Most of us probably own a quilt or several, but few of us have ever seen quilts like those that will visit Wabash for the next six weeks.
It all started 22 years ago when a group of quilters, fiber artists, and textile artists conceived a national, juried competition to discover and honor the most exciting and innovative trends in contemporary quilt making.
Originating in Athens, Ohio and displayed at the Dairy Barn Southeastern Cultural Arts Center, Quilt National has become a biannual tradition that is now in its 12th cycle of honoring and exhibiting the very best work in the art form.
This year’s competition began with 600 artists submitting more than 1,400 entries to a panel of judges, who carefully selected the most unique work being done in the medium. The winning quilts were brought to the Dairy Barn in Athens, where they were displayed for three months. The quilts were then broken into three traveling shows that tour the world for a period of two years until the whole cycle begins again.
Wabash College is pleased to exhibit the show beginning this Friday with an opening reception from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Eric Dean Gallery in the Fine Arts Center.
“The show represents a collection of very different kinds of processes of fabric surface design and contemporary quilt making,” says Laura Conners, a quilter and the costume designer for the Wabash College Theater Department.
Conners should know, too, since one of her quilts was honored in Quilt National ’01 and will be on display when the exhibit opens this week. Her quilt “Ground Cloth” is made of cotton fabrics that are rust printed with over dying and discharge techniques.
“The surface qualities of aged and weathered materials intrigues me, such as the rust stain left by a nail in exposed wood or layers of chipped and cracked paint on an old chair,” says Conners, who began quilting as an art form in 1990. “In ‘Ground Cloth,’ I have created patterns and marks by exposing fabric to rusted metal surfaces before using over printing, dying, and discharging techniques to build up rich surfaces.”
Indeed, the quilts honored in Quilt National competitions are not your grandmother’s quilts. The judges are looking for innovations in contemporary quilt making—new fabrics, new patterns, and new dying techniques. Conners’ quilt is no exception.
“The imagery on these fabrics can be unpredictable, and the random nature of this working style requires an intuitive approach and an innovative response,” says Conners. “The work reflects a kind of spontaneity and freshness that are uniquely my own.”
One of the three national jurors of the competition is quilt artist Jane Sassaman, who will present a gallery talk at Wabash on Saturday, January 25 at 10:30 a.m. Not only will Sassaman talk about the individual pieces that make up the traveling Quilt National ’01 show, but she also will speak about contemporary quilt making in general.
The public is cordially invited to attend the opening this Friday and Sassaman’s lecture on January 25. The show will hang in the Eric Dean Gallery through February 22. Gallery hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission is free, and groups are encouraged to attend.