One thing nearly all humans have had in common over the last thousand years is the need and desire to clothe ourselves. Styles, shapes, and materials vary widely among Earth’s peoples, but almost all humans clothe themselves in some way. In the tongue in cheek words of Mark Twain, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
One of the beautiful things about the medium of fabric, especially as quilt-art, is that there is a warmth and connection humans have with it that cannot be found through the other mediums, such as paint, paper, stone, or clay. Our connection to fabric starts from the role it plays in our lives. We wear fabric to keep us warm in the cold and to protect us from the sun, we sleep under and on it, it makes furniture more comfortable, and we fashion it to our taste and style to express our personality, as well as so much more. Fabric is the canvas on which we as humanity convey culture, politics, success, personality, and desire.
Through fabric and the quilts we create, we can celebrate our differences, our preferences, our opinions, our sorrows, our outrage, and our triumphs. Perhaps Twain wasn’t far off, though the relationship may be reversed: It is the woman who makes the clothes and thereby influences society. The diversity of those women is as beautiful as the women themselves are.
This is the second article in a three-part series celebrating and honoring quilters of diverse backgrounds who have contributed their work to Curated Quilts in recent years. You can find the first articlehere.
To the Point by Nicole Kroesen featured in Triangles, Issue no. 13
Modern quilting is a powerful creative outlet for many people. For Kroesen, the world of modern quilting opened her eyes to a rich community of creative people and an incredibly liberating means of artistic expression. Though she learned to sew as a child, she began quilting after the birth of her son.
Kroesen says about her quiltTwo the Point, ‘To the Pointrepresents a lot of firsts for me, particularly in that this is the first quilt that I’ve made as a purely artistic expression, without a defined pragmatic purpose. This was truly a freeing experience and one which has opened many more possibilities in my mind. The limited color palette and minimalist design draw your eye to contemplate the ordered rows of simple triangles and the consequences when that order is disrupted, however slightly. The “ghost” triangle in the top row holds space for the one that has not yet found its way.’
Kroesen can be found on Instagram at @nkroesen and @nkhandmadedesigns. Her quilts and other handmade items can be purchased atwww.nkhandmadedesigns.etsy.com.
Barcelona by Nicole Kroesen featured in Linear, Issue no. 1
Flash by Nicole Kroesen featured in Log Cabin, Issue no. 2
Around and Around by Nicole Kroesen featured in Minimalistic, Issue no. 3
It Takes All Kinds by Nicole Kroesen featured in Triangles, Issue no. 4
In Hogtown by Chawne Kimber featured in Log Cabin, Issue no. 2
Chawne Kimber is an award-winning textile artist who has exhibited quilts and embroidery in museums, galleries, and quilt festivals all over the United States. When not manipulating cotton, she is a professor of mathematics at a small liberal arts college in the Northeast.
Kimber says aboutIn Hogtown, ‘This is a quilt made with US-farmed and -manufactured cotton. A return to US cotton, especially in a wide range of bold colors, is a return "home" for me in every possible way. My ancestors were instrumental in building this nation by (involuntarily) farming cotton and later using fabrics as seamstresses and quilters. Part of a series representing my hometowns using log cabins, this is my college town of Gainesville, Florida--aka Hogtown. In addition to its intense football culture, this is a proud and patriotic town grounded in nature preservation and agricultural research. The people and architecture are diverse and energized, represented in sizes, shapes, and colors in this 30" square quilted neighborhood.’
Kimber can be found online at www.cauchycomplete.wordpress.com and on Instagram at @cauchycomplete
Reflectionby Syerli Winta featured in Linear, Issue no. 1
Winta is a board member of the Jakarta Modern Quilt Guild.
The thin pieced lines inReflection create a sense of movement as though the scorching hot sun is hovering over ocean waves.
Winta can be found on Instagram at @sahabatquiltindonesia
by Brittany Bowen Burton