Masters: Art Quilts Volume 2

This second volume quilt photography book showcases 40 art quilters from around the world. Artist commentary is sprinkled throughout with color images.

Martha Sielman is the curator of this book and the first one in the series: Masters: Art Quilters, Volume 1. Since she is the executive director to the world's largest art-quilt organization Studio Art Quilt Associates, her knowledge of quilting techniques and styles helps bring to life each artist through the selection of photos and the biography of each quilt artist at the beginning of each chapter.

Telling Stories Through Quilts and the Fabrics In Them

All the art quilters and presenters in the book use either typical quilting materials or use materials that push the boundaries of typical needle arts, and sometimes a combination of the two. Traditional elements like appliqué, hand dying, and hand quilting mix with other materials not typically found in traditional quilting like metallic fabrics and threads, acrylic paints, cyanotype photographs, and matchbook covers. The quilt fabrics include cotton, antique linen, rayon, silk, and velvet. Some quilts are monochromatic while others feature striking color contrasts.

Many of the quilts create a story or present a message. All the quilters invite the viewer to take time and discover what it is, much like a painting, such as viewing a crime scene in “Hunted” by Bente Vold Klausen, or catching a glimpse of theater-goers in “Theatre” by Izabella Baykova. Typical square or rectangle overall shapes are turned upside down in some art quilts: Patricia Malarcher created a diamond and rectangle Mylar masterpiece, and Alice Beasley with her portrait of a man in “Cubano”.

Masters: Art Quilts Volume 2 Overview and Chapters

The book contains photographs of quilts from 40 different artists. Each 'chapter' is dedicated to one artist with 10 pages of photographs of the artist's quilts, quotes from the artist with insights from different quilts, along with what each quilt was made of and when it was constructed. Sielman writes a brief introduction to the artists with analysis on their work, like techniques they use and why their work is significant in the art-quilt world.

Recommended for Quilters Delving Into the Art Side of Quilting

Viewing the stunning color photographs of the quilts leads the reader to acknowledge that quilt-making is more than producing a bed covering. The quilters use different materials to construct the pieces, which are sometimes free-form put together rather than typical quilt blocks that most people are familiar with. These quilts inspire quilters new the art form to delve into their creative side when approaching their sewing projects.

Book Information:

• Masters: Art Quilts, Vol. 2 - Major Works by Leading Artists; Curated by Martha Sielman; Edited by Ray Hemachandra
• Lark Crafts, 2011
• ISBN13: 9781600595998
• Paper with flaps, full color, 414 pages

Images of quilts used with permission from Lark Crafts, an imprint of Sterling Publishing.

Disclosure: This book was provided to the author by the publisher. Any opinions expressed are the my own.