Q&A With Ann

Q&A with Ann

The following comments came from her Quilt National 97 application.

Q: How and why have you chosen to express your creative energies in the medium of layered fabric?

A: "I've always sewn, mostly clothes, and was raised in a community that made quilts and valued quilting."

Q: What part of the process of making a quilt gives you the greatest pleasure?

A: "The fact that I don't usually preplan a quilt, so I'm as surprised as anybody about what the end result is."

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest challenge in working with this medium?

A: "Finding time."

Q: Approximately how long does it take you to create a work like the one in Quilt National 97?

A: "This one was made in about 2 weeks, with every day spent working on it."

Q: Approximately how many hours a week do you devote to quiltmaking?

A: "Sometimes there are months at a time when I don't do any sewing, and then sometimes I'll spend 3 or 4 days a week."

Q: How long have you been making quilts?

A: "Since 1984."

Q: How has your work changed during this time? Who or what has had the most influence on your work as an artist?

A: "I remember, early in my quilting life, seeing a Quilt National catalogue for the first time and being 'blown away' with all the new things I'd never even thought of before. I also remember, later on, seeing a picture of Nancy Crow's then new template-free quilts, and being nearly moved to tears because they resonated so much with what was inside of me.

One event, however, has had a profound effect on many aspects of my quiltmaking and my life: in 1993 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That event has affected content, technique, and perspective in my quiltmaking.

Much of the content of my quilts now deals with my faith, especially as it relates to cancer. Even in quilts without overt meaning, the design elements raw edges, quilting 'outside the lines', slicing through already finished sections speak metaphorically of my life post cancer.

Q&A continued on next page


		Q&A with Ann The following comments came from her Quilt National 97 application. Q: How and why have you chosen to express your creative energies in the medium of layered fabric? A: "I've always sewn, mostly clothes, and was raised in a community that made quilts and valued quilting." Q: What part of the process of making a quilt gives you the greatest pleasure? A: "The fact that I don't usually preplan a quilt, so I'm as surprised as anybody about what the end result is." Q: What do you consider to be your greatest challenge in working with this medium? A: "Finding time." Q: Approximately how long does it take you to create a work like the one in Quilt National 97? A: "This one was made in about 2 weeks, with every day spent working on it." Q: Approximately how many hours a week do you devote to quiltmaking? A: "Sometimes there are months at a time when I don't do any sewing, and then sometimes I'll spend 3 or 4 days a week." Q: How long have you been making quilts? A: "Since 1984." Q: How has your work changed during this time? Who or what has had the most influence on your work as an artist? A: "I remember, early in my quilting life, seeing a Quilt National catalogue for the first time and being 'blown away' with all the new things I'd never even thought of before. I also remember, later on, seeing a picture of Nancy Crow's then new template-free quilts, and being nearly moved to tears because they resonated so much with what was inside of me. One event, however, has had a profound effect on many aspects of my quiltmaking and my life: in 1993 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That event has affected content, technique, and perspective in my quiltmaking. Much of the content of my quilts now deals with my faith, especially as it relates to cancer. Even in quilts without overt meaning, the design elements raw edges, quilting 'outside the lines', slicing through already finished sections speak metaphorically of my life post cancer. Q&A continued on next page
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