Quilting Arts Magazine February/March 2020

HAVE YOU EVER WATCHED ONE OF THOSE COOKING SHOWS ON LATE NIGHT TV when the contestants are given a list of seemingly unrelated ingredients (like chocolate, cabbage, and pickles) and then are sent to the kitchen with the expectation that they will create an unforgettable meal? Who doesn’t love that kind of challenge? I think there are many art quilters who could give those chefs a run for their money … and we are featuring a handful of them in this issue. Painted cheesecloth; sticks and stones; metal washers; discarded fabric scraps; lightweight interfacing; couched yarn; colored tulle; dyed wool batting … the list could go on, but this is just a selection of the unusual materials used by the artists who have taken the challenge to let go of preconceptions and…

Hello, I loved the use of doilies in the “Beauty Revisited” article by Susan Brubaker Knapp from the October/November issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. I want to share with you what I recently completed. I had to collect doilies with a solid center for years before having enough to go ahead with my vision. I painted thickened dye on each and then embroidered them while I traveled with my husband. Once home, I assembled them into an art quilt. It measures approximately 54" x 26". Thank you! Marie Shirley-Jones • Red Lodge, Montana Dear QA, Ever since I bought my very first copy of Quilting Arts Magazine, I have wanted to be in it. It was my dream to grace its pages as a writer and have my art included. Back in 2010, I was…

Nancy Ryan is a textile artist and teacher residing in Gardnerville, Nevada. She has been designing and creating textile art for the past 35 years and likes to experiment with unusual textiles, tools, paints, and stitching to add interest to her pieces. Her award-winning art quilts have been showcased in many textile and fine art shows including International Quilt Festival, Houston. She is a member of the SAQA Northern California/Northern Nevada region. nancyryanquilts.shutterfly.com Peter A. Plante and his wife Karen are retired and live in Pine, Arizona. They make and donate many of their quilts to various local and out-of-state charities. Julie B. Booth is a surface design artist, teacher, and author of FABRIC PAINTING AT HOME. She has written articles for QUILTING ARTS MAGAZINE and appeared on "Quilting Arts TV." Julie teaches…

Meet Jill Kerttula, whose sensitive and exquisitely textured art quilts fall squarely in the realm of fine art, all rendered in fabric and thread. Jill has a rich and varied background. She studied painting and printmaking in art school, and then worked in banking and as a graphic designer. Later she returned to college to teach art and graphic design, and also ran her own small business. All through her corporate work experience, she notes that both her camera and her sewing machine were never far from her hands. “As an art director I worked with professional photographers and watched that industry go from film to digital as I participated in the graphic design world while it made that same leap of technology.” Eventually Jill retired, set up her studio…

my photography is the basis—and base layer—for my art quilts. After addressing the issues of composition, color, and subject matter with the photo, I print it, with very little editing, onto fabric. I then add layers of fabric, other fibers, and stitching over and under the printed image. These layers create both ‘edits’ to the photo and textures as only fiber and stitch can. Layering is the key to adding texture. If this is your first time playing with layering and texture, a photo quilt is the perfect medium to experiment. The consistency of working with the ‘same’ quilt using different techniques will highlight the results well. MATERIALS • 3 pieces of fabric with a photo printed on it (Use your own photo or a copyright-free image. I recommend you make 3 copies…

i have been experimenting with translucent overlays lately. My goal was to find a way to add color, texture, and depth without hiding the background of my quilt art. After testing different materials, I found that cheesecloth was the perfect woven base for this task. MATERIALS • Freezer paper, 24" x 24" • Single-layer cheesecloth, 12" x 12" • Plastic sheeting • Fluid acrylic matte medium (I used LiquitexR.) • Plastic containers • Foam brushes • Liquid acrylic paint • Stamps and ink pads • Silkscreens and silkscreen paint Cheesecloth is a cotton fabric that is loosely woven, lint-free, and absorbent. It is translucent in nature with a soft and supple drape. Cheesecloth is readily available and can be found in fabric, grocery, hardware, and department stores, often prepackaged in 3- or 4-yard…