What's an art quilt?

I was asked by a fellow artist the other day, why so many different names for art made from fiber, i.e. art quilt, fiber art, textile art, mixed media, etc. She also made a statement that as she has perused other artists blogs and websites, what she often sees that is referred to as quilt art, has nothing to do with quilts. She was somewhat confused. I attempted to explain how I see the differences and why different people might want to refer to what they do differently. That attempt follows:

What is an art quilt? According to several organizations, the definition of a quilt is, 2 or more layers held together by stitching. Most will have a fabric sleeve on the back for hanging with a rod. An art quilt is intended for the wall, and may or may not have, any number of surface design treatments, using applique' and/or other media, such as paint, ink, photo transfer, beads, yarns, and found objects attached in one way or another to create the image.

Most quilt shows now have a category for art quilts. As a matter of fact the International Quilt Association show in Houston every year is really dedicated to the art quilt as well as "the art of quilting", offering thousands of dollars in awards for the most outstanding work. The American Quilters Society is another large association that has large shows offering awards, and has a quilt museum in Paducah, KY.

Contemporary quilting is very different from the quilts our foremothers made. The majority are no longer only utilitarian pieces made from clothing scraps. The patterns are well thought out, drafted and executed using a sense of color and design to enhance the pattern. The quilting, or stitching, patterns themselves have evolved into being more and more complex. The majority of quilts are quilted by machine rather than hand. Even if a quilt is intended for the bed, coordinating and contrasting colors and fabrics forming the design, present a contemporary way of creating quilts.

I believe there is a bit of politics involved as well when referring to ones art as art quilt, fiber/textile or mixed media art. In my experience, as soon as someone hears the word "quilt", grandma's bed quilt/blanket tend to be the associations. For some, to call themselves fiber or textile artists, or mixed media artists, gets away from that perception, and they feel their work won't be prejudged by the term quilt. These artists may want to become involved in gallery shows as well as, or instead of, quilt shows.

Not all fiber art meets the definition of a quilt. Some artists frame their work, or put it on stretchers to hang. In these cases, the work may not consist of layers held together by stitch, but instead may be any treatment of fabric or use of fibers in a surface design. My own work consists of both art forms, the art quilt, and fiber art that is intended to be framed or stretched as a canvas. Therefore, I refer to myself as a mixed media and/or fiber or textile artist.

For more information on textile art go to: Studio Art Quilters Assocation and/or the Surface Design Association

American Gothic

A friend sent me a quote this morning via email that I've been thinking about all morning.

"Masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice. This experience of the mass is what gives art its healing power, its prophetic strength and durability." Virginia Woolf

I had the opportunity to view Grant Woods' painting, American Gothic last week in person. Our art museum has it on loan as part of an exhibit called "After Many Springs: Regionalism, Modernism & the Midwest". It's a wonderful exhibit with some great photographs, and paintings by Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Jackson Pollock, Ben Shahn, Dorthea Lange and others. But I went to see the masterpiece: American Gothic.

What is it about this painting that separates it from the rest? Why is this one a masterpiece? American Gothic was painted in 1930 in Iowa. The images of the man and woman, are iconic and somewhat mysterious. He looks straight ahead, while the woman looks off to the side. It makes one wonder what she's seeing, what she's thinking. Wood didn't say much about his painting, other than the woman is the man's daughter, when asked about their relationship. Their facial expressions are such that the viewer must decide what they are feeling.

I could stand close enough to the painting to see the brush strokes and how the paint was applied. But to stand a short distance away and take in the image in it's entirety is a wonder. As I thought about the quote above and American Gothic, I began to think about the story the painting tells. I thought about what I know about 1930 and the rural landscape of Iowa. About the Great Depression and what life on the land was like. I took in the facial expressions of the figures, this man and his daughter, and wondered. I was drawn in, caught up in the story, transported to another place, another time. Masterpiece.

It's Melting (or what a difference a week makes)

The sun is out and it's almost 50 degrees today! The snow and ice is melting. So I went and chopped away some of the ice and shoveled some snow off the storm drain in front of the house or else I was afraid the water would start to come up the driveway rather than go down the drain. I think it's about 3 ft. high on top and I could only get about 10 inches of the drain cleared. Made a huge difference though.

Then I went for a walk along the bike path behind our house which follows the creek.


I got some pictures of the creek and some weeds in the snow.

In my exploration of textures, I find the weeds quite interesting. I may need to enlarge this one and study it more.



I liked how the squirrel's next seems to have weighed the branch down so it hangs above the water.

Ramblings and new work

If you look closely, you can see the thermometer on my back deck is reading -20F. The sun is shining, but it was cold that day. That was about 2 weeks ago. Today is 20 above. A vast difference, and a little break in winter. I think I've written before about how watching the weather in Iowa is a pasttime, but also a necessity. This is why. It gets dangerous. This is really not unusual for these parts.


It's probably because this winter has been so blasted cold that my mind is traveling to warm places. This is a new work in progress, called Tide Pool. I intend to build a shadow box frame around it and perhaps tone down the green background a bit.

It's made of silk and cotton fibers: silk hankies, rods and cocoons, thread ends from hand dyed cottons, shells, beads and stones. I have a second piece in progress as well. Just looking at these colors helps me feel a little warmer.

I've been trying to explore textures as well. The soft "hairy-ness" of the silk hankie to the stiffness of the rods and cocoons. Soft threads in contrast with hard stones, beads and shells as well as the irregular surface of the silk background all stitched to painted canvas. I think its an interesting mix and I'm enjoying this exploration.