Whole cloth painted quilts

[Marilyn C.]

As a traditional / contemporary quilterI have a bit of a problem with artists turned quilters. They produce beautiful art work , no doubt they are talented artists but turning their art work into quilts and entering the quilting world upsets me a bit. So many of us spend years learning and perfecting our piecing and applique techniques and our hand quilting techniques. and these artists paint a picture, put a backing and a batting on it and machine quilt it or have someone else long arm quilt it and call it a quilt. To me they should not be in the quilting world , all they have done is learnt to use a machine, how easy is that! I do not think their art work should be in the quilting world it should stay on artists canvas. Am I the only one who feels this way?

[Carla G.]

While, I can respect your opinion Lulu, I a do not agree. There is more than enough room in the world of quilting to accommodate this type of quilt artist. If we never looked beyond completely traditional quilts, the art would not grow. Carla

[Betty J.]

Lulu,
I sympathize with how you feel about it. I had this opinion at first, too, but later I realized that there is great beauty in some of these quilts that wouldn't be achieved just on a canvas painting.

I just think in competitions they should have their own separate category because it would be like judging apples and oranges. Many shows do separate them out.

Some of these have a lot of very interesting quilting, too, that enhances the picture-very like enhancing the quilt made from commercial or specially dyed fabrics. I think it's wonderful that the quilt world has developed so many different dimensions (like the world of books).

I encourage you to take a second look. Nothing can replace the years of honing of traditional skills, but I don't think they are trying to replace that--just to add to the world of quilting. Cheers.

[Paula D.]

What would the quilting world be without Hollis? It's an ever expanding universe with room for all. That's what's so GREAT about quilting. Infinite!!

[Paula D.]

Hi Lulululu,

Truthfully, at one time I might have agreed with you. I used to feel that contemporary/modern art was not art, until I took an art appreciation class. Based on your opinion, Faith Ringgold could not be considered a quilt artist. I met her and saw her work at a special exhibit of her quilts some years ago at the St. Louis Art Museum. She is a quilt artist.

One of my favorite quotes is "You cannot criticize what you understand".

[Hannelore N.]

Lulu, I live in England, and this side of the Atlantic whole cloth quilts have a very long tradition. All during my childhood in the North of Germany I slept under a wholecloth quilt whenever I visited my paternal grandmother.

Personally, I'm not interested in making a whole cloth quilt (painted or not), but I can admire the artistry, craftmanship and skills that go into some of them.

Lorchen

[Marilyn C.]

Sorry guys , none of you have changed my mind , they are paint artists not true quilters and I love whole cloth quilts have made them my self but they were not painted. I also love art quilts and the creativity of them . But don't get me started on the Hollis quilts especially the Mandela one that won over so many true and beautiful quilts. She was selling posters of that quilt for heavens sake. Quilts like that should not be allowed to compete with the others. Of course just my opinion. I criticize what I do understand but it is my understanding. Thank you, LuluLulu

[Marilyn C.]

I think it is the evolution of quilting :shock:
We have come a looong way since back in the days havent we, lots of wonderful fabrics, cutters, rulers, computerized sewingmachines, dyes, paintsticks, embelishments etc.
I bet my way of quilting/piecing would be considered way out there :lol: :lol:
Back in the middle age the soldiers would wear "quilts" under their armer...layers of felted wool stitched together for extra protection 8) :lol: :lol:

[Marilyn C.]

I made a small wholecloth quilt that I first drew and painted a bluebird. Then I hand quilted the whole thing--I do not in any way consider myself a paint artist--I just wanted color there and I wanted to do a whole cloth piece that was hand quilted. I will say that I entered it into the fine art category of our local fair and won a first place. I think the key is have a category for that kind of quilt.
You can see the quilt on my profile.

[Marilyn C.]

I love all types of quilts. It is sort of like loving all of my children no matter how different they may be, they are each wonderful.
But I am a classically educated artist, so I know what dedication it takes.

Hollis sells glicee art prints of her work. Ricky has sold the same. They are professional artists who have a right to reproduce their own work and even make some money on it while they are at it. Go look at Hollis' resume and you will see how many many years she has devoted to honing her abilities and skills. Lulululu, they may not be the skills that you appreciate, but I would say that she has learned plenty to be able to convey very powerful and expressive images in a medium called fiber art.

[Debbie L.]

I ( think) that both quilts are absolutely beautiful, I love whole cloth quilts, they come from our past.
Today, you need to judge art quilts and pieced or whole cloth quilts seperately. Many shows do, many don't.
I was a true died in the wool traditionalist. In my business, (longarm quilter), getting many different kinds of quilts, were slowly changing how I started to look at fabric. NEVER was I ever going to purchase bali prints or batiks, Never was I ever going to color my white work. :shock: Lord have mercy!!!!!!!!!!
I agree it is tough to compete with these paintings on quilts. But you also have to look at the workmanship of the quilt. It takes years of labor to get to their creativity.
Jealous, :roll: Oh Yea.
BUT IT ALSO NUDGES MY CREATIVITY. :wink:
There is room for both. debbie

[Anne B.]

This is an interesting thread.

I have to admit that whenever I see a painted quilt, I kind of feel like it's "cheating," somehow, because it's not pieced or appliqued. But then, I feel the same way about raw-edge applique.

I can still enjoy the beauty of the image and admire the workmanship, though. I'm often quite taken with the quilting on such pieces, especially if it's been done on a longarm.

It has never occurred to me to think of painted quilts as whole-cloth quilts before. And of course that's exactly what they are! When I think of them that way, they no longer seem like "cheating." Thanks for broadening my perspective!

I do think painted quilts should have their own category in shows.

Anne in Vancouver, Canada

[Anne B.]

I too do not agree that there is no place for painted quilts in shows. Traditional piecing and quilting still play an important part but it would be a great shame if quilting was not allowed to evolve, just as language does. As far as machine quilting goes, it does take a great deal of skill and thought to use it in a way that enhances your quilts - it is not just an add -on. Over here in the UK there are, more often than not, separate categories for art quilts and contemporary quilts. Maggi

[Anne B.]

I agree about there needs to be separate categories for the traditional and art quilts. It is probably not feasible, but I would even like to see separate but equal "Best of Show" awards for both also.

[Debbie L.]

I agree about there needs to be separate categories for the traditional and art quilts. It is probably not feasible, but I would even like to see separate but equal "Best of Show" awards for both also.

I second that, do think someone might hear? debbie