Quilt National '95

Quilt National '95

The whole collection is documented in Quilt National: Contemporary Designs in Fabric published by Lark Books.

Six hundred thirteen artists submitted 1,232 works. Jurors Ann Batchelder, Libby Lehman, and Linda MacDonald selected 80 quilts by 84 artists. The exhibitors represented twenty-three states and seven foreign countries. There were six awards granted.

Best of Show
Petra Soesemann
Men/Women, Chapter 1, ©PS
75 by 76 inches. Natural and synthetic fabrics; direct, hand and machine appliquéby fusing, hand quilted.
Artist's statement: Each side of this quilt is always seen through the veil of the image on the other side. The veiling effect is relative and can reveal or conceal, depending on the light. An expressway image from a Chicago map runs through the back view self-portrait to suggest an interior mapping of place, time and female identity. The shorthand encryption reads: "Women veil their egos the way men mask their emotions."

Award of Excellence
Karen Perrine
Remains of the Day, ©KP
44 by 43 inches. Cotton sateen and nylon tulle treated with Procion dye, fabric pigments and felt marker, cotton and metallic threads; hand painted and airbrushed, hand appliquéd, hand and machine quilted.
Artist's statement: Every body of water I've seen in recent years has unmistakable signs of human presence -- trivial garbage like candy wrappers or foam cups. In this work the time is dusk, and it's a little spooky. I don't know if the water is pure or polluted...it is very clear but dark. The people have gone home, leaving, as always, something behind.

Most Innovative Use of the Medium
sponsored by
Friends of Fiber Art International
Ann Curtis
Epicenter of My Soul, ©AC
53 by 53. Commercial and hand-dyed fabrics by Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka, commercial and hand-dyed pearl cotton by Melody Johnson, Facile; multilayered open-centered faced modules set into faced openings in whole cloth background; hand quilted.
Artist's statement: The indomitability of the human spirit may be the most magnificent gift God has given us. Despite hardships endured by body and soul, we all have the capacity to rise above difficult circumstances and to become more powerful in spirit.

Rookie Award
Elizabeth Barton
Windows XIII: Aiming High, ©EB
41 by 67 inches. Hand-dyed and commercial cotton fabrics; machine pieced and appliquéd; machine quilted with rayon and metallic threads.
Artist's statement: I have been working on a series of quilts using windows as a theme -- both in the literal and in the metaphorical sense. The literal choice of the windows motif is probably because I come from a northern country, needing light, and seeing ruined abbeys with open sky windows. Metaphorically, windows reflect my interest in self-growth and understanding.

Domini McCarthy Memorial Award
Joan Schulze
The Angel Equation, ©JS
57 by 56 inches. Silk and cotton fabrics, paper; laminated, painted, pieced and printed; machine quilted.
Artist's statement: I have been enamored with surfaces in most of my work -- color overlaying color; peeling surfaces, edges that define and contrast. Now the final marks are getting larger, more dramatic in, perhaps, a gesture to come closer and take in all the quiet detail.

Quilts Japan Prize
Therese May
Contemplating the Nine Patch, ©TM
90 by 60 inches. Painted panels on mat board; hand quilted and tied, embellished with paint, buttons and beads.
Artist's statement: This quilt emerged as I thought about the traditional quilt versus the art quilt. Even though this quilt is based more on a painting concept, I wanted to express something about the beauty of the traditional quilt and the idea of sewing squares together.

People's Choice Award
Karen Stone
Indian Orange Peel, ©KS
63 by 63 inches. Cotton fabrics, mostly homespun, batiks and reproduction fabrics; machine pieced onto paper foundations, machine quilted.
Artist's statement: While the fabric choices in the quilt may seem to reflect the tension and complexity of my urban life, its inspiration is actually the traditional orange peel quilt and an orange Indian wedding ring quilt from the Pilgrim/Roy collection. While I've come to associate this piece with fire and gospel music (which, like qultmaking, have changed little in 100 years), I think its appeal lies in the simple juxtaposition of two opposing colors.

QN '79 QN '81 QN '83
QN '85 QN '87 QN '89 QN '91
QN '93 QN '97 QN '99 QN '01
QN '03 QN '05 QN '07
QN Prize Winners
Home

	Best of Show Petra Soesemann Men/Women, Chapter 1, ©PS 75 by 76 inches. Natural and synthetic fabrics; direct, hand and machine appliquéby fusing, hand quilted. Artist's statement: Each side of this quilt is always seen through the veil of the image on the other side. The veiling effect is relative and can reveal or conceal, depending on the light. An expressway image from a Chicago map runs through the back view self-portrait to suggest an interior mapping of place, time and female identity. The shorthand encryption reads: "Women veil their egos the way men mask their emotions."
Award of Excellence Karen Perrine Remains of the Day, ©KP 44 by 43 inches. Cotton sateen and nylon tulle treated with Procion dye, fabric pigments and felt marker, cotton and metallic threads; hand painted and airbrushed, hand appliquéd, hand and machine quilted. Artist's statement: Every body of water I've seen in recent years has unmistakable signs of human presence -- trivial garbage like candy wrappers or foam cups. In this work the time is dusk, and it's a little spooky. I don't know if the water is pure or polluted...it is very clear but dark. The people have gone home, leaving, as always, something behind.
	Most Innovative Use of the Medium sponsored by Friends of Fiber Art International Ann Curtis Epicenter of My Soul, ©AC 53 by 53. Commercial and hand-dyed fabrics by Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka, commercial and hand-dyed pearl cotton by Melody Johnson, Facile; multilayered open-centered faced modules set into faced openings in whole cloth background; hand quilted. Artist's statement: The indomitability of the human spirit may be the most magnificent gift God has given us. Despite hardships endured by body and soul, we all have the capacity to rise above difficult circumstances and to become more powerful in spirit.
Rookie Award Elizabeth Barton Windows XIII: Aiming High, ©EB 41 by 67 inches. Hand-dyed and commercial cotton fabrics; machine pieced and appliquéd; machine quilted with rayon and metallic threads. Artist's statement: I have been working on a series of quilts using windows as a theme -- both in the literal and in the metaphorical sense. The literal choice of the windows motif is probably because I come from a northern country, needing light, and seeing ruined abbeys with open sky windows. Metaphorically, windows reflect my interest in self-growth and understanding.
	Domini McCarthy Memorial Award Joan Schulze The Angel Equation, ©JS 57 by 56 inches. Silk and cotton fabrics, paper; laminated, painted, pieced and printed; machine quilted. Artist's statement: I have been enamored with surfaces in most of my work -- color overlaying color; peeling surfaces, edges that define and contrast. Now the final marks are getting larger, more dramatic in, perhaps, a gesture to come closer and take in all the quiet detail.
Quilts Japan Prize Therese May Contemplating the Nine Patch, ©TM 90 by 60 inches. Painted panels on mat board; hand quilted and tied, embellished with paint, buttons and beads. Artist's statement: This quilt emerged as I thought about the traditional quilt versus the art quilt. Even though this quilt is based more on a painting concept, I wanted to express something about the beauty of the traditional quilt and the idea of sewing squares together.
	People's Choice Award Karen Stone Indian Orange Peel, ©KS 63 by 63 inches. Cotton fabrics, mostly homespun, batiks and reproduction fabrics; machine pieced onto paper foundations, machine quilted. Artist's statement: While the fabric choices in the quilt may seem to reflect the tension and complexity of my urban life, its inspiration is actually the traditional orange peel quilt and an orange Indian wedding ring quilt from the Pilgrim/Roy collection. While I've come to associate this piece with fire and gospel music (which, like qultmaking, have changed little in 100 years), I think its appeal lies in the simple juxtaposition of two opposing colors.