Sherry Kleinman - Pacific Palisades, CA

1.  What do you call yourself - art wise?  Sometimes I am an art quilter and other times I call myself a fiber artist------that later really combines the fine art side of me with my love of textiles.
2.  How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump? I like to work on several projects at a time, it is a great way to kick start ideas.  Inspirations seem to come to me while working on a variety of pieces.  Creativity seems to breed more creativity!  Taking my dog for a walk along the bluffs overlooking the ocean seems to be a great inspiration place for me...the grand vista of all that water and the ocean air have sparked ideas for quite a number of pieces.
3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art?   I would remodel to make a bigger studio and travel the world visiting museums and galleries exploring places I have never been.
4.  Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.? Not really in an organized daily way, but I do like to cut and tear paper to try out an idea before I go for the fabric, kind of building block style.  I do have notebooks of photos taken by myself or by my 3 daughters (kept in plastic sheet protectors) that I often refer to for inspiration.  I work from an artist model once a week, and those drawings have been a big springboard for my work.  From the basic figure I expand creating a scene that tells a story.  I often don't quite know what the outcome will be or where my muse will take me.  I work best NOT having it all planned out ahead of time.
5.  Where can people see your other work this year?  shows, books, magazines, etc   California Fiber Artists  group shows (http://cafiberartists.com/); Bakersfield Museum of Art (March-May) Bakersfield, CA, Eureka Art Museum (June-August) Eureka CA, East Bay Mud (October-December) Oakland, CA; PAQA South ArtQuilts:Movement (May-July)Durham, NC
6.  Do you teach?  where?  I will be teaching for the Westside Quilters (Los Angeles) in April.....It will be a class on how to use water soluble media.....I love using water-soluble crayons and pencils on fabric and want to encourage others to try it.
7.  Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life? and why? I have taken art classes at Brentwood Art Center in Santa Monica, CA for years and David Limrite's mixed media figure class has been the most influential.  David is a wonderful teacher who has taught me so much....and encouraged me when I ventured into the fiber world with my fine arts.
8. Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday? Quilt National and Quilt Visions are my long term goals.
9.  Describe your studio workspace.  I have one main studio (a spare bedroom) to work in but my projects often spill out into the rest of the house:   the dining room table to cut fabric, the pool table to store quilts and in another bedroom lives my long arm.  My husband and I make use of all the rooms our 3 daughters have left behind.  Sometimes we wonder how did we ever have room for them too?
10.  What 3 tools could you not live without? My Viking SE, my paints and brushes.
11.  What drives you to make the work that you do? I have an inner passion to create and explore, a curiosity to see what works.  I have never liked to follow set patterns as traditional quilts require.  Making art quilts was a wonderful revelation to me, that there were no rules I had to follow. 
12.  How do you balance your life? I have no problem with balance these days, as my daughters are grown and my husband retired (he can be found on the golf course or tennis courts).  So I have wonderful long days to work in my studio creating art, something I didn't have time for in my past life.   Since I made my first art quilt 6 years ago, it has been a wonderful time for me:   making new friends, traveling to shows, and creating art.  But I guess I do wish the days were longer...never enough time to make all the art that is inside my head wanting to come out!

http://www.sherrykleinman.com/
http://www.californiafiberarists.com/

Lyric Kinard - Cary, NC

 1. What do you call yourself - art wise? An Artist.
 2.  How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump? I do the work. It’s all about getting in and starting - making - doing. I don’t believe in waiting for the muse - I believe in being there with your hands already moving and creating to invite her in. I am always recording ideas or doodles in my sketchbook or with my camera so I have a plethora of inspiration when I have time to actually get down to the art-making.
 3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art? I’d spend a year in Italy getting an MFA. Then I’d buy this beautiful three story brick barn in my town. It would make an absolutely lovely retreat/classroom/shop/studio center. I’d make art, teach art, sell art… and travel some more.
  4.  Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.? Always, always, always. I have a small book that lives with me - I call it my paper brain. Everything from quick composition sketches to grocery lists go in there. Ideas don’t always come at convenient times or places and this treasure captures them and holds them until I can make time for them. I also have larger sketchbooks: one for life drawing sessions, one for the Sketchbook Challenge, one for studies in texture or color or different media. One can never have too many sketchbooks.
  5.  Where can people see your other work this year?  shows, books, magazines, etc I’ll have work up in August in the Exchange Gallery at the Visual Arts Exchange in Raleigh, NC. I also have a piece that will show during May at the Durham Arts Council in the ARTQUILTSmovements show. Check in on my blog to see any other listings that might come up.
  6.  Do you teach?  where?  Yes! It’s a passion of mine. This year I’ll be in Houston, Asheville, Cedar Rapids, and Nashua NH.
  7.  Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life? and why? I am constantly finding new loves and inspirations in the art world so it is impossible for me to pick out one. I’ve have always had a particular fascination with Art Deco and Art Nouveau. In the quilt world Caryl Bryer Fallert, as a teacher and business woman has been a great example to me. She is generous with her knowledge and savvy in every way.
  8. Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday? MOMA, the Renwick, any of the Smithsonian museums? Why not dream big? Oh - some day I’ll be in Quilt National too.
  9.  Describe your studio workspace. Most often, I’m working out of a basket or a little bag - doing handwork during hockey games, music lessons, at the park or whatever else I’m doing with the kids. I do have a lovely studio where a formal living room might be with machine tables, a drafting table, huge design wall, and cubbies and baskets all crammed with glorious stuff!
10.  What 3 tools could you not live without? Paint or Dye, Cloth, and my Thermofax Machine to make screens with!!!
11.  What drives you to make the work that you do? Usually a deadline (grin!) I simply love to create - to bring order from chaos, beauty from nothingness. It feels like my art is the only thing I do that isn’t almost immediately undone. I also am easily bored and forever curious and fascinated with the world around me. I can’t sit and listen - I have to be doing something with my hands in order to pay attention well.
12.  How do you balance your life? Hah! With five children still at home there is no such thing really. They come first, but they know that time and space for art and teaching will be made. Family, Work and Art life doesn’t balance daily or even weekly most times - but over the long run I make sure each gets the time it needs.
 

www.LyricKinard.com
www.LyricKinard.blogspot.com
www.LyricArt.etsy.com

Barb Forrister - Austin, TX

1. What do you call yourself - art wise?  I am a fiber artist who enjoys using unusual and “upcycled” materials to convey textural surfaces. I love to heat distress synthetic fibers and add 3 dimensional elements to my work.
2. How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump?  I photograph nature and feel that there is always something that calls to me and beckons to be created. I contribute to many causes for both animal protection and environmental issues and often find that I can speak through my art to make people aware of their plight or circumstances.
3. If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art?   I would travel more and allow my world to inspire me. I would also love to have a full size studio with lots of storage and room for creating.
4. Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.?  I have a few different size sketchbooks that I use to sketch ideas and keep notes. Sometimes, I even use napkins to doodle on and then transfer them to my sketchbook for later reference. 
5. Where can people see your other work this year? shows, books, magazines, etc.
My work can be seen at International Quilt Festival Special Exhibits Including Text On Textiles, Celebrate Spring, 175th Birthday of Texas as a Republic, Open European Quilt Championships in the Netherlands and the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center (NHOTIC) in Baker City, Oregon. Publications include 2011: Lone Stars III: Texas Quilts Today by Karey Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, The Copper Shade Tree Art In Fiber 2011, Studio Art Quilts Associates Inc. Portfolio 18 and In the Spotlight, Barb Forrister in April/May 2011 edition of Quilting Arts Magazine.
6. Do you teach? where?   I absolutely love teaching and this year I will be teaching Artful Coloring for the Austin Area Quilt Guild. I hope to have more teaching opportunities in the future.
7. Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life? and why?  I love all sorts of art and artists though I can’t say that anyone in particular has influenced me in my work. 
8. Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday?  I would love to have my work included in one of SAQA travelling venues and perhaps one day, at Quilt National. I would also like to have a solo art exhibit in a museum. 
9. Describe your studio workspace.  I share a studio with my husband. He creates music and I create visual art. I love the way both senses are blended together!
10. What 3 tools could you not live without?   That’s a tough one! Let’s see… I would need my sewing machine, needle felting machine and a pair of scissors. If I had to, I could make do with that!
11. What drives you to make the work that you do?  I absolutely adore texture and am mesmerized with creating naturescapes from recycled and unconventional materials. I am a very tactile person!
12. How do you balance your life?  Family is first, then art. My days are spent creating art but by 4:30, it’s all about family time and enjoying one another’s company.

http://www.BarbForrister.com/
http://freespiritartstudio.blogspot.com/

Karen Rips - Thousand Oaks, CA

1.  What do you call yourself - art wise?  There's been a lot of talk in the  blogosphere about defining ourselves, and I vacillate between textile artist and fiber artist although regardless of the adjective, I am an artist.  
2.  How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump?   Fortunately, the last few years have been very productive for me and I've had more ideas than time to explore them.  I keep an idea book with photos, drawings, and notes in it that I refer to when I'm stuck.
3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art?  Philanthropy aside, I don’t think I would change anything.
4. Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.? I keep an idea book but don’t seem to have the discipline to do daily sketches or journaling, which is probably to my detriment as I think it would make me a better artist.
5. Where can people see your other work this year? shows, books, magazines, etc.  I am proud to be a co-author of the just published book, “Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge.”
6. Do you teach? Where?   I don’t teach, I don’t think I have the patience for it.
7. Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life? and why? Jean Ray Laury opened  up the world of art quilting for me.  I took a class from her years ago in Pasadena, California, and still refer to her books when I want to go back to the roots of what I do.
8. Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday?  I know that it is important artistically to be seen and recognized, yet at this moment I am not show oriented.  This  invitational is the only show that I’ve entered in the last year.  I think long term I would love to see my work hanging in a gallery setting.
9. Describe your studio workspace. My work space is fairly large, having appropriated the former bonus room in our house.  I have a wet area with two sinks and a dry area with design walls.
10.  What 3 tools could you not live without?  Does a Bernina count as a tool?  That, my design wall, and my camera are the tools I use the  most.
11.  What drives you to make the work that you do?  What drives me is the desire to interpret what I see into my own vision.
12.  How do you balance your life?  I’m lucky to have a husband who is a glass artist, so we each have our own focus during the day.

http://fiberartmusings.blogspot.com/

Linda Frost - Lawrence, KS

1.  What do you call yourself - art wise?  I call myself a textile artist.
2.  How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump?   There is an overwhelming amount of creativity to be found on the internet. When I am in a slump, I visit one of my favorite blogs and then visit some of the sites on the "favorite links" list that many folks include on their blogs. Then I visit the links on those sites. After a bit of random skipping around the internet, I am usually more than inspired to do some work of my own.
3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art?   If money wasn't an issue, I do not think that it would change what I do with my artistic efforts, but it might change where I do my art. My basement studio is comfortable, but a studio with a view in a milder climate always sounds like nice someday dream.
4.  Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.?   I have made several failed attempts to keep a sketchbook, or at least a list of projects I'd like to try. Somehow I don't seem to be able to stick with it, though. My work is often like my internet habits, wandering and sporadic.
5.  Where can people see your other work this year?  shows, books, magazines, etc
I just published a book with Pickledish.com called "Happy Birthday Kansas!" It features a block of the month quilt that I designed to celebrate Kansas's 150th birthday. My quilt "Rosh Hashana, the Head of the Year" is traveling with the "America Celebrates" exhibit curated by Judith Trager. The two quilts I made about the BP oil disaster that I refer to as my tar ball quilts are part of the Topeka Competition 30 exhibit now until May 13 at the Sabitini Gallery in Topeka, KS. My quilt "Geode Slices" will be in the "Happiness: Quilted Expressions" exhibit May 5- July 10 at the Riffe Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. "Why Always War?" will be included in the "Play" exhibit at the Brooklyn Textile Arts Center May 13 - June 24.
6.  Do you teach?  where?  I have not done any teaching for quite a while.
7.  Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life? and why?  Classes with Nancy Crow, Jane Sassaman and Ruth McDowell gave me the skills to piece together just about anything I can imagine. I would hope to someday be able to use color the way Wayne Thiebaud does in his paintings. The variety and quality and sheer volume of work that Paul Klee produced is a goal to reach for as well.
8. Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday?  I would like to be in Quilt National.... and if I am really dreaming, MOMA.... or maybe its next door neighbor, the American Folk Art Museum.
9.  Describe your studio workspace.  I have taken over the basement of my home for my art. I have a ping pong table to work on, solid shelves for storage, good lighting, a sewing machine cabinet with a large table, a utility sink and dedicated washing machine for dyeing. I am very lucky!
10.  What 3 tools could you not live without?   My sewing machine, rotary cutter and mat.
11.  What drives you to make the work that you do?   I have always loved fabric. There is so much variety in texture, pattern and color in today's fabrics. When that resource is added to piecing, painting and dyeing, the possibilities are endless.
12.  How do you balance your life?   Who says my life is balanced? I guess I just do as much as I can, as well as I can, and try not to obsess too much about what falls by the wayside. Comic relief in my life is provided by my collection of geriatric parrots. Pride is supplied by my two fabulous daughters. Support is provided by my long-suffering but good natured husband.

http://www.13thstreetstudio.typepad.com/

Terry Grant - Portland, OR

1.  What do you call yourself - art wise?   I call myself a fabric artist. I quit calling myself a quilter because that just makes people want me help them make a baby quilt.
2.  How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump?   I try something new on a small scale. A slump usually means I am bored with myself and need a challenge.
3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art?   I would spend half my time traveling and getting inspiration, then the other half creating in the state of the art studio I would build.
4.  Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.?   I use a sketchbook, as opposed to keeping a sketchbook. My sketchbooks are purely functional, working sketches and not for anyone's eyes but my own. My blog is my journal.
5.  Where can people see your other work this year? shows, books, magazines, etc
I have an article in the upcoming issue of the e-Mag In Stitches and work in Susan Brubaker Knapp's upcoming book. I am one of the authors of Twelve by Twelve: The International Quilt Challenge just released this spring and our work will be seen at the Houston, Cinncinnati and Long Beach International Quilt Festival shows. I have also submitted work for other shows yet to be announced. You can always see work in progress on my blog.
6.  Do you teach? where?   I teach only occasionally. My most recent teaching engagement was at the Stitches in Bloom Quilt Show at the Oregon Garden.
7.  Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life? and why?  Many, many years ago the work of Jean Ray Laurie showed me that quilts could be something more than bedcoverings. Her innovative techniques, free spirit and sense of humor have been a great inspiration.
8.  Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday?   I would love to have a solo show in a gallery some day. That means I would have to accumulate show worthy work and then summon the courage to approach a gallery. Gulp!
9.  Describe your studio workspace.   Right now I work in a tiny, cramped bedroom with horrible wallpaper! We are in the final stages of obtaining permits to build a new studio on our property. It will be heaven when it is finished.
10.  What 3 tools could you not live without?   My sewing machine, of course. My light box and a collection of good scissors.
11.  What drives you to make the work that you do?   It is who I am.  I can't imagine my life without it.
12.  How do you balance your life?    I gave up on the idea of balance long ago. I am a glutton for what makes me happy—art, friends, family, travel. I clean when it is absolutely necessary and sleep very little!


http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/
Quilting Daily interview

Laura Cater Woods - Billings, MT

1.  What do you call yourself - art wise?  "artist", or mixed media artist
2.  How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump?   Most "slumps" are a result of creative energy being used by non-studio issues. I fill the well with the things that inspire me, keep a routine of quiet time every day, the juice returns eventually.
3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art?   More! Bigger! I'd love to work large scale with durable surfaces.
4.  Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.?   several at all times. They are primarily repositories for ideas, observations, planning as well as a place for regular drawing.
5.  Where can people see your other work this year?  shows, books, magazines, etc
This year my work can be seen primarily on line. I am preparing for a major show in January and holding most work back for that.
6.  Do you teach?  where?   I teach across the US, sometimes in Canada. Guilds from time to time, but more frequently I am teaching for small mixed media gatherings s and private groups. I have taught online in the past and may go back to that in 2013.
7.  Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life? and why?  A teacher early on whose questions still give me things to think about. He taught me to see, to consider size and scale, and to question "how much information is enough?"
8. Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday?   My work lives in several public spaces (hospitals, clinics, residential treatment facilities) . In the future I will be seeking out more of these opportunities.
9.  Describe your studio workspace.   The entire North wall is glass, looking out on my back garden, a secluded space with year round interest. The interior of the space is very small and  crowded with storage, work tables , a drafting table. In various nooks and crannies are twigs, cottonwood roots, rock and shell of all sorts. The floor is painted, great for accepting the inevitable spills.
10.  What 3 tools could you not live without?   a mark making implement of any sort, reference books on the natural world, my sense of wonder
11.  What drives you to make the work that you do?   I want to learn about the mysteries, find meaning in what I see, find the universal connections in the forms that obsess me. It's an ongoing journey.
12.  How do you balance your life?   Ideally all parts of my life intertwine and support each other. Sometimes one aspect needs more time and energy, that's ok.

http://www.cater-woods.com/
http://www.cater-woods.com/weblog/
http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/