Gallery of Magical Quilts
Room 8
Gallery of Magical Quilts
Room 8 |
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Orb Web Linda creates quilts that portray metaphorical imagery inspired by nature and science. She composes in an improvisational styled collage, in which she pieces, appliqués, and embroiders directly on a layered foundation of fabric and quilt batting. Linda says: "During the process of creating this quilt, the theme of entrapment in the web joyfully evolved to escape." |
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Renaissance Helen is a quiltmaker, teacher, lecturer, designer, and author. This quilt toured internationally under the auspices of the Museum of American Folk Art and Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa, and is now in the museum collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. Helen says: "This design is a translation of a seventeenth-century Norwegian weaving. The colors, texture and arrangements have been updated. The quilt's name has three meanings: The original tapestry was woven during the Norwegian Renaissance period. The term 'Renaissance' means 'rebirth,' and certainly this quilt is a rebirth of the old design. Finally, this is a Christmas tapestry, and the Christmas season is a 'rebirth.'" |
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The Seasoned Hand Barbara is interested in goddess folklore, myths about women and children, the celebration days of various world cultures, and the crossover of rituals. She has an ongoing series of pictorial interpretations of ancient maps, and has been using art quilts to record her folkloric explorations for about four years. A dream inspired her to make this quilt (see Record 16 in the Dreaming). Barbara says: "This particular quilt is for Georgia O'Keeffe. It was a struggle to make but intensely fun at the same time. It may be the beginning of a desert spirit series." |
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Grandmother Spider Woman Janet makes art that reflects the whimsical, magical, and spiritual parts of herself, and she seeks to speak to those parts in others. Many of her quilts are tributes to the magic, strength, and mystery of women. Janet says: "I went to my studio with the intention of working on something else, but when I opened my drawer with all my beads in it, there was this face. It was Spider Woman! And the quilt was started. I feel that this piece has been especially blessed, because as I was working on it, a small spider came and sat on my spool of quilting thread for most of one morning as I was stitching. Usually, when you least expect it, magic happens!" |
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The Visitor Janet does work that is primarily hand-stitched, embroidered with silk and metallic threads, and embellished with lots of beads and charms. She has hand-dyed many of the fabrics that she uses in her quilts. Janet says: "This was the first quilt of this kind I did. I knew I wanted to create a powerful woman walking through the magical woods. Of course, she had to have a powerful totem animal with her--the owl. The owl is actually made of very heavy cardboard. I thought at first that I would do a photo transfer of the owl, but my friend said, "Why don’t you just sew it on as it is?" So I did and it was just right. I later found out that Lorena McKinnett has a song called "The Visitor" which is about creativity. I know the Visitor came to my house that day." |
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After the Storm Vikki made this quilt as a sequel to her "Breaking Point," which you can see on her website. "After the Storm" earned an Honorable Mention--Art, Small at the 1997 International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. Vikki says: "The years 1993 and 1994 were very stressful ones for me and my family. Many times I felt as if I would break if even one more disastrous event happened to us. Four years later, my life was considerably calmer. This quilt's purpose is to demonstrate that life's storms are often followed by more tranquil and brighter days." |
