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A year ago a group of my quilting friends formed an art quilt circle to study techniques that Jane Davila and Elin Waterston present in their book “Art Quilt Notebook.” Each month we read one chapter, then made a 9x12 inch quilt using skills we learned from the chapter. In the fall of 2009 many of our exercise quilts were entered into the annual quilt show of River City Quilt Guild. The quilt photos in this article were taken at that show.
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One of our first projects was to sew a quilt with the design of a pear and its shadow. Most of us used the pear pattern and sewing instructions from the book.
by Vera Karnes
by Janet Van Wert
The early chapters in the text emphasized basic principles of design, such as focal points, balance, movement, repetition, depth, prospective, proximity, proportion, space, variety, rhythm, and movement. We each experimented with these design principles when making our exercise quilts.
by Maureen Caputo
by Maureen Caputo
by Joyce Reece
by Beverly Beedie
Some of us chose a single theme for all of our exercise quilts. Kari’s was gourds. (We had a laugh over her quilt Gourd by a Bull.)
by Kari Bauer
by Kari Bauer
by Kari Bauer
by Kari Bauer
After reading the chapter “Inspiration from Images,” many of our group members used photographs as inspiration for their quilt designs. I scanned a family photo of a relative into my computer, then printed the photo on fabric to make my exercise quilt of a Muslim girl wearing a burka. Beverly used a family photo and a map of a backpack camping trip for her exercise quilt.
by Donna Hussain
by Beverly Beedie
The chapter on painting and stamping techniques inspired Janet to dip a potato masher in bleach, and then stamp the masher on fabric. The resist pattern made by the masher looked like a Japanese pattern to her, so she added other oriental motifs to her quilt top.
by Janet Van Wert
The chapter on found objects suggested ways to add three dimensional items to our quilts, such as stones, sticks, buttons, shells, and earrings.
by Janet Van Wert
by Loraine Brown
Figure 16, Donna Hussain
The chapter Thread Work was instructive on thread painting bobbin drawing, couching, and free-motion quilting. Formerly not my style, but after reading the chapter I relaxed and gave thread play a try.
by Donna Hussain
Our group members also made exercise quilts using hand-dyed fabrics and fabrics that they painted.
by Loraine Brown
This year our art quilt circle has added many new innovative members. We also have a new source book, “The Quilting Arts Book” by Patricia Bolton, spend part of our monthly meetings watching how-to quilting videos, and plan occasional workshops and play days to enhance our artistry and quilting-making skills.
How about you? Are you part of a group that has used exercises like this to develop your art quilt skills? I would love to hear how others explore their creative potential through a group process.
California quilter, Donna Hussain, has exhibited in major quilt shows around the country, authored books, and is a regular contributor to Fiber Focus. Click on her name to see all of her past articles. The photo shows Donna with her husband, Pascha.
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