Quilt National '03

Quilt National '03

The whole collection is documented in Quilt National '03: The Best of Contemporary Quilts published by Lark Books.

Six hundred and seventy-six artists submitted 1,452 works. Jurors Liz Axford, Wendy Huhn and Robert Shaw selected 84 quilts by 86 artists. The exhibitors represented 26 states and 10 foreign countries. There were 7 awards granted.

Best of Show - Sponsored by Bernina
Nancy Erickson
Felis Forever (1), ©NE
69 by 39 inches. Velvet, satin, cotton, felt (filler) fabric paints, oil paintsticks; machine stitched and appliquéd
Artist's statement: In the mid 1990s I worked on quilted pieces that showed bears in caverns or in rooms formerly occupied by humans and covered with cave drawings of early animals. The bears wander through these environments, teaching their cubs about history. In this new series, Felis..., the ancient history is imprinted on the cougars; the cougars are freed of caves and rooms, and they move freely on the wall.

Award of Excellence
Ludmilla Uspenskaya
Recharge, ©LU
56 by 74 inches. Silk and cotton fabrics hand painted by artist, wax resist, collage; machine and hand quilted
Artist's statement: What once was hot
Eventually gets cold.
What once was full
Eventually gets empty.
It is up to you to "Recharge" it.

Most Innovative Use of the Medium
sponsored by
Friends of Fiber Art International
Michael James
A Strange Riddle, ©MJ
76 by 57 inches. 100% cotton with digitally developed and printed images using Photoshop and CAD software and a Mimaki textile printer; machine pieced and quilted.
Artist's statement: A 1949 photograph taken by my father when I was five months old and an essay by Freud on the mystery of infantile amnesia were the triggers for this quilt. The child's neurological immaturity would seem to prevent the "reading" of visual patterns, such as the genteel floral wallpaper of that first room, but can we be sure? While I don't have any memories of that first bedroom, I am fascinated by pattern of all kinds, and believe that fascination has deeply embedded roots.

Cathy Rasmussen Emerging Artist Memorial Award
Sponsored by
Studio Art Quilt Associates
Bean Gilsdorf
Ouija #1, ©BG
47 by 50. Hand-dyed and commercial cotton fabrics, dyed, monoprinted, painted, and relief printed by the artist; machine pieced, appliquéd, quilted, and tied.
Artist's statement: Skeletons typically signify death, but for me they represent the essence of humanity. The visual elements in this quilt evolved from my fear and rage about violent events in my personal history and in American culture. While working on this quilt, I explored ideas about fate and precognition, using text from a Ouija board to evoke the indiscriminate nature of violence. This quilt is a warning, an amulet, and a private memorial.

Domini McCarthy Memorial Award
Nelda Warkentin
Tropical Dream, ©NW
48 by 60 inches. Multiple layers of painted silk organza on a quilted cotton and linen base; machine pieced and quilted.
Artist's statement: This quilt brings the viewer to the memory of a favorite time and place, easily moving them into a dream of visiting warm, carefree, tropical days that are waiting just beyond the horizon. Letting your mind bring you to a sense of serenity can feel so good.

Quilts Japan Prize
Elizabeth Busch
Abundance, ©EB
54 by 22 inches. Cotton canvas, purchased fabric, acrylic paint, textile paint, hand painted, airbrushed; machine pieced, hand and machine quilted.
Artist's statement: Abundance. I cannot keep what I don't give away. Annie Dillard in The Writing Life says it all: "These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. . . Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes."

Lynn Goodwin Borgman Award for Surface Design
Clare Plug
Nocturne in G, ©CP
74 by 39 inches. Discharge-dyed cotton; machine quilted and reverse appliquéd.
Artist's statement: My current work is created in response to the coastline where I live: the rhythms, patterns, and textures and its emptiness and limited color schemes all excite me. The inspiration for this particular quilt was the graywacke stones that blanket our city beach combined with the formality of the beachfront gardens.

People's Choice Award
Noriko Endo
Autumn Walk, ©NE
90 by 48 inches. Commercial and hand-dyed cotton, rayon, and nylon cut in small pieces and covered with soft tulle; machine quilted.
Artist's statement: This piece is part of a recent series of work that deals with landscapes. I am totally absorbed and fascinated by the beauty of nature's colors. The inspiration for this work was a series of beautiful trees with changing colors along a sidewalk in Tokyo.

Views from inside the Dairy Barn in the summer of 2003

QN '79 QN '81 QN '83
QN '85 QN '87 QN '89 QN '91
QN '93 QN '95 QN '97 QN '99
QN '01 QN '05 QN '07
QN Prize Winners Home

Best of Show - Sponsored by Bernina Nancy Erickson Felis Forever (1), ©NE 69 by 39 inches. Velvet, satin, cotton, felt (filler) fabric paints, oil paintsticks; machine stitched and appliquéd Artist's statement: In the mid 1990s I worked on quilted pieces that showed bears in caverns or in rooms formerly occupied by humans and covered with cave drawings of early animals. The bears wander through these environments, teaching their cubs about history. In this new series, Felis..., the ancient history is imprinted on the cougars; the cougars are freed of caves and rooms, and they move freely on the wall.
	Award of Excellence Ludmilla Uspenskaya Recharge, ©LU 56 by 74 inches. Silk and cotton fabrics hand painted by artist, wax resist, collage; machine and hand quilted Artist's statement: What once was hot Eventually gets cold. What once was full Eventually gets empty. It is up to you to "Recharge" it.
Most Innovative Use of the Medium sponsored by Friends of Fiber Art International Michael James A Strange Riddle, ©MJ 76 by 57 inches. 100% cotton with digitally developed and printed images using Photoshop and CAD software and a Mimaki textile printer; machine pieced and quilted. Artist's statement: A 1949 photograph taken by my father when I was five months old and an essay by Freud on the mystery of infantile amnesia were the triggers for this quilt. The child's neurological immaturity would seem to prevent the "reading" of visual patterns, such as the genteel floral wallpaper of that first room, but can we be sure? While I don't have any memories of that first bedroom, I am fascinated by pattern of all kinds, and believe that fascination has deeply embedded roots.
	Cathy Rasmussen Emerging Artist Memorial Award Sponsored by Studio Art Quilt Associates Bean Gilsdorf Ouija #1, ©BG 47 by 50. Hand-dyed and commercial cotton fabrics, dyed, monoprinted, painted, and relief printed by the artist; machine pieced, appliquéd, quilted, and tied. Artist's statement: Skeletons typically signify death, but for me they represent the essence of humanity. The visual elements in this quilt evolved from my fear and rage about violent events in my personal history and in American culture. While working on this quilt, I explored ideas about fate and precognition, using text from a Ouija board to evoke the indiscriminate nature of violence. This quilt is a warning, an amulet, and a private memorial.
Domini McCarthy Memorial Award Nelda Warkentin Tropical Dream, ©NW 48 by 60 inches. Multiple layers of painted silk organza on a quilted cotton and linen base; machine pieced and quilted. Artist's statement: This quilt brings the viewer to the memory of a favorite time and place, easily moving them into a dream of visiting warm, carefree, tropical days that are waiting just beyond the horizon. Letting your mind bring you to a sense of serenity can feel so good.
	Quilts Japan Prize Elizabeth Busch Abundance, ©EB 54 by 22 inches. Cotton canvas, purchased fabric, acrylic paint, textile paint, hand painted, airbrushed; machine pieced, hand and machine quilted. Artist's statement: Abundance. I cannot keep what I don't give away. Annie Dillard in The Writing Life says it all: "These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. . . Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes."
Lynn Goodwin Borgman Award for Surface Design Clare Plug Nocturne in G, ©CP 74 by 39 inches. Discharge-dyed cotton; machine quilted and reverse appliquéd. Artist's statement: My current work is created in response to the coastline where I live: the rhythms, patterns, and textures and its emptiness and limited color schemes all excite me. The inspiration for this particular quilt was the graywacke stones that blanket our city beach combined with the formality of the beachfront gardens.
	People's Choice Award Noriko Endo Autumn Walk, ©NE 90 by 48 inches. Commercial and hand-dyed cotton, rayon, and nylon cut in small pieces and covered with soft tulle; machine quilted. Artist's statement: This piece is part of a recent series of work that deals with landscapes. I am totally absorbed and fascinated by the beauty of nature's colors. The inspiration for this work was a series of beautiful trees with changing colors along a sidewalk in Tokyo.