What Makes my Art Unique? Coming into my Own as an Art Quilter

Coming into my Own as an Art Quilter

For the past ten years, I have worked to come into my  own as an art quilter. It took that long to grow into the artist I am today. Growth happens when we least expect it. I started making art quilts about 12 years ago. I entered and was accepted into my first juried art show in 2010. The next year the same piece won an award. Subsequently, there was not turning back. I was off and running. This year,2019 I was accepted into New York Art to show in their gallery in TriBeCa in New York City.

https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2019/11/following-your-heart/

https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2018/12/on-being-brave/

Others’ Art Quilts

At first,I would look at art quilts in galleries and shows. It was puzzling that none of them looked like mine. At first,I was worried. This struck me as worrisome. It took me a while to realize what that meant. After that, I realised that I had my own style. This became reassuring. No one has had my experiences, my life, but me. No one chooses the materials that I choose. That is why the quilts are different.

Underwater Fantasies

Living on the California coast, marine landscapes are popular.In the beginning when I started doing underwater seascapes, I was concerned about how make a  fish’s face or mouth. Then I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I saw examples of everything . For example, some fish mouths went up,  some mouths went down ,some were big and some were small with everything in between. Subsequently,this freed me to create as I chose. Clearly,I don’t do scientific drawings. However,I do create whimsical seascapes I call underwater fantasies. This is who I want to be.

Wavy Quilting Lines

I have noticed that many  art quilts that win awards at art quilt shows are heavily quilted with tight quilting lines, mostly straight lines ¼”  apart. To me that  kind of quilting just tries to control the fabric and squeeze all movement out of the quilt. Movement is one of my guiding influences . My quilting lines swerve and wave  from corner to corner. It is what I do. It is my style.

Working from Photos-NOT

I do not like to work from photos. I do not want to create anything that can be copied with a camera. That’s just me. Yet many other art quilters do work from photos. They do create award winning pieces.

Once, I tried to make a landscape quilt using fabric with rocks  and trees on it instead of just creating my own. It was not fun trying to find the exact fabric I needed. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. Now I prefer to work in the realm of impressionism. Yes, it will obviously be a landscape or a seascape. But I trust  the viewers’ eyes and minds to interpret a scene as they see it.

https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2019/09/becoming-more-creative/

Threads and Colors

The color of  threads  changes according to what fabric  is near or next to them.The threads and fabric don’t need to match exactly.  I love that quality. It frees the artist from certain restraints.More recently I have been making abstract art quilts by choosing three contrasting  colors. Then I find the hues of those colors to increase the range of the colors. It is what I do. It is my style.

Creating Texture

To add texture, one might find some 3D decorative threads hanging freely down off of the top. One might see  rows of couched decorative threads throughout  the piece adding more texture. My nature pieces may include lots of threads used to create bushes or brush in the landscape.One might see straight or curving tucks to add texture and movement. It is what I do. It is my style as an art quilter.

My Three Portfolios

I have three portfolios that speak to me; Nature quilts(trees, landscapes and  underwater fantasies) Mexican inspired pieces ( often fabric collages) and abstract art quilts. I usually rotate between  each portfolio making several pieces before moving on. In this way , each portfolio feels new as I haven’t done it for a while. Creating Color! Texture! Movement! in each piece remains consistent. It is satisfying to finally recognize who I am and what I do as an art quilter.The good news is I now know who I am as an art quilter. https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2019/10/myself-the-artist/

https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2018/11/sources-of-ones-creativity/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/annbmayartquiltshttps://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/blog-posts/

https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2019/09/fond-fabric-memories/