Colour Theory

Early days of a Quilt Artist

I came across this photo, it’s my very first landscape art quilt. I had taken a colour theory and design course with Joen Wolfrom at Olds College in Alberta in – I think 1993. My partner and I hopped in an old van with $40 in our pockets, a cooler full of food, a gas card and headed west. Oh to be 23 again! It was an amazing experience. It took me over a year to process everything I learned from her before I completed this piece. I called it Solitude.

This is the quilt that started me on the journey to create landscapes in fibre. This was my launch. It was utterly thrilling to have someone want to buy a piece of my art, though I have no idea who bought it or where it is in the world today. The woman who bought this changed the course of my life. [hr]

Life Changing Moments

I think everyone has a moment when they are facing a choice on their path of life. By 24, I had been a ski instructor, a student, traveler, and was frankly unfocused. I had been raised to believe you had to go to school, get a good education, get a job, then get married, buy a house… you know the plan. Well, I was a bit of a rebel. Not because I was defiant, or trying to consciously rail again the system. I just didn’t fit the mold and I knew that from a young age. As a teen, I had a hard time connecting with people and I wasn’t a great student. What I did know is that I loved life and wanted to find something inspirational to do.

When my mother invited me to work in her store at the age of 22, I did it more because I had nothing else planned. It turned into the best decision I had ever made. Retrospectively, maybe she knew that I needed the encouragement to follow a different path. She certainly gave me the opportunity to explore it. I thought when I started that quilting was for old ladies. That only church ladies who did quilting bees would be in the store. I was so wrong.[hr]

Inspiration in Early Days

Working in my mother’s quilt store gave me exposure to books and magazines in the industry. Not just traditional quilting but Art Quilts. One of the primary resources was CQA.The Canadian Quilter’s Association was in it’s early days, it was only about 10 years old at that point and the Quilter’s Newsletter was a really just a newsletter in book form- no glossy pages, but I was thrilled to have access. There were a few American magazines worth perusing as well and I was inspired. It eventually lead me to enter National Juried Shows and The Rodman Hall Contemporary Quilts Exhibition.

The internet was not a thing at that point, this was the early 90s so print was king. I dreamed of being featured in a magazine or accepted into a national show. So I dove into getting my tools and techniques down. I had no art training and I had a lot to learn before I thought I could actually make my living at it. That hadn’t even crossed my mind yet, I was just enjoying the process of learning.

Taking workshops and classes helped me in so many ways. I’ll discuss the process and how it helped me in my journey in my next blog post.

Subscribe to my blog to get my next post right to your inbox!

[button link=”www.threadpaintedart.com/join” bg_color=”#8c9165″]Sign Up[/button]

[hr]

Scoping out how a judge determines the top quilt at a show.

When we speak of inspiration, we don’t often think of attending lectures and professional development. It really it is so great for getting the creative juices flowing for a business. I decided I would do some direct professional development at the latest Canada Quilter’s Association Conference. I took a workshop called “What was that Judge Thinking?” with Joyce Brown and Judy Villett. It’s the first of a series for the Quilt Judge Certification Programme. The program trains judges and jurors in the profession of assessing and critiquing quilts and fibre art within the context of a competition. The instructors have been in the biz for over 30 years and brought with them a wealth of knowledge to impart on an eager group.

After listening, participating and networking, I’m not sure if I will go through the whole program, but it was certainly helpful and food for thought for the future. The whole process of entering, hosting, coordinating and judging a quilt show were covered in the day.

How Hard is it to Judge?

The hardest part of being a judge seems to be taking into account the design elements of a piece as well as the technical details. You really need a solid background in design and and clear understanding of colour theory. Without these basics in understanding design, it doesn’t seem possible to critique a work without bringing in your opinion. The next step is the technical side, pouring over a piece, looking for the workmanship and fine details to set a work apart. Then you have to take both into account, does one outweigh the other in the submission? Of course you then have to look at them in context of the other top works.

Colour Theory Samples by Judy Villett

It really opened my eyes to what a judge faces when 150 quilts show up and they are all the cream of the crop. How do you differentiate without bringing your opinion to the table? Looking at a design objectively without know the artist or their intentions. Really studying it to determine what works, then hearing the artist’s statement. Then they take the top contenders and zeroing in on a winner, it can’t be easy!

The Best part of Workshops

One of the best parts of the day was meeting some like-minded artists. Community is so important and building relationships in the industry makes all the difference to a successful business in my opinion. I look forward to meeting up with the ladies I met again at future workshops.

If you are interested in the program you can see more details here: judges-certification-program

You can see what workshops are coming up in the 2018 Conference for CQA which takes place in Vancouver here.