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Thursday, June 5, 2014

Fiber Art Quilts Offer New Forms Of Expression

By Sally Delacruz


A quilt has been an popular item for many years as a bed covering and the art of making these items was prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s. Fiber art quilts are different from the traditional quilt. They are not intended to be useful but to have aesthetic value. Instead of lying at the foot of a bed, they are made to be hung on walls and admired.

Others chose to give free reign to their creativity, breaking most traditional quilting rules and developing a much, more free flowing means of expression. They no longer saw a quilt as a utilitarian object but more like a new type of canvas. They experimented continuously with techniques and materials to create this new art form.

The pieces created today are not made with usefulness in mind. They are made to hang on a wall and admired. The combination of materials and techniques used and the unique vision of each artist makes each piece different. Fibers are painted, dyed, stamped, torn and embellished in hundreds of interesting ways to create color, depth and texture.

In the past, a quilt was stitched in a certain way so as to keep the layers together. With this new form of art, stitches have much more than a purely practical function. The variety of threads available make it possible to use them to add all sorts of color, texture and shine. There are also many techniques used for stitching such as embroidery, knitting and weaving.

The inspiration for such artists is varied. Some are inspired by the serenity and tranquility of nature. Others use their own experiences in daily life as inspiration. Some images are representational whilst others are more impressionistic. Ideas and concepts become catalysts for pieces, often giving rise to wonderful abstract designs.

All art quilters are faced with a decision on how to finish their pieces. The actual quilt may be given a border or binding may be used but then there is the question as to whether it should be framed. Many fiber artists feel it is more consistent with their aesthetic not to use frames, especially when a piece is designed to hang in a private, comfortable space like a bedroom or living room.

These pieces are usually fairly expensive as they are unique and take many hours to create. The price is influenced by factors such as the price of materials used, the number of hours it took to make and its size. When buying an item of this nature, it is important to consider that the price is influenced by the fact that it is a work of art, created by someone with a unique vision.

Each piece is unique, with different techniques and materials being used to execute the. Artists sometimes battle to obtain recognition for this type of work as art rather craft. This can be frustrating for artists who make these pieces to be admired aesthetically and expect them to be regarded in the same way as any other art form.




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