A Day in the Life of a Quiltmaker

Like many days in a quiltmaker’s life not a lot of quilting got accomplished today!

I’m off to New York next week and spent the morning researching (Art in America and museum website) the must see exhibitions. Seeing the work of masters is vital to the artist’s education and I plan to see as many wonderful works as possible! Top of the list is the Bonnard show at the Met and then the Asian influence show (Third Mind) at the Guggenheim. Both shows close on the 19th (why d'they do that?!!!). I’m so intrigued by composition that I think I’ll learn a lot from both shows. Bonnard’s sense of place and compositional design is quite fascinating and different from his contemporaries I think. I also hope the American Watercolor society will have its annual show open while I’m there. Last year there was huge controversy over the Gold Medal winner so it’ll be interesting to see what they pick this year! There’s also an Abstract Expressionism show at Michael Rosenfeld that, I hope, will be exhilarating – not that I can see ever making an abstract expressionist quilt!! but you never know.

While looking for photographs of quilts to take with me to show friends I came across a couple of snaps that i thought would be of interest.

In this one Linda Levin appears to be praying to the heavens for me to see sanity? or maybe to receive creativity! or maybe she just wants me to wash the dishes?

And in this one, a reminiscence of the old quilting days – when you would work quietly with a friend,
Dominie Nash, on a piece, stitching and talking…such a wonderful activity.

I did manage to get my Cement works piece basted:

As you can see I like to use safety pins – for many reasons. It’s fun to take them out as you go along – which you can’t do with stitch basting. They’re totally renewable!! I’ve been using the same ones for about 20 years and I didn’t even buy them in the first place…just gathered them from labels and dry cleaning and so on. They don’t pollute the environment. And they don’t involve glue – me and glue don’t mix well!!

I also had fun playing on the ‘net:

Then I was interviewed by a local journalist/retired professor and artist, John English, who asked me about the different periods of my quilting life…interesting to go back chronologically now I’ve done over 200 pieces and see how they all fit together. One day I went through the whole list and picked out my absolute favorites – I think that’s a worthwhile thing to do…then analyze just what it is about them that really strikes you. I do like work that is very pulled together and also economical – it says exactly what it needs to say, no more, no extraneous claptrap (unlike this blog at times!). I still need to subtract more than I add, I need to distill!

John is writing a piece for Athens magazine, I’ll give details when I have them.

Finally I got a note from Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN to say that my class in July has made! that’s wonderful, it’s such an inspiring place. I do hope now that the workshop in Syracuse at Quilting by the Lake (see sidebar) in late July will make – I just need 4 more people to sign up!! so if you’ve been dithering, hesitate no more!!! and thank you……also, I’m happy to answer any questions, if you have them, about any of the workshops.

If you have been, thanks for reading!!
Elizabeth