Several weeks ago I was asked by Alison Schwabe to
participate in the Round the World Blog Hop.
She suggested that instead of my creative work I talk about the Thomas
Contemporary Quilt Collection. Which
consumes a great deal of my time these days.
I thought it would be a good chance to share. The caveat was that I had to refer to two
other bloggers who would follow me. This
Blog Hop has been going on for some months and although I tried over two dozen
bloggers I follow with varying degrees of constancy, I could not find anyone
who had not already done it or else was unwilling to take on what seems like an
impossible challenge. So, this branch of
the World Blog Hop will end with me.
To backtrack on the blog you can go to Alison’s blog:
Or to go forward check out:
A couple other bloggers involved will lead you on different
courses:
The instructions for the World Blog Hop say we should
include:
1. What am I working
on?
2. How does my work
differ from others of its genre?
3. Why do I
write/create what I do?
4. How does my
writing/creating process work?"
But since I am talking about collecting I will come up with
some new questions.
1. How did I start
collecting contemporary quilts?
2. How has the
Collection grown in the past almost 30 years?
3. How do I choose
additions to the Collection?
4. What about
storage and record keeping?
1. I was collecting
antique and vintage quilt in the 70s, but in a rather unorganized way. I still have those dozen or so quilts. I had purchased three or four “contemporary”
quilts, mostly at guild auctions, and went down to Vista in 1987 to see the
first Visions quilt show. It was an eye
opening experience. I was amazed that
there were so many quiltmakers creating such artful work. I immediately switched to collecting only
what are now called “art quilts”. My
first major purchase didn’t happen until 1993 when I took a class with Ruth B.
McDowell, whose work I had admired for a number of years. Her quilt “Conversation on the Porch” (54”W x
37.5”L) came home with me and remains one of my most favorite quilts.
It is machine pieced (the old-fashioned way, right sides
together, sewn, opened, pressed, sew on the next piece) and machine
quilted. You can see her current work at
www.ruthbmcdowell.com
However, I consider the first piece in the Collection to be
“Straight Furrow Log Cabin” by Judy Mathieson which I bought at auction in
1985.
It is 20”W X 14”L and is constructed of raw silk which
absorbs the light instead of reflecting it as would cotton, giving it a
different feeling. The Collection is “contemporary
quilts” not “art quilts”, so there is a variety of styles, sizes, and techniques in the 288 quilts currently in the Collection
.
2. For years I have
heard the expression “Two is a pair, three is a collection” and I suppose that
is true. Years ago someone asked if they
could use some slides of TCQC quilts in a presentation they were preparing to
do. They needed a name for my collection
and I decided on Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection – if I had known how many
times I would have to type it I might have just called it Thomas Quilts or even
TQuilts! Everything started in 1985 and
there have been years I collect a few new pieces and years, such as 2014, when
I added a dozen quilts.
3. When I was
purchasing the first quilts in the Collection I hadn’t thought about having a
formal collection, I just bought quilts I liked. Eventually I had to come up with some parameters
for the additions. First of all,
the quilt has to “speak” to me – gain my attention and make me want to go back
and see it again… and again….. Secondly,
can I afford it? I am not independently
wealthy, so I need to use some discretion when I consider the dent in my bank
account. Some quilts I love, but cannot
afford. Third, do I have a place to
store it? Quilts that are framed or
stretched cannot be rolled or stacked easily, most requiring a carton or crate
that I don’t have room for. So, I only
buy quilts that can be rolled and stored on shelves or stacked flat on
shelves. I have made some exceptions to
this rule, but only a few small pieces.
One of which is “Discombobulated” created in 2002 by Jill Rumoshosky
Werner (2”W X 9yards L).
Although this piece has all the requirements for a quilt –
three layers, machine quilted, bound edge (with hand finishing) - it challenges
viewers’ conception of quilts and quiltmaking.
It resides coiled in a box on a shelf.
The fourth consideration is a little difficult to define,
let’s call it longevity. Could I live
with this quilt hanging on my wall? If I
could keep only one of the quilts would this be one possible choice? Would it continue to hold my interest in
another twenty years? “Chimney Pots” (50”Wx39.5”L) by Elizabeth Barton
would certainly be high on my list.
She made it in 2005 utilizing fabrics she had created herself, using
many different techniques. The fabrics
are as interesting as the chimney pots, poised like a choir at the top of the
quilt.
I would also have to consider Linda Colsh’s “Ewe Alone” (26”
square) which she made in 2007. The
mystery draws me back – why is she standing there in the snow, what is the
building plan saying?
"Ewe Alone" DETAIL
Or perhaps the marvelously detailed “A Rash of Flamingoes” (100”Wx
52”L) made by Ruth McDowell in 2000. It is an amazing work of art and of sewing skills.
4. Back in 1985 I had not thought about having to keep records or how to store 288 quilts. Although I have tried several programs
specially made for quilt artists, I keep track of things on an Excel
spreadsheet. It isn’t the best way, but
one with which I am familiar enough to make it do what I need to do. Storage is handled in a variety of ways. The 12”X12” are stored in Mylar sleeves in
acid free boxes made to hold vinyl phonograph records – they are just the right
size. Medium sized quilts lay flat on
shelves in the storage cupboard and larger quilts are rolled around “stuffies”,
covered, tagged and stored on shelves in the storage cupboard. (The “stuffies”
are described in Robert Shaw’s book “Art Quilts: A Celebration” published in
2005 by Lark Books.) I keep files on
each quilt, including info about where it has been shown and bios of the
quiltmaker. Someday the quilts will go
to a museum and they will want to know as much as possible about each piece in
the Collection.
I continue to add works to the Thomas Contemporary Quilt
Collection by looking at artist’s websites, attending exhibits and quilt shows
and reading books about all types of quilts.
The Collection includes quilts from the USA, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, England, France, Germany, Austria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt.
One of the most recent additions is “Summer Walk”
(66”W x
29”L) by Elizabeth Busch – it is the cover quilt for Quilt Visions 2014
“The
Sky’s the Limit” and will continue on display at Visions Quilt Museum
in San
Diego until Jan 4th.
I do, by-the-way, make quilts myself, but have been
preoccupied with TCQC for the past few years.
This past summer there were quilts from the Collection at the Texas
Quilt Museum in La Grande, TX, and Ruth McDowell quilts at the Quilters Hall of
Fame in Marion, IN. I also do programs
for quilt guilds and other organizations, showing and talking about art quilts
and the Collection in particular. DELQUILTS@aol.com
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If you are interested in participating in the World Blog Hop, just drop me an e-mail and I will send you the instructions. Sometime within the next week, please. Del