Art Quilts, A Trip Down Memory Lane

As you know I recently revealed my 31st Art Quilt. Woohoo! Please pardon my temporary pause to celebrate! 🙂 After sharing the last one I was reminiscing abut the stories and photos behind each of my art pieces. Even though I was the person that created them, the older I get I have to admit it is sometimes hard for me to remember what they all look like. To satisfy my curiosity and fill in a few of those hazy recollections I decided to search back through my notes and my posts to refresh my memory. My travels brought back many fond memories and aha moments. Thank goodness for photos as they many times are worth a thousand words.

To celebrate my milestone I decided to share photos and links to all 31 in one place. Their combined history spans a period of more than a year. While that probably doesn’t seem like a long time to you for me it feels like ages ago. So much of my time and my heart has been poured into each and every one. They represent a small piece of my journey through fabric as an art form. Please enjoy my trip down memory lane.

AQ # 1: Bloom

Bloom
Bloom

AQ # 2: Paws for a Moment

Paws for a Moment #1
Paws for a Moment

AQ # 3: Quilting Friends

Quilting Friends
Quilting Friends

AQ # 4: Flowers

Flowers
Flowers

AQ # 5: Sunrise

Art Quilt # 5: Sunrise, The Quilt
Art Quilt # 5: Sunrise with its many embellishments

AQ # 6: In the Right Direction

In the Right Direction
In the Right Direction

AQ # 7: This Way

This Way #1
This Way

AQ # 8: This Way # 2

This Way #2
This Way #2

AQ # 9: Moo

Moo
Moo

AQ #10: Crossroads

Art_Piece_10_Crossroads_1
AQ # 10: Crossroads

AQ # 11: Birch Trees

AQ # 11_ Birch Trees.jpg
Birch Trees

AQ # 12: Autumn

Art_Piece_12_Autumn_3
Autumn

AQ # 13: Ticktock

Art_Piece_13_Tick_Tock_2
Ticktock

AQ # 14: Tulip

Art_Piece_14_Tulip
Tulip

AQ # 15: Hodgepodge

Art_Piece_15_Hodge_Podge_2
Hodgepodge 

AQ # 16: Bird House

Art_Piece_16_Bird_House_2
Bird House

AQ # 17: The Chosen Nine

Art Quilt # 17_ The Chosen 9
The Chosen Nine

AQ # 18: Four Friends # 1

Art Quilt # 18_ Four Friends # 1
Four Friends # 1

AQ # 19: Four Friends # 2

Art Quilt # 19_ Four Friends # 2
Four Friends # 2

AQ # 20: Rising Star

AQ# 20_ Rising Star
Rising Star

AQ # 21: Backwards

AQ # 21_ Backwards
Backwards

AQ # 22: Crossroads

AQ # 22_ Crossroads (Finished)
Crossroads

AQ # 23: On The Fringe

AQ # 23_ On the Fringe
On the Fringe

AQ # 24: Multicultural

AQ # 24_ On the Fringe (finished)
Multicultural

AQ # 25: Towne House

AQ # 25_ Towne House (finished)
Towne House

AQ # 26: Blue Condo

AQ # 26_ Blue Condo (finished)
Blue Condo

AQ # 27: Summer Picnic

AQ # 27_ Summer Picnic (finished)
Summer Picnic

AQ # 28: Buttons

AQ # 28_ Buttons (finished)
Buttons

AQ # 29: Pink Cadillac

AQ # 29_ Pink Cadillac (finished)
Pink Cadillac

AQ # 30: Harvest Medley # 1

AQ # 30_ Harvest Medley # 1
Harvest Medley # 1

AQ # 31: Harvest Medley # 2

AQ # 31_ Harvest Medley # 2
AQ # 31: Harvest Medley # 2

Well, that was quite the tour! I like all 31 but I have to confess that I have a few favorites. Actually, let me rephrase that. I have ten favorites. Making my Top Ten Favorites list are:

  • AQ # 1: Bloom
  • AQ # 3: Quilting Friends
  • AQ # 5: Sunrise
  • AQ # 10: Crossroads
  • AQ # 14: Tulip
  • AQ # 15: Hodgepodge
  • AQ # 16: Bird House
  • AQ # 22: Crossroads
  • AQ # 25: Towne House
  • AQ # 28: Buttons

If I were to narrow it down even further I would select these as my top five:

  • AQ # 1: Bloom
  • AQ # 10: Crossroads
  • AQ # 22: Crossroads
  • AQ # 25: Towne House
  • AQ # 28: Buttons

Then my all-time favorite, if you must know, is……

  • AQ # 25: Towne House

After reading my lists you have probably noticed that I made a slight booboo when choosing the names for my quilts. Oops! Somehow I gave AQ # 10 and AQ # 22 the same name. Who does that? LOL! I mean, it’s not like I have oodles and oodles of quilts that are hard to keep track of.

You would think that I would have a master list somewhere that monitored the name assignments. Sadly I did not. I do now though! I’ve taken the time to organize my blog posts and created categories to make the management of my art quilts easier. The categories also make it simpler to find all of the posts related to each quilt. All this organizing probably makes me sound slightly analytical but I am a numbers kind of gal so it only makes sense that I would do it.

So, which one is your favorite? Notice I am not asking for your top ten or your top five; just your # one choice. I know it probably seems unfair to ask you for only one favorite but I didn’t want you to have to work too hard. Leave me a comment sharing your thoughts of the tour as well as which art quilt is your favorite. You can also ask me questions. I love receiving and responding to comments from my readers! 🙂

I know you probably have a limited amount of time set aside for reading blogs and because of that I want to thank you for stopping here. I’m so glad we had the chance to visit and catchup.

If you like what you have seen and are not currently a follower why not become one! Becoming a follower is a really easy process. In the right margin of my blog there is a box provided for entering your email address. Type your address there and voila you are all set. Then every time I publish a post you will receive a copy in your email.

If you are already a follower let me give you a big HUG! Thank you so much for being a faithful reader. You are the reason for my success!

About Cindy

The world of art has always brought me joy. From my childhood explorations with chalk and paint to my creations using fabric and thread, I have utilized art as my vehicle to stretch my wings and explore the world around me.

My favorite art form has been given many names; I know it as “free-form” quilting. This direction has taken me on a journey resulting in the formation of more than 200 art pieces. Most of them center strictly around the manipulation of fabric. Some of the later pieces have added elements of hand stitchery. All of them have brought me an immense sense of joy.

I use this blog to share glimpses of my art and the environment in which it is created. Most of my art pieces are available for purchase. You may see a sampling of them at Raven’s Wish Gallery in Janesville, Wisconsin.

My art is periodically on display in a variety of venues. To learn about my current exhibits you may send an email to cindy [at] inastitchquilting [dot] com

Now go and create your own masterpiece. With warm hugs…

Cindy Anderson

AQ # 16: Bird House

I started this art piece, in the evening, on the very last day of the May, 2016 retreat. Present at the time were my new friends Barb M and our world famous teacher, Rayna Gillman. All the other students had already gone home.

Looking around the room it was kind of sad to see it almost empty. Only hours before the other workstations had been filled with activity. All that was left of that commotion now was the splattering of fabric strewn about on the carpeted floor. It looked like an explosion of fabric scraps had taken place.

Rayna and Barb were both engrossed in their own projects. I was on a mission to create one last art quilt. My mood was quite playful so I felt the urge to reflect that sentiment in this new piece.

To get my masterpiece started I began pulling the loudest pieces of fabric I could find. I felt like a kid using a box of brand new crayons. I couldn’t wait to use every single one to paint my new picture. No fabric, no matter how wild it might be, was automatically dismissed. One by one they all had their chance to audition.

This activity went completely unnoticed by my partners. That’s probably a good thing because I’m certain there was a devilish smirk on my face. Not being alert to my activity meant I didn’t have to explain my mood.

As you look at this piece you may see remnants of my other works. Some of them are so tiny that it’s difficult to trace them to their parent while others are huge pieces sliced from their original grouping and left as is. By the time the evening was over I had made huge progress on my piece. While I wasn’t ready to declare it finished I was pretty darn close.

After unpacking and displaying my almost finished art quilt on my design wall I felt the enthusiasm of that evening return. How awesome to have such fond memories.

During my push to bring to fruition my stack of unfinished art quilts this item received it’s much deserved attention. Here’s what I had to work with.

Art_Piece_16_Birt_House_1

You can see there were a few areas that needed filling in. Especially along the top left and right corners. The strips of fabric at the bottom and the unit along the left side had not yet been stitched to the main piece.

My original intention for this quilt was to turn it into a house; leaving the angled top as is. But by now my feelings had changed. I decided to cut the majority of the rooftop off. The space left by the removed roof would be filled in with other fabrics.

Included below is a photo of the quilt as it is today.

Art_Piece_16_Bird_House_2

I think I will wait a bit longer to make certain there are no other changes to be made. I want to be totally satisfied with it’s outcome before proceeding with the finishing touches.

If you look in the center of the art quilt you will see a white bird. This white bird was the inspiration for naming my project. I call it Bird House. As the piece stands now it measures 25 1/4″ x 20 3/4″.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Cindy Anderson