* This is a detail shot
of Pamela Johnson's quilt "Paper Shredder" from QuiltCon in Austin, presented by
the Modern Quilt Guild.
My trip to QuiltCon in Austin Texas
was rather surreal – traveling through snow to leave town – and flying back home
in another snowstorm. I flew on
a small plane both ways, and an old friend of the family (our family doctor)
was on both flights, going to and from a medical conference in Austin! Small
world. We shared travel photos on our laptops on the way back, serendipitously
having adjacent seats on the small plane.
The long weekend in Austin was
a neat little package tied up with a plaid bow. Many of my friends from the
industry were there too… all of us were there to check it out and see what's
up with this new Modern Quilting movement. I managed to have some business
meetings that would have otherwise waited for Quilt Market in May, so it was
great to get a jump on the Spring business season. The weather was mostly mild,
so I went from
winter storm, to mild
sunshine, and back to a blizzard. (Lucky to land Sunday during a brief
window of snow cessation!)
We were all surprised at how many mature
ladies were at the show! We quickly surmised that there is such a huge
population of quilters in Texas,
that many local quilters were able to pop over to Austin to check out this
Modern Quilt phenom. My industry friends and I had the most fun standing
in the rows of the quilt exhibits, listening to the frank comments from
visitors. They ranged from "I don't get it." to "Wow, this is so fresh and
inspiring!" It was especially fun to hear all ages of quilters saying "I can't
wait to get home and start sewing!"
I came to the show as a sponsor and a
presenter, so I could learn what Modern Quilting is really all about. I left
feeling that this movement is growing and changing as rapidly as it was formed –
and in another couple years we might not recognize its exponentially changing
mutation.
There are some who have tried to define the movement with
guidelines that some might find narrow or rigid. At the same time they are very
welcoming to newcomers and beginners, and they encourage newbies to just get
started and don't be intimidated.
There are those who are
super-creative, who have been chafing at the bit and pushing the boundaries of
the "Modern" definitions. One of them won
Best of Show! Because of that top award-winning quilt, I am no longer
concerned that those writing the Modern guidelines will limit the movement. It
has taken on a life of its own, and the creative conversation is being
crowd-sourced online as I type these words.
What I can tell you is that
the Modern Quilting movement is a fresh clean design aesthetic, inspired by
Modern architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mad Men, Gee's Bend and Nancy Crow's
quilts.
Instead of using layers and embellishment, it uses simple shapes
and a lot of negative space. The negative space is often filled with dense or
complex quilting, often stitched by brilliantly talented young longarm quilters.
It reminds me a lot of the spare design aesthetic I saw at the Tokyo
Quilt Festival… except where the Japanese quilters are using Indigo and
Taupe… the Modern quilters are using bright colors and white. It was fun to
see yarn-dyed plaids being used at this show too… one of my favorite fabrics
used at the Tokyo show.
My Russian translator friend Marina was there
from St. Petersburg, and she had a modern red quilt hanging in the show. She
plans to start a Modern Quilt Guild in Russia when she returns. (You may recall
I was at the Moscow
Quilt Festival in September.)
I can't wait to see what happens
next!
I also want to mention that there was a glitch in the payment
system for the Tentmakers of Cairo
documentary fundraiser, so if you tried to make a donation and it didn't go
through, please try again!
* Hurricane Sandy
Quilt Relief Info *
(YES! – We are still accepting donated
quilts!)
* Sandyhook
Elementary Memorial Quilt Project *
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