Small Quilt Craze
All right, so maybe it’s not a craze. I have no idea how many people are actually doing it. The ATC phenomenon seems to have reached epic proportions, and the Inchies have now hit the scene. So far, I’ve had little desire to do either, but one never knows in what form the muse will inspire next; which brings me to the work of Jane Davila, a fiber and mixed media artist, and her partner Elin Waterston. They have a new book out called Art Quilt Workbook, which Amazon describes as follows
“Part quiltmaking workbook, part business guide, Art Quilt Workbook shows how to take quilting in a creative new direction through art–then sell the quilts at craft fairs and other venues.”
“A creative new direction through art” could mean just about anything, but when you behold Jane and Elin’s work, they both manage to do a superb job in a very small format. I decided to attempt some small quilts: around the 8.5 x 11 inch size. That’s the real estate of one sheet of computer paper.
When I was taking University classes, I loved writing papers. It was always a joy for me: the research, the finding or filling out of a thesis, the fine tuning of what I had learned and the challenge to express it in an interesting and compelling way (And yes, I confess, I did suffer some mockery for my exuberance, in general, and this penchant, specifically). However, when I was working on my MLIS (Masters of Library and Information Science–now THERE’S a mouthful) we were, ironically I thought, asked to write a ream of papers that could be no longer than 2 pages ( a mere 600 words)! This proved to be much more difficult than producing , say, 40 pages. I typically excavated a fair amount of material from the library stacks, and enjoyed including ALL of it. (Yes, I do know what “succint” means. Sometimes quantity can be quality.)
That aside was my attempt to explain my trepidation about small quilts, which is, in some ways, hilarious, because my art work is seldom anywhere near a bed quilt size. But this art business is all about extending one’s toes beyond the usual stomping territory. So here goes . . . with hopes for a pirouette or two.
One more thing: I am reading Foolsgold, by Susan G. Wooldridge. Her intro, right off the bat, delivers a zing that makes every cell sing: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” –Harold Thurman Whitman.
(WIKIPEDIA: For some unexplained reason, the [above] quote is widely and incorrectly attributed on the Internet to Harold Thurman Whitman. The actual author of this quote is Dr. Howard Thurman. Harold Thurman Whitman is purely fictional.)
#art #comealive #smallformat #alive #Artquilt #SusanGWooldridge #smallquilt #Inchies #Foolsgold #ATC
