Now that my "once-a-year" art show, the Newport News Art Festival, is over I am now focusing on a another one of my passions: quilting! I really like traditional quilts but recently I've gotten into art quilts. It stands to reason that I would like art quilts because there is really no right way to create an art quilt. By definition an art quilt is "an art form that uses both modern and traditional quilting techniques to create art objects. Practitioners of quilt art create it based on their experiences, imagery, and ideas rather than traditional patterns.[1] Quilt art generally has more in common with the fine arts than it does with traditional quilting. This art is generally either wall hung or mounted as sculpture, though exceptions exist"(quoted from Wikipedia).
I just went through my archives to find any pictures I've posted so far on my Kaffe Fassett art quilt but I don't think I've posted any! If you haven't heard of the fabulous designer Kaffe Fassett let me introduce you to him here (click on his name to be taken to his website). His fabrics are wild and whimsical! I can only take his fabric in small doses but my mom has really embraced his style and has started a Kaffe Fassett quilt too. My mom is doing a traditional 9-patch but with these fabrics it is very modern.
Here are some examples of his fabrics from his 2014 Spring and fall collections. I really wish I could post all of them!
Last year at the quilt convention I bought a bundle of fat quarters not quite knowing what I was going to do with them:
I also saw a technique done there that I thought maybe I'd try. There was no pattern which was fine because I don't like following patterns anyway. This quilter sewed the fabrics into tubes then wove them together to make a pattern. Hmmm, I could do that!
This would be the main focus of my quilt. I then appliqued circles onto other parts of the orange background then quilted around the Kaffe Fassett fabrics:
I have only just begun to embellish! I love beads and sequins and other found objects added to my art quilts so stay tuned for the finished product.
Close-ups of embellishing and following my 3 triangle quilting designs within the quilt:
Thanks for looking!!
I have loved going to the Newport News Fall Festival since I was a little girl. My mom has been doing this show with her artwork for a number of years (25+) and I have helped her set up since I was young. Two years ago she suggested that I apply (I had to be juried in with my own artwork) and sell my stuff. I was honored and humbled to say the least. I have always looked up to my mom, she is an amazing artist and for her to acknowledge my work validated me. I was accepted in last year AND this year and it was a total blast! I love that it's the first weekend in October, the weather was perfect and because it's in a park the woodsy smell is just heaven.
A big huge thank you to everyone that came out and supported me! I was sad that my cousin Susan couldn't come down from Northern Va to help me out so my dad had to do double time between my mom and me (giving us potty breaks, etc.)
Here are some pictures from this past weekend:
On Sunday my creative juices were flowing so I sketched 3 pages of notes! I am so excited to start my new ideas so stay tuned because next year's NN Fall Festival will be definitely be better than this year's!
