The Friendship Quilters’ Guild has been in existence over 16 years and has shown their talented works of art at Heartland Artists Gallery, this being the sixth year. Heartland Artists Gallery is proud to share the local
artists’ textile art from our immediate area. Heartland believes this to be an art form as well, another type of media which is more tactile than most fine art and it requires balance, exceptional color mix, symmetry and continuing creativity. A quilter dedicates long hours designing and completing their art.
The Guild will be displaying creative quilts and many quilted gift items. The Community is invited to an Open House on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 1-4 pm at the Heartland Artists Gallery to view all of the Guilds’ art in the September Show and meet the quilters.
The Friendship Quilters Guild made the full size quilt titled ‘Threads from the Heartland’. This quilt will be raffled off and the Guild will sell tickets through their members and at the Gallery in September. Different members host each meeting on the 2nd Monday of the month at the Life Enrichment Center, 7:00 pm. The Guild has a wonderful creative ingredient as well as a serving and a compassionate heart. They gift quilts and quilted items to comfort others through their end products. This year they are selling Christmas socks and proceeds will go to Operation Quiet Comfort for mailing expenses. They have been making socks to pack in their Christmas boxes as well. The Guild accepts fabric from former quilters and estates and then uses their talent to turn the fabric into wonderful quilts to comfort others.
Often people think of the art quilt movement as something new. And the age-old question is, is quilting an art form? People assume that in the past, most quilts were made out of necessity. This is far from the truth as women of all circumstances typically made their quilts to add beauty to their home. From the wife of a wealthy land owner creating a quilt of elegant applique to a pioneer woman sewing scraps together in her sod home, quilts could be a source of artistic expression. The story of quilting in America begins with wholecloth and medallion quilts made by the few colonial women with the leisure time to make them. The heart of the story tells of the explosion of quilt making when manufactured fabric became plentiful and affordable around 1840. It continued to grow over the decades and even today with the popularity of artistic quilting.
Artist’s Turn to Quilts as Art: Nancy Crow – pioneer quilt artist. While the early emphasis was on art in quilts of the past it wasn’t long before artists began to create new quilts as art. Notice we said “artists”. The quilt art movement was primarily started by artists who originally created in other art media. For example, art quilter Michael James had been trained in painting and print making while Nancy Crow began her art career in ceramics & weaving. It has been more recently that quilters have gone from traditional quilting to quilt art.
Heartland’s calendar offers more ‘Art Experiences’ through the end of the year. Their 29th Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibit will take place Sept. 30 – Nov. 3. This Show brings in art from a five state area and new arists are competing for prizes every year. November’s Show will feature a new artist, Olga Orlovska Soaltys with the Community Open House on Sat. Nov. 11 from 1-4. Olga uses the following techniques: Reverse painting on glass, graphic (pen and ink), oil, acrylic, silk painting, and paints Ukrainian Easter eggs. December will be the Members Art Show and the Annual Christmas Tree Raffle, this year’s theme being ‘Art Deco’. The tree with handmade ornaments by Heartand artists will be on display at the Gallery mid November, tickets will be sold there and the winner will be announced early in December.
The Gallery’s mission is to support area artists, and to bring and to teach the arts to our community. Our not-for-profit Gallery gives area artists a venue to show and sell their art. Our art classes fulfill our mission for educating and they also assist in our financial means to maintain the Gallery. Visit www.heartlandartgallery. com and Facebook or call 574.936.9515 for information. The Gallery location is 101 N. Michigan St., in downtown Plymouth. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10-4.
Photo Caption: This beautiful quilt titled ‘Threads from the Heartland’ is now on display at Heartland Artists Gallery in downtown
Plymouth. This quilt will be raffled off and tickets are available through the Guild Members and at the Gallery. This and over 100
other quilts and quilted gift items creatively made by the Friendship Quilters’
