Artist Profile: Virginia Spiegel

Virginia Spiegel
Elgin, Illinois

1. What kind of challenges did this theme present to you? I had an artwork ready to be submitted for jurying WAY in advance, but then it was chosen as a cover for a magazine. I was working on several other artworks using the canoe motif and extensive surface design so I didn’t need to agonize (again) on how I wanted to create “Boundary Waters 88.” It WAS difficult to be mindful of the 40x40 inch size after creating several very large artworks.

2. Describe your studio space? It’s a happy place filled with inspiring photos, artworks, and a lot of fabric created by me.

3. Where can people see your work in the next six months? Now – September 19, “H2OH!,” National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY;  Aug. 10 through 2018, “My Corner of the World,” Various locations in Australia;  Aug. 11 – Oct. 22, “EDGE: On the Verge”, Alice C. Sabatini Gallery, Topeka, KS;  Now throughout 2017, “2x20”, Original Sewing & Quilt Expos; Sept. 22 – 24, “Concrete and Grasslands,” 9th Asia Quilt Festival, Shanghai, China.

4. Do you ever work in a series?  If so, what benefits or challenges does this present to you as an artist?I love working in series.  I never grow bored of creating new ways to share with others the beauty of the natural world. I’m ever hopeful that we will come to treasure our precious natural environment, rather than mindlessly exploit it for profit.

5. What other activities do you engage in that “feed” your creative energy? Painting, gardening (both veg and landscape), walking, traveling.