Twelve by Twelve Art Quilter :: Diane Perin Hock

:: Diane Perin Hock ::

Craving Connection
No matter what our media of choice is, as artists much of our creative time is spent alone. We work in our creative corners, quietly contemplating and experimenting: What color here?  How does this composition flow? It’s an invigorating and satisfying process, but most of the time, it comes down to just being alone and doing it.

So maybe that explains why many of us crave connection to others who do what we do. Through magazines, blogs, guilds, and minigroups, we connect with others who share our obsession. That’s the impetus that led me to invite these amazing women to join me in an experiment that became “Twelve by Twelve.”  I was excited to connect and play with eleven other artists. I would never have imagined that it would lead to international exhibit opportunities and the publication of a book.  It just goes to show that when a bunch of energetic and inspired women get together, there’s no telling how far we can go!

Becoming Twelve
In the fall of 2009, I had the opportunity to meet one of the far-away Twelves, Helen Conway from the UK.  Helen and her husband were planning a trip with a stop near me in the San Francisco area, so I invited them to stay with us. Helen had bemoaned the lack of art quilting companions in her local area, and she’d commented that she envied my having local friends with whom to share my fiber art explorations. I offered to introduce Helen to some of my friends when she visited, and she responded with enthusiasm.

As far as Helen was concerned, I was planning a luncheon for her and several quilting friends. But unbeknownst to Helen, I also invited the west coast “Twelves” to see if they could attend and surprise Helen. To my delight, Gerrie Congdon from Oregon and Karen Rips from Southern California arranged to come.

Conversation and Quilts
By the time the day rolled around, Helen and I were happily meshing in our in-person friendship.  Despite never meeting any the guests before, Helen seemed to instantly “click” with them in the way that quilters and artists do. There was much happy chatter. Then the doorbell rang, and in came Karen Rips. Helen – recognizing her from her blog photos – was speechless with surprise.  Astonished hugs were exchanged, but before things settled down the doorbell rang again, and Gerrie Congdon made her entrance. By this time Helen was teary-eyed with surprise and pleasure. 

The afternoon flew by in whirl of conversation and quilts. We had show-and-tell that involved much oohing-and-ahhing. As I think back to that day, though, the most memorable part was how wonderful that feeling of connection felt. I may work alone in my studio, but I know I’m supported by the bond I share with the Twelves and other wonderful friends.  

The 12x12 International Art Quilt Challenge can be viewed at www.twelveby12.org .

See more of Diane's work at http://goingtopieces.blogspot.com.

Twelve by Twelve Art Quilter :: Terry Grant

:: Terry Grant ::

Jumped
I remember one of the other Twelves said that when she was first asked to join the group she almost said "no." Not me. I jumped at the chance. Not because I thought it would ever lead to all the amazing things it has, including a book, but because I am fascinated with the process of creativity and how it manifests itself so differently in different people. A challenge is always a study in how people take a beginning idea and then fly off in as many directions as there are participants. I always want to know how people get from A to Z.

A to Z
My own journey from A to Z has been a circuitous and branching path. I have always loved to draw and paint. I have always loved to sew. I have been a painter and a printmaker and a weaver and prodigious crafter forever. I got a degree in art and taught. I sewed clothes and dolls and curtains and eventually quilts. I screen printed and made batiks. Then after far too many years it finally occurred to me that all these things could work together with my love of sewing and I became an art quilter. I have never looked back.

I continued making other work all the while we have been making our Twelve by Twelve challenges and I have loved the focus of the challenges that took me to places I would not have gone on my own and let me in on eleven other creative minds at work on the same challenge. Some might view such a project as a "game" or merely entertaining, but for me it has been a hugely creative and instructive exercise, which has resulted in new directions for my work. It is not an exaggeration to say my life has been changed by the Twelve by Twelve project.

The 12x12 International Art Quilt Challenge can be viewed at www.twelveby12.org.

See more of Terry's work at http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com.

Twelve by Twelve Art Quilter :: Nikki Wheeler

 
:: Nikki Wheeler ::

A Whole New World
I fell into art quilting when my fourth child was a toddler. I'm sure many of you know how crazy that stage of life can be. My time was spent cooking, cleaning and refereeing – endless work that was undone faster than I could do it. I longed for something creative and beautiful and just for me. Teetering on depression, one Sunday afternoon in November, I escaped from the family and headed to Barnes & Noble. I found Quilting Arts, Cloth Paper Scissors and Somerset Studio magazines and my life hasn't been the same. The combination of fabric, stitch, painting and embellishment spoke to my heart and drew me in. I devoured the magazines and ordered back issues. I added books and supplies to my Christmas wish list. I jumped on the Internet and found a whole new world.

Endless Combinations
What a luscious world it is.  One of my favorite things about art quilting and mixed media is the diversity. Style, size, materials and techniques are wide open. There is always room for experimentation and development of something new. The vast choices create endless combinations allowing each person to develop their own voice. Personally, I like to combine as much color and texture as possible. Fondling materials such as silk fabric, wool felt, fuzzy yarns, vintage buttons and glass beads is half the fun. Combining them in unexpected ways creates a feast for the eyes. To make up for the gray days around here, I like to use a rainbow of colors in all tints, tones and shades. And of course, add a little sparkle with metallic threads, paints, pens and embellishments. 

Anything is Possible
I really have no idea where I would be artistically without the Twelve by Twelve group. I am so lucky to have been taken under the wings of these wonderful women right at the beginning of my artistic journey. They have inspired me, kept me moving forward when life has tried to throw me off track and made dreams come true. Each theme has challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new, often resulting in a new series of work. Other times, I have used the pieces to push a current line of thinking further. And of course there are the months when I feel beaten down by life, but the commitment to the group has brought me back to the studio where I'm always renewed.  Plus, I just need to think about our book, Twelve by Twelve The International Art Quilt Challenge and my spirit soars knowing anything is possible. 

The 12x12 International Art Quilt Challenge can be viewed at www.twelveby12.org.

See more of Nikki's work at www.nikkiwheeler.blogspot.com.

Twelve by Twelve Art Quilter :: Karen Rips

  

:: Karen Rips ::

Heart of Art and Craft
I don’t believe that it is possible to make “excellent” art in isolation. Over the years, I have had the good fortune to take classes from talented artists and crafters who have taught me techniques such as deconstructed screen printing, precision dyeing, discharge and paper lamination just to name a few. I’ve learned different approaches for stitching the fabric, including raw edge and free motion. But while good technique is essential, the ability to express an idea to others through your chosen medium is at the heart of art and craft. When I was asked by Diane to join the “Twelves,” I recognized the perfect opportunity to push and develop my work with the help of with eleven other talented fiber artists.

Working Out Problems
The favorite part about what I do is working out problems. If I have something that’s not going right I spend hours thinking about it, reworking it until I figure out what’s wrong. The 12” size works well for exploration and is big enough to see if that idea would work in a larger format, but can also stand on its own as a finished piece. I tend to work abstract, and love deciphering the lines of what I see in simple forms. My process includes years of “making” my own fabric, then having a huge stash to pull from when putting together my artwork. To be able to take fabric that starts out white and use multiple processes to turn it into a piece of art where people say “how did she do that” is a wonderful feeling.

Outside the Comfort Zone
I like to work in series, often based on what is happening around me, or from personal experiences. For example I recently completed a “construction” series, and currently I’m exploring images from X-rays, MRI’s and CT scans. I keep journals where I save color swatches, make notes, and save cutup pictures from art magazines. While I don’t seem to have trouble coming up with ideas, the Twelves current Colorplay series has been difficult since using color as a starting point is counter intuitive to me. That being said, the beauty of this challenge is that it is pushing me to go outside of my comfort zone.

Finally I would like to say that whatever art or craft you’ve chosen as your passion, it matters to love what you do, embrace it, learn all you can about it, then go forth and make it.

The 12x12 International Art Quilt Challenge can be viewed at www.twelveby12.org.

See more of Karen’s work at fiberartmusings.blogspot.com.

Twelve by Twelve Art Quilter :: Kristin LaFlamme

:: Kristin LaFlamme ::

Meaningful Circle
The Twelve by Twelve experience has taken me places I never dreamed of. Originally, I joined for two reasons: first, I was flattered to have been asked to be a part of a group that included artists whom I admired; and second, I knew it would be a good kick in the pants to expand my art quilting repertoire. What I didn’t guess was that it would grow into opportunities to share our work with a wider audience than just each other and a few blog readers, or that we would create such a meaningful circle of friends. I certainly could not have predicted that our mutual encouragement would result in international exhibitions and a book. Who knew others would be so interested in how we approached our theme challenges, or what we created? 

Friends & Mentors Found
Yet, what’s been most wonderful, has been the connections I’ve made. Twelve women I hardly knew a little over three years ago, now count as my friends. Moving often, I find it difficult to search out like-minded friends or other artists to bounce ideas off of and share experiences. However, through the magic of the internet, and the chemistry of Twelve by Twelve, it doesn’t matter where I am geographically. Over the years we’ve worked together as a group, we’ve forged some close ties. I have found a fellow forty-something mom/emerging artist in Deborah, and wise women mentors in Gerrie and Terry. And just because I feel completely at ease e-mailing images of my artwork (especially work outside of the Twelve by Twelve project) to them, asking for feedback, generally venting, and soliciting professional advice, doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t also feel equally comfortable with the rest of the Twelves. It was great fun being in a compatible time zone when Brenda received the first copy of “Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge” and was able to Skype me so we could share in the excitement of our REAL book!

Community
We are excited to show our work at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this year -- not only because of the renown event, but because nearly all of us will finally get to meet each other in person. And we know already, it’s going to be amazing! As I wrote when announcing my chosen theme, “We are forming a nice little community here.” And I couldn’t have hoped for more when I joined.

The 12x12 International Art Quilt Challenge can be viewed at www.twelveby12.org

See more of Kristin's work at www.kristinlaflamme.com.

Twelve by Twelve Art Quilter :: Helen Conway

:: Helen Conway ::

From Clever to Connected
When Diane Perin Hock invited me to join an art quilting group I was astounded. I had only been quilting for a year and certainly nothing I had made could be constituted art. But I recognised that the invitation was to be seized eagerly. At that time my legal career was multi-faceted; family law, immigration, legal journalism, lecturing. Often, people would tell me they did not know how I did so much. But, I thought I only ever did one thing. Work. Words. I was fed up being constantly described as "clever." It was not an insult, but it felt one-dimensional and stultifying. And so often being the one up on the platform or the one alone in a hotel made me feel isolated and disconnected. And now, here was the curator of the Art Quilters Blog Ring saying that my beginners work, shown on the blog I thought very few people read, qualified me to join an art group.

Dandelions
I decided if Diane had chosen me that surely I was up to being an art quilter and so I launched into it from where I stood, away in inner city London. Our first theme was “dandelions” and I would check into our blog on a public terminal in the hotel  obby and see all the pretty photos of petals and puffballs the others were posting. I was in a hotel with no fabric, no paint and definitely no dandelions.  But I did have my camera. So, I started as I went on: tangentially. My dandelion art quilt was titled, Where does all the yellow go? It referred not only to the transformation of a dandelion in its last days but to the bleak greyness of inner city streets.

Fully Me
That quilt was the start of me finding out who I am as an art quilter. It turns out the words are still a part of me – I still get my inspiration from stories and concepts more than visuals. And I like to tell a tale with my quilts. But now I am not just clever. I am arty! I communicate in fabric. And that means a lot to me. From the outset, being a member of Twelve by Twelve validated me and allowed me to expand as a person. It challenged and supported me. It gave me permission and encouragement to play and learn. It enabled me to belong. It helped to make me fully me.

The 12x12 International Art Quilt Challenge can be viewed at www.twelveby12.org.

See more of Helen's work at http://downthewell.blogspot.com.