Quote of the day – from Michael James from an interview in the May/June 2005 Quiltmaker magazine. Their question: If you could offer one piece of advice for quiltmakers today, what would it be?

“It’s the same I’ve always offered: just do the work. And don’t try to figure out what other people want. Figure out what YOU want your work to be, and what you want it to say. Where imagination is concerned, the average American is shortchanged–she’s been dulled into quiet compliance by the forces of conformity. Inventive people (artists and scientists among them) think outside the box–that’s where they’re most comfortable.

Quiltmaking has historically been an art of conformity. I think it’s high time that we relegate that fact to quilt history, and move this art form fully into the 21st century where it should take its place alongside other exploratory and creative media.”

Karen Kamenetzky’s art quilts appear to be a spiritual union between Gustav Klimt and the most exciting parts of botany. Organic cellscapes shimmer in jewel tones. Layers of hand dyed cotton, silk, cheesecloth, yarn, embroidery thread and tulle create layers that create an organic mystery.

Kamenetzky’s artist statement reads: “I am a self taught artist. I began creating traditional quilts more than ten years ago but found I resisted following directions. I now dye all my fabric and enjoy playing with color and line. Currently, most of my pieces are inspired by microscopic/cellular and underground imagery. I am fascinated with imagining how hidden parts of the natural world affect the world we see.”

A statement for the 2004 Art Quilts/New England show reads: “After viewing various plant cell images, the form of this piece took shape. It depicts an imaginary point of transformative change on a cellular level.”

Lynne Heller is a Canadian artist using of a combination of traditional quilting and digital images to create an art experience that is evocative and haunting. A few excerpts from the press release for her 2001 show, Found at 13 Moons Gallery in Santa Fe:
“Toronto textile artist Lynne Heller is at the crossroads of three cultures, digital technology and traditional sewing in her new exhibition of quilts based on Swedish oral histories. Heller brings a contemporary Canadian interpretation to 19th century tales about quilts made by Swedish women who returned from immigrating to America, bringing the New World quilting tradition with them…
…The Found group is based on a collection of stories about 19th century quilts by Swedish immigrants to America who returned home. They brought the techniques of quilting with them and transformed them using their own designs. Heller starts with wide borders, a unique characteristic of Swedish quilts, and abundantly layers lace, wool, silk, printed fabrics, organza, transparent, and quasi-transparent materials using a variety of stitching techniques. Each quilt takes its title from a poignant phrase in the stories about the particular original Swedish quilt that inspired the contemporary work of art. “When I read phrases like ‘There had been order in this house’ or ‘Under an old piece of brown paper’ or “One for a year, until she died,’ I immediately had a sense of what the final piece would feel like even thought I had no idea what it might look like” said Heller. ‘Most of the references to the Swedish quilts are more in tone and sympathy rather than any formal resemblance,” she said.’”

The artwork to the right, ‘…and I have plenty to do…‘ (2000, 72″ x 48″) was inspired by this story: “Rivas, March 15, 1891
“The letters must be taking a terribly long time. I don’t think mail is sent off to Europe more than twice a month from here. Thought at least that you would get my letter by Christmastime.

Now we know that the postal service is late so we must try to stay calm on both sides if we don’t get letters as quickly as we wish.

“We still here in the same place as when I last wrote and I have plenty to do. A lot of starched shirts are worn here, and as the pay for a well-ironed shirt is quite good, I have started to do the ironing for certain people. For one shirt with collar and cuffs I get up to 25 cents, in Swedish money, 75 ore. When I have finished ironing one shirt I have paid for the day ’s food. On account of the heat, I don’t have the strength to do a lot of ironing but it still helps out. There is no one here who knows how to iron and now the whole town is curious to find out how I do it and I take all precautions so they won’t steal the art from me as I would then lose my earnings. Then I only wish I had a Swedish girl here to help me.

Matagalpa, May 17, 1891″

Heller’s recent work is more conceptual than the Found exhibit, yet it continues to explore the relationships of women within their world and their work. She describes the growth in her artistic vision: “The trajectory leading to my current focus started with a solely formal attention to quilts and considerations of structure and material. Making quilts over many years led to a specific concern with functional, heritage quilts. I became intrigued with the lives of the makers and the stories embedded in their work. It is through that interest in the people behind the objects that I have begun to work with sound, image and communication technologies—addressing the disconnect between our hopes and desires versus the concrete manifestations of those needs.”

IQF is America’s largest commercial quilting conference. Karey Bresenhan, founder of the show, has posted photos of the winning quilts on her site, quilts.com . If you scroll down the list, there are categories for art quilts, both large and small. Many of the grand prize winners are also whole cloth art quilts. These are works which are painted and then quilted.

Creating a family photo quilt that is not sappy, sentimental and kitsch is a challenge. The tendency is to take a small emotionally significant photograph, (a wedding, a new baby, a deceased parent) and print that directly onto a piece of fabric. The problem grows from there: how to surround the photo: more photos? Sentimental fabric?

Immigration and Integration: A portfolio of work reflecting the experiences
of immigrants and their descendants in the Jan/Feb 2004 issue of Fiberarts magazine offers an array of image driven quilts that are powerful visions. They demand our minds as well as our emotions.

Andrea Kalinowski has created a quilt, almost 8 feet tall, that features one ghost-image of a ‘Jewish immigrant pioneer’ woman, which is superimposed over a patchwork of the stories and images of other pioneer immigrant women.

Olga Waters has followed used a simple photo collage technique in her quilt, Light Down Under. Using images of her family’s past, Waters tells the story of fleeing Holland after world war II in search of a new life in Australia. The colors in Waters’ work move from stark black and white to rich warm hues and swirling leaf-like lines.

Other images are abstract impressions or three dimensional works. The article is a treasure trove of ways to incorporate memory, but leave out the mawkishness.

In her exhibition statement for the ArtQuilts at the Sedgwick 2002, Cynthia wrote: “Women’s publications were filled with a plethora of advice as well as endless lists that instructed the housewife how to do everything better. The favorite topic of these lists centered around keeping a husband happy. Strict adherence to these lists promised total fulfillment and wedded bliss, while sending a clear message that women were held totally responsible for the success of their marriage.
Some of the articles that Cynthia photo-transferred from 1950’s-era ‘ladies magazines’ include gems like “Remember that a man also needs appreciation and flattery. If he gets it from his wife, he’s far less likely to look for it elsewhere” and “Interest yourself in the things that interest him so you can enjoy them together.” And my personal favorite: “carry your share of the domestic load. It means keeping the home clean and attractive, being a good cook and a thrifty shopper.”

More images of Myerberg’s work:
– How To Keep A Husband Happy with article text by Carolyn Lee Vehslage
– The Way to a Man’s Heart is Through His Stomach from the Proverbial Challenge

Myerberg is also the author of two books on dyeing and quilting (available at your local library):
Dye It! Paint It! Quilt It!
Dyeing To Quilt

Stephanie Hansen is this week’s interviewee at the Artists Loft of Soul Food Cafe presents The Self Portrait Challenge. The challenge which appears easy at first glance, but could offer lots of opportunities for artistic growth.

“How about, when you have nothing better to do, you lie on a big sheet of paper and get the girls to trace around you and then do a self portraiture using the body shape. I am doing this with some Grade 6 kids and I am about to get my Year 12’s to do it as well. It is a real hoot!

Once you have the shape hang it up for awhile – answer some of these questions and then go for it using all your favorite mediums – language, collage, whatever takes your fancy…”

In her interview, Stephanie talks about her work and the importance of language to the visual arts. “My work is filled with the articulation of unpopular truth. A mirror on which I painted, “I am the most important person in my life. I am more important than my parents or my children,” was actually fought over by two women in their forties, each one determined to take it home. But first, each one gasped and declared, ‘I can’t believe you said that!’”

For more of Stephanie’s work, visit her website at: http://worthworks.com/

Any volunteers to coordinate an art quilt challenge around this??

Hilarious, poignant and wonderfully inventive: The Proverbial Challenge

“The Proverbial Challenge is a collection of quilts that depict proverbs and sayings. Each of the quilts was created by an American quilt artist in response to a challenge issued by Sam Hunter, creator of the Proverbial Challenge series. As you browse though the quilts, please take a moment to read the stories about the quilts and their makers – you will find wonderful tales of laughter, joy, inspiration, struggle, pride and honor behind these beautiful works of art.”

Lots of beautiful images, which expand to a very viewable size! Plan to spend some time exploring these images.