Art Writing Samples
by Lisa R. Hooker
Quilt and fiber art “Pieced Together”
Appeared in the May 2007 issue of Country Living magazine, published by Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., Columbus Ohio. Quilts old and new take on an artistic flair at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in Lancaster.
“We’re showing what art quilts are. Fiber artists fight the public notion that quilts only belong on a bed,” says Curator Michelle Stitzlein.
She invited 10 noted quilters and fiber artists from across the country to participate in Pieced Together: Historic and Contemporary Quilts and Fiber Arts. Some are recognized as founding artists of the 1970s international art quilt movement.
The historical exhibits include quilts originally created for functional purposes. These quilts, selected from private and museum collections in central Ohio, were chosen to illustrate the art that transcends pure function.
Stitzlein specifically stayed away from quilts with historic patterns. These Amish quilts, quilts by self-taught artists and quilts by grandmothers whose mothers taught them the craft represent the ambition to create strong visual statements.
“I focused on artists who made a personal statement with bold colors, imagery and just great overall patterns,” she says. “Even though these were intended to cover a bed, I think the historical creators’ intention was more than just function. Exhibit visitors will go ‘wow’ when they walk into the room and see them displayed.”
Pieced Together also offers a rare look at the development of the Art Quilt Movement that has its roots in traditional quilting.
“The word quilt certainly has expanded in definition,” Stitzlein says. “For me, the most defining difference is that it’s old school to be using any kind of template with geometric patterns. Contemporary art quilting has branched out beyond that approach.”
The quilters’ artwork demonstrates today’s innovative techniques found in quilts and fiber art. Sizes vary from a few feet square to bed size quilts. And the items are made from more than fabric.
“It can be any fibrous material like cardboard or paper,” Stitzlein says, herself an artist.
Contemporary quilts are made for walls, not beds. “When quilt artists work free-form, they’re working intuitively. Traditional quilters might draw the design on a grid and use templates. Today’s contemporary quilters cut the fabric free-form, pin it on the wall and look at the piece as it evolves. The process is very much like an artist applying paint to a canvas,” Stitzlein says.
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