2010 was a big year in quilting for me.
In 2009, I received a Rasmuson Project Award to travel to Ohio and study with Nancy Crow for three weeks. Thank you Rasmuson Foundation for supporting and believing in Alaskan artists.
I have written about my adventures studying with Nancy Crow many times. If you would like to share in that experience, you can by reading the following blog posts.
A Message from the Barn
Crow Barn Week One
Crow Barn Week Two Part One
Crow Barn Week Two Part Two
Crow Barn Week Three
Crow Barn Reflections
Crow Barn Week Eight into Nine Part One
Crow Barn Week Eight into Nine Part Two
Crow Barn Week Five Part One
Crow Barn Week Five Part Two
Those three weeks were transformational. I began to understand, in a way that I had not before, that if I worked hard, I could be an artist whose medium was the quilt.
So I set about doing that.
Each of the quilts from 2010 was either started in the Nancy Crow workshops or an extension of the ideas I had while there.
Many of these quilts are about merging what I learned at the Barn with what I wanted to do within the perimeters of the traditional quilt block.
Ten years later, I am still exploring that space in my work.
Many artists, who claim the quilt as their medium, tend to shy away from the vocabulary found in traditional pieced quilt blocks.
I have been told MANY times, that the traditional quilt block is loaded down with baggage. That is one way to look at it.
I see it differently. It is not baggage. It is history, and I am eternally grateful to the traditional quilt makers who came before me.
I also made a giant batch of Artful Oven Mitts in 2010. If you like Artful Oven Mitts, check out these blog posts.
Artful Oven Mitts
It’s All About the Mitts
Coming soon–the Quilts of 2011. AKA as the year the Color Girds showed up. Thanks folks for following along.
Hi Maria – I loved seeing these 2010 quilts with the mid range photo and the detail. Very helpful. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Love the quilts and such fun oven mitts
Hello Maria – Merry Christmas! I hope you have a lovely one.
Have followed you for a few years now but had not seen ‘Do a Little Dance’ before, it’s superb. What other posts could I read about it? I’m really interested in how you constructed the top.
I agree wholeheartedly with you – so grateful for all those quilters before me. I realised as I taught myself to quilt that I needed to understand what the rules were before I could break them, but how I still and always will love traditional quilts.
Thank you so much for all the time you put in to the blog, I look forward to every post.
Very best wishes to you for the year ahead, from the rainy old UK.
Do a little Dance was purchased shortly after it was made, consequently it had a short exhibition life. It is made using a technique taught in one of Nancy’s workshops where you piece giant ruffles and then cut them up to use in a composition. It is a technique I should revisit at some point. Thank you very much for the kind words about my blog. Best wishes to you too!
Thank you Maria, that makes sense now. I’ve pieced long straight sections but not curved, I will have a good look at anything Nancy related online, and look forward to any re-visitation here in future posts.
All the best.
A visual feast.
I took a look at my quilts in 2010 and other years, and they aren’t much to speak of. Yours are gorgeous! I especially like Ka-POW! I agree, the vocabulary of traditional quilts is a great springboard for more modern quilts. It’s all connected.
Thank you Shasta! I never tire of thinking about traditional quilt blocks. This morning, I woke up thinking Pinwheels! That is the solution to my problem. Happy holidays!
I’m loving your retrospective! Don’t forget to tag this post, and the others, with “Year in Quilts”, so we can find them all again.
Good advice. Thank you!