Quilts in an Art Museum means they are ART

Made by Adrien Rothschild a better shot is seen here at BMA site

The surprise on my birthday visit to BMA was an art quilt exhibit. The quilts were made in different eras, and there were only four of them but they are really interesting. (Click on any image to see details)

This installation was enormous, painted wood with painted quilts inserted.

 Being a painter, I was intrigued with this painted with dyes. Subtle shading in neutral colors it was peaceful but set into the wood structure so boldly painted was dynamic. Look at a close up

 Seed stitch for filler. Note the delicate shadows, and the deep shadows we're often reluctant to add.

Michael James

Michael James gained notoriety working with fabric in the '70's when fabric wasn't considered an art medium. He used repetition and color to design interlocking images. 

I've seen his work for years in books but was excited to see one in person. Note his not quite matching line to the left proving a very successful piece of art isn't held to the same standards a quilt show judge would use. 


It is very sparsely quilted as well. How different our current standards are. I don't always like to see a quilt so heavily quilted it buckles from all the extra threads. 

Like any art form, we get used to certain looks and cling to them. I just wanted to point out for the newer quilters, people did not always consider such close quilting necessary to design. Art forms change, and people view them differently over time. 

I am glad to see Art Museums acceptance of fiber art as a valid art form as this hasn't always been the case. 

This quilt is large and hung on point,  requiring a different kind of support for display. It looks like a wooden frame was covered in batting and fabric, and the quilt was stitched to it. 

Last winter I visited the Walter's art museum in Baltimore and commented on a patron's lovely scarf. We began to share, and he asked, "since you are an art quilter, do you know Michael James?" 


I sputtered and said I knew of the famous James. Turns out the gentleman is a family friend and shared a few anecdotes with me.One degree of separation lol. 

gratuitous selfie in the reflection

 Click on that image to see the extreme detail Pamela Studstill used in designing this quilt on graph paper. It would suck all the fun out of the process for me, to design to this degree.

 I would feel done with the whole thing as most of the fun is seeing how a quilt develops as I add blocks. 

That's just me though, how about you? 

 What do you think?