The notion of a quilting bee might be as old-fashioned as a taffy pull or barn-raising, but quilting is enjoying a renaissance.
A recent convention for appliqué artists drew 600 people to Denver and 250 are expected to attend a three-day symposium on art quilts Friday through June 5 at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden. In conjunction with the quilt museum, the Foothills Art Center in Golden is staging “Rooted in Tradition,” a show of 50 quilts. The Denver Art Museum is showing “Amish Quilts: Kaleidoscope of Color” through June 19, and has a companion exhibit, “No Boundaries: Art + Fiber” through July 10.
Why does quilting appeal to some stitchers more than needlepoint or knitting? Nancy Smith, owner of the Great American Quilt Factory in Denver, has spent a lot of time considering that question in the 25 years she and partner Lynda Milligan have had their business.
“Quilting can be whatever you want it to be,” Smith says. “It can be quick and easy or a lifetime achievement. You can do handwork or use a machine. We’re doing more quilts with embellishments like crystals, paints and unusual threads. The older I get, the more glitz I seem to want.”
Smith sees women young and old – as well as a few men – quilting to relax and to create something special. Kids learn quilting in classes at Smith’s store, young pregnant women make crib blankets and women of all ages enjoy it as a creative outlet.
Some find quilting a way to escape the stresses of modern life. “For me, it’s relaxing – a way to find serenity in a sea of activity,” says Libbie Gottschalk, 57, who works in the marketing department at the Denver Art Museum.
“Women who don’t golf or play bridge still want a reason to get together, so they quilt,” Smith says. “It isn’t that different from what it was for the Amish years ago. That was their social time.”
Indeed, Amish society dictates that women gather, not for idle pursuits, but if they are doing something useful, like sewing, it’s OK, says quilt collector Stephen Brown.
Forty quilts owned by Brown and his wife Faith are on display at the Denver Art Museum. Those who scoff at a quilt as art only need to stroll the exhibit. The quilts from the 1880s to the 1940s, the best examples of Amish quilting, the Browns believe, are testament to their beautiful and meticulous detail.
While in traditional patterns, such as Log Cabin, Broken Star or Ocean Waves, in each quilter’s hands the choice of colors is different.
Pictures don’t do the quilts justice. One has to get up close to study the intricate quilt stitching, often in feather, wreath or leaf motifs, as well as the colorful piecework.
Brown says he had to be dragged to such a show in Washington, D.C., in the early 1970s. “I wasn’t particularly interested in quilts and pictured the Amish as very severe, drab people, so I expected a pretty boring exhibit,” he says on a recent visit to Denver from his home in San Francisco.
Instead, he and his wife had an experience “similar to what Emily Dickinson described about reading a poem – we felt like the tops of our heads had been knocked off,” he says.
The vivid colors and bold graphics of the Amish works from the late 19th and early 20th centuries struck such a chord with the couple they began collecting quilts a couple of years later. Today they have one of the nation’s best private collections.
The Amish might be considered “plain people,” living without frills and shunning modern ways, but the quilts made by the women were both colorful and complex. Many look like the op art that was to come years later, while others resemble something from M.C. Escher or Victor Vasarely.
While the Amish women typically were restricted to certain patterns and colors, quilters today stretch the limits. “People who still have a concept of little old ladies quilting are wrong,” Smith says, noting that the range of fabrics and materials being used have expanded greatly in recent years. “Some are very traditional and others are very unusual. Few times does one look like another.”
Quilts have a legitimate place as art objects, says Alice Zrebiec, curator of textile art at the Denver Art Museum. “There’s more of a trend to take quilts off the bed and put them on the wall. In the hands of a good artist, it doesn’t matter if you use paint or fabric.”
Staff writer Suzanne S. Brown can be reached at 303-820-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com.
Where to see art quilts
“Amish Quilts: Kaleidoscope of Color,” Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Avenue Parkway, through June 19. Tickets, which include general museum admission, will be issued for a specific day and are nonrefundable. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday. Admission, $4-$9; 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.
“Rooted in Tradition,” Foothills Art Center, 809 15th St., Golden, through July 10. Free admission, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday; 303-279-3922 or foothillsartcenter.org. Free public reception, 6-9 p.m. Friday; Fiber Arts Festival, 1-4 p.m. June 25 with demonstrations and tours by exhibiting artists; kids art and quilting areas.
“Rooted in Tradition: The Art Quilt,” symposium at The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, 1111 Washington Ave., Golden, Friday through June 5. Registration is $145-$180; or $20 for just the keynote speech with Robert Shaw. Call 303-277-0377 or for a complete list of events, visit rmqm.org.
