Artists portray quilt innovation and creativity

By Carol-Anne Salladin
STAFF WRITER

Over the past weekend I had the opportunity to see two exhibits at the Memorial Art Gallery: Wild by Design: Two Hundred Years of Innovation and Artistry in American Quilts and Thinking on Paper: Preparatory Drawings from the Collection of the Memorial Art Gallery.

First up was Wild by Design, a collection which features 25 quilts created by American women from the early 1800s to the present day. On my way to the museum, all I could think about was the longstanding notion of tradition and quilting. The idea that a quilt is something that endures time — an heirloom which is meant to be treasured and cherished. It is a special gift that becomes increasingly meaningful. 

Once I arrived at the exhibit I realized that Wild by Design was about more than tradition. The exhibit illustrates through the many varied and diverse designs that quilting, like other creative endeavors, is about working within parameters while challenging yourself to push those boundaries beyond what is expected.

With a brief glance around the gallery, I quickly observed that the women who had designed the quilts were innovators. Women who didn’t just sew the patches of material together, but rather painted with fabric. Traditional patterns were awakened with bold color, unexpected fabric combinations, and in one case, even glow-in-the-dark paint was used for further effect. 

I remember hearing that “quilting is sharing yourself with others.” That’s exactly what these quilts do. Taking inspiration from everything from summer fireworks and kaleidoscopes to the desert of the Southwest, the artists effectively convey with vivid color and design that quilts are more than just a blanket. They are works of art which should be shared and admired. At the same time, they exemplify experimentation, improvisation and the creative spirit that exists within. The quilts are on tour from the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska and will be on display until March 16.

Next up was Thinking on Paper. Appropriately titled, preparatory drawings are drawings or plans which are used as a model for the work to be executed. The images provide an intimate account of the planning process which goes into each work.

By comparing the drawings to the final piece, one is able to see how the work evolves and how the artist solves problems. In one preparatory drawing, the artist scribbled in the margins, making notes of how the shading should be adjusted and how the extended arm of the person in the work needed to foreshortened. In another comparison between the final work and the preparatory drawing, things were moved, enlarged or color was changed.

Overall, the exhibit shows how involved the artistic process can be and gives the viewer a window into the artist’s mind. The drawings will be on display until March 2.