By 1998 I had moved away from traditional quilting and began art quilting.  By 2003 I turned to smaller art quilts so that I could actually finish them.  

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?  My first show was the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza in 2009.  My quilt took "Best Amateur Quilt - Innovative Category". 

3.  What is your artistic style?  I am best known for my cartoon style quilts, but my style varies from abstract to representational as well.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  I have completely changed my style from when I first started.  I spent the last 6 years doing small weekly quilts which really honed my skills.  When you look back at those 300+ quilts, my style has clearly emerged.  If I had not put in that work, I think I would still be trying to find myself as an artist.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  I think there's so much innovation going on in art quilts right now.  We have not yet reached the limit of new techniques and materials to work with. Right now I'm working with LEDs and other materials that light up in my quilts.  In some ways, what is old is new again.  I've been looking to the past to incorporate dimension in my work by using vintage smocking techniques. 

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  I love when my day job inspires me to do something for my night job of being a fiber artist.  My day job is in the comic book industry, so I find much of my work heavily influenced by comic books and pop culture.  As a kid, I drew what I saw in my comic books, and those skills continue to serve me today in my sketchbook of quilt ideas. 

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  I will be part of Quilting Arts TV Season 12, and I have work in several group shows that are on exhibit around the country.  I'm teaching, demoing, and lecturing to guilds, too.  I have a lot of other projects that are "top secret" right now and are certainly keeping me busy!

8.  Where will your art take you from here?  Every time I think my artistic life can't get any better, it does.  I feel very fortunate.  The sky is the limit when you put your mind on success.

9.  Describe your studio space:  My studio is one of the spare bedrooms in the home I share with my husband.  He got the smaller spare bedroom as a studio of his own in exchange for the basement space, so my studio is a bit larger.  One entire wall is a fleece covered pinnable design wall, and the wall next to it has my IKEA bins of fabric sorted by color.  I have a wonderful sewing table that houses my Janome, which all of my quilts are made and quilted on.  This bedroom has a small walk in closet, which I have lined with book cases for my books, magazines, and small containers.  My ironing board is in front of the window, and I like to watch the neighborhood go by as I iron.  The room was painted green and lavender from the home's previous owner and I kept the wall colors as they were.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  The idea for the theme came right to me once I heard about it, so for me the biggest challenge was to represent the metal in my quilt without using metallic fabrics or thread.  I collected piles of grey threads and fabrics to give the quilt the look of metal.  I studied paintings that had metal represented in them to see how painters chose to pick out the highlights and reflections, so I feel it really stretched me as an artist to work on this quilt.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Artist Profile: Paula Chung

Paula Chung
Zepher Cove, Nevada

1,  What year did you make your first quilt? I began quilting in the 70s but didn't finish a quilt until much later.   Traditional or art? It was very traditional--marking the sewing lines and hand-sewing everything. Then I found I could piece just as accurately with the machine, so went to machine piecing.

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts? I believe the first quilt show I entered was in the 90s at our local quilt guilds in Simi Valley & Thousand Oaks.


3.  What is your artistic style? When I began making art quilts, my style was all over the place, but narrowed it down to large, silk florals, rendered from my photographs. Now I'm focusing on body imaging, as MRIs, X-rays & sonograms.


4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts? Yes.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest? I love exploring the many surface design techniques, but rarely use them in my professional work.


6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist? I continue to draw and paint. It keeps me humble and helps develop my sense of seeing nature.

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc. I'm very excited to have a new piece entitled Marital Bliss in the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles' upcoming show Milestones: Textiles of Transition that runs May 8th through July 21st. 


8.  Where will your art take you from here? I really don't know--I just keep on plugging at it & trying to keep it fresh.

9.  Describe your studio space: My studio is a bedroom, crammed to the top w/ tons of different kinds of fabrics, threads, paints, machines and photo equipment.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?" I think the size was the most challenging aspect of the piece, but I do love the look of long narrow pieces, referencing Asian scroll works.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Artist Profile: Sue Bleiweiss

Sue Bleiweiss
Upton, Massachusetts

1,  What year did you make your first quilt? 2003    Traditional or art? traditional (sort of) - I say sort of because I made it with cut up old blue jeans and flannel as the middle layer.  It’s since been turned into a dog bed.

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Images, The Best of Today's Traditional and Contemporary Quilts - Lowell Quilt Festival 2010    

3.  What is your artistic style?  Not sure if cartoonish is a style but if it is I think that’s the best way to describe my work.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts? When I first started making quilts I tried really hard to make them using traditional blocks and techniques but I just couldn’t bring myself to follow the directions and quickly lost interest in trying.  It took a few years of experimenting with different techniques and materials but I finally found the best way to express my art quilting voice in the style I’m currently working in now which I would describe as playful, cartoony and breaking all the rules.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  I am really drawn towards art quilts that push the boundaries of technique to create quilts that catch your attention from far away and pull you in for a closer look -digital transfer, texture created by fabric manipulation and stitch, surface design techniques used to create layers of interest - quilts with these type of techniques always draw my eye.

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  I’m not sure if it influences my work but I love to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and walk the exhibits, soaking up the colors and images.  I’m particularly drawn to the work of Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse, Miro and Braque to name a few.   I am a huge fan of Chihuly and have several books of his work in my library.  

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.  I have two appearances on Quilting Arts TV scheduled to run later this year and my DVD 
“Coloring Book Fabric Collage: Dyeing, Fusing, Designing, and Quilting”  will be released sometime in August 2013.

8.  Where will your art take you from here? Not sure but my limit is the sky!

9.  Describe your studio space: My husband built a custom studio for me in 2010.  It’s a 600 square foot space with a ton of natural light and I absolutely love it.  You can see a video tour of it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOM2dfxwdHo

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  I actually had too many ideas for this theme and I had a hard time narrowing it down to one!

Website:  http://www.suebleiweiss.com

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Artist Profile: Wen Redmond


Wen Redmond
Strafford, NH

1, What year did you make your first quilt?  Traditional or art?  I made my first quilt, self-taught & experimental with found scraps, in 1974.

2.  What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts?  Venue?  Quilt National has always been at the top of my list, Art Quilt 21, that is now Art Quilt Lowell, MA, Quilters Gathering, MA and my local guild. In 1986, one of my pieces was requested for the museum that became the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.

3.  What is your artistic style?  I love to experiment. My work has grown though many stages. Presently, I work with digital fiber processes.

4.  Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?  Yes, I have a lecture, Journey with a Fiber Artist, which shows my work as it changed and grew. Transformation is the lifeblood of my work.

5.  What other style in quilt making piques your interest?  I’m really into digital works. I enjoy how other artists use the process to present images differently or use a consistent subject matter. Digital Collage is fast becoming my new focus.

6.  What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist?  Media Mix is my term for a workshop I offer using fibers, papers and a host of acrylic mediums. The spontaneity and serendipity feed the process of experimentation. 

7.  What do you have coming up?  Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.
I’m proud to have been included in Brainstorms at Visions Art Museum, CA, recently, at Interplay: Digital Mixed Media at Cotuit Center, and upcoming, Sacred ThreadsPushing the Surface, Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum OH, Niche Award finalist and interview Lesley Riley’s radio www.blogtalkradio.com.  Published Articles in SAQA Winter Journal, Quilting Arts Magazine, Textured Fiber Photographs, Interweave DVD Workshop, Textured Fiber Photographs.  Books - Cutting Edge Art Quilts, Mary Kerr; Fabric Surface Design, Cheryl Rezendes; Bound, a WCA NYC exhibit, Studio Quilt, Sandra Sider.  Teaching at Peters Valley Crafts Center , NJ on August 23-27

8.  Where will your art take you from here?   Hopefully, into the flow, imagination and continued growth. One of my key phrases I use about my art is- ‘Making the Imagination Real’.
One of the joys of teaching is seeing workshop participants reveal themselves, get into the flow and make art.

9.  Describe your studio space:  Recently, I have moved out of a delightful studio space in an art community and also, out of a large studio in my home into a smaller but very efficient studio in a new home. There is lots of natural light. There is the simple joy of retraction, with the expectation of how this new environment will influence my work.

10. What was the biggest challenge you have encountered in the making of your art quilt for "An Exquisite Moment?"  I wanted to use lots of color for this piece. Normally, my work is muted in tone.  I worked with a number of images, which are collaged digitally.
The colors in the piece are created by the addition of images of my painted fabrics. These layer over the complete collage, influencing or changing the final color.


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