Art Quilts

The local art group is having a show later this month and I am in the process of preparing some entries. In the past, quilters were not welcome in this show, however this year the group agreed quilts would be accepted as long as the quilts measured 12" square. Needless to say, none of the group are familiar with anything other than bed quilts plus they do not realize that the size limit on quilts is very restrictive when compared to the other media represented at the show. Enough said, when I am told "no" or given very specific limits, I jump in to beat them at their own game. I designed two small, mixed media quilts for my entries into the art show. They each have had their own unique challenges. My designs ideas are sometimes easier to visualize than to achieve. For the first quilt, I had to be able to draw my concept...well, drawing is a challenge that I am attempting to overcome. So it took several attempts before I acheived a drawing that expressed my design concept. Then I had this wonderful idea to both piece and quilt the project on the longarm machine. Now that was enlightening and fun. The second quilt was inspired by a quilt artist I happened to see on a quilting show on PBS. I took her concept and ran with it. This, too, I decided to quilt and assemble using the longarm machine. Besides fabric, I used a used Color Catcher sheet in the quilt as well as copper wire and beads and cheese cloth. It was very enjoyable putting the different items together to create a finished composition.