Ellen Lindner: Art & Creativity

I recently got to see the “Master Art Quilts 2” exhibit in my hometown.  It was especially exciting since the curator and book author, Martha Sielman gave a gallery walk.  It was fascinating to learn a little about the various quilts, their makers, and the artists’ processes!

Since the gallery walk coincided with a SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) event, the room was full and there was much excitement and interaction.

Nancy Billings, Sandra Donabed, and Jayne Gaskins cracked up when I said “Y’all act normal.”

(Although photography is not normally allowed, we had special permission for this one time event.  However, it’s still taboo to post quilt photos without the artist’s permission.  As a result, you’ll notice that I’ve blurred out many of them.)

Beatrice Lanter’s piece, “Vergnugt,” generated lots of interest.  Everyone was in awe of the MANY TINY pieces she stitched together.  Not only because of the technical expertise required, but also because of the overall effect.  It was very compelling.  (Beatrice gave me permission to use this photograph.)

Click on any image for a larger view

 Martha had a great idea when she asked each artist to submit a small sample that could be handled, and that would reference their quilt on display.  These were gathered into books, which were like toys for all the art quilters present.  There were even people waiting for their chance to handle them!  (See below.)

Artists pouring over the sample books

 All the quilts in the exhibit were interesting.  Many were beautiful.  Maybe even translucent and breezy.  Others were dark, political, complex, etc.  Techniques ranged from painting to hand stitching and materials included sheer fabrics, men’s suiting, plastic and much more.   A very diverse collection.

One of my favorite pieces was “Came Out of the Sea,” by Emily Richardson, below.  (You’ll definitely want to click on this one.)

Emily uses lightweight silk fabrics which she hand paints.  She composes her designs very intuitively and uses a ladder stitch to secure each piece.  Emily doesn’t use batting in her quilts and hopes the light weight will allow it to move as you walk past.  Wonderful!  (She gave me permission to use this photo.)

I do so love to view art.  Don’t you?

I hope you get a chance to see this exhibit in Melbourne, FL.  It’s on display through August 24th.  Plus, you can see ALL the quilts here!

Ellen Lindner