Vermont Quilt Festival 2009
I’m always looking for ways to stoke my creativity, whether for personal projects or just to explore a new design angle or school of thought. Usually my good ol’ Moleskin journal is just the ticket, but since I really enjoy being a tourist (but not looking like one) I like to check out oddball festivals, art shows, gallery walks, etc. I always leave these events with new ideas for projects, and sometimes a new friend or two.
The 2009 Vermont Quilt Festival is one of those gatherings that I would not normally attend as a personal passion, but boy was there some incredible design talent showcased. Most of the quilts featured some level of machining, and more than just your regular Singer sewing machine – there were vendors demonstrating stitching machines that you’d need a 2-car garage to keep in. Beautiful end results, but something about quilting as a pastime or hobby should lend itself to the handmade. Amid the hokey, country, garish and over-embellished, I came across some very imaginative projects that just oozed genius from a graphic designer’s perspective.
Disclaimer: Taking pics of many of the quilts was not allowed, but hardly enforced. Flash cameras and even sketching (!) were absolutely not tolerated. Unfortunately I did not gather every artist’s name for credit, but you can find out more about the festival at vqf.org. These are from my phone:
My favorite. No painting from what I could tell, just fabric as food. The dark background fabric had a felt-y pattern which really gave it some drama and depth.
Honey, I'm Home - Hope Johnson Heavy on the hex and stunning. Math geek as quilter?
This rogue quilter chose unusual subject matter and cropped it - love that.
Tribute to Pantone #1
Tribute to Pantone #2 (Escher and Tetris, too!)
Life in Holly Ridge - Nancy Prince This small wall quilt was over-the-top with fluffiness and texture, but I found it remarkable how the fabric was used to show shadow, light and perspective.
Lara, I can certainly attest to your creativity!
Now everyone else can watch you share the story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwcvdAce1gM
Thanks for your comment n2quilting. I wish I could offer more info on the creators, but I didn’t write them down. There were other great quilts there not included in my post, but these particular shots were of quilts NOT indicating that photos were not allowed, as many at the expo were. The pics are low rez anyway and if anyone was thinking of sketching them, they’d have a hard time from a phone jpeg. My intent is to feature a creative outlet for myself as observer of various creative genres, not to poach patterns – I am not a quilter. I will add a vqf.com link to the post.
If you can help me with the names of the project creators – please forward and I will give additional credit. Thanks!