Scot Augustson took an unexpected turn into textile art, bringing his playful imagination and offbeat sense of humor along for the ride. With an unconventional approach to quilting, he proves that art doesn’t have to follow the rules to be full of personality.
Can you tell us a little something about yourself and how creativity first found its way into your life?
I’m Scot Augustson a life-long writer, but a late in life quilter.
From the beginning I was that weird kid who would amuse himself with bits of string and paper clips. Letters and numbers all had personalities and my stuffed animals were very real to me. I spent a lot time in my own head making up stories. I think I was referred to as “an imaginative child” which can often mean, “oh jeez, this might not end well.”
I don’t think my father the nuclear physicist ever quite understood me.
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What first drew you to writing? Do you remember the first thing you wrote that made you feel, “This is something I want to keep doing.” ?
From early on I loved reading so it just seemed natural that I would become a writer. But it took a long time to figure out what sort of writer (spoiler alert: playwriting). There were also a lot of internal obstacles on the road to finding my voice. (This is why I think AI is so very, very dangerous. If you remove the early struggles you’re never going to be a good writer)
How did you get started making quilts?
I absolutely stumbled into quilting. It was 2013, I had not touched a sewing machine since 1979 (7th grade home ec with Mrs Shalleck, the results of which were not pretty.)
I was going through a rough patch, I’d separated from my first husband and was seriously underemployed in the very expensive city of Seattle. A dear friend was doing a quilting blog and she hired me to do some very simple cutting and stitching. And from there is sort of evolved into making examples of topics and strategies she’d posted.
It was a delightful surprise that I enjoyed it and had a bit of an eye for it.
Like I said, I was in a low spot and learning this new skill was a big boost to my self esteem.
Writing and quilt making are two very different ways to create something. How did these two interests become part of your life?
Most of my writing up to that point (discovering textile art) had been for the theater, which always has a visual element. And, in addition to regular theater, I was doing shadow puppets as Sgt Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes. So, I had already begun fusing the visual and the literary.
It was very natural that they would come together.
Although I don’t literally believe in the supernatural, I’m a bit of an animist at heart. The whole world and every little thing in is alive and has a personality.
Looking back at your early work, what do you see in it that still feels like you today? What has changed the most?
With the writing when I look back I see my continued love of language and the playfulness in how I treat words. What’s changed most is the depth of experience I bring to writing now.
With quilting, the earliest pieces show how fascinated I was with how the different fabrics spoke to each other. The relationships in the patterns. Do they get along? Is there discord? Why does this blue work and that one is all wrong? That’s continued, these days I feel more freedom and to bring movement and tempo to a quilt.
Where do your writing ideas begin? Do they come from things you see, people you meet, memories, questions, or something more?
All of those!! When I think of writing, I think of rain. There can be moisture in the air, but for drops to form, the water has to gather around tiny bits of grit.
With writing, an idea can begin anywhere, and then it is up to me to build the raindrop around it. That little germ can be so, so many things.
When you begin a new piece of writing, do you usually know where the story is going? Or do you discover it as you write.
I used to be the biggest outliner in the world. Pages of notes and diagrams before starting.
Now, I plough forward blind! Ready for discovery.
What is it about quilting that captured your interest? What can fabric and thread capture the words sometimes cannot?
For a while, I had job as an art museum guard. Doesn’t pay great, but it’s a wonderful gig for the right person.
I got to spend a lot of time with the art.
There is, of course, endless discussions about abstract art. Is it good? Is it crap?
And, what I found for myself is that a lot of abstract art does nothing for me, looks like paint randomly thrown at a canvas. But, some of it really moves me.
What I figured out is that the pieces that caught my attention and drew me in felt like I was looking through a window into a world whose rules I did not know. BUT, the creator did know. This world was real for the artist. A wordless message was being sent and I had to find the meaning.
For me, when I quilt, I always have a story, observation, message, joke, explanation. And, it is not important that the person looking at the quilt knows exactly what I was trying to convey, but I hope it is clear that there is something behind it.
When you begin a quilt, what usually comes first: an idea, a story, a color, fabric or shape?
Ooh! Let me answer this one with an example!
For my sixtieth birthday I took a trip to Belize.
I was walking around Belize City and saw a clothesline strung at a diagonal. There was something about the composition that I found very arresting. The lines, the angles of the laundry, the faded quality of the clothes in the tropic sun.
I took a picture. The imaged turned around and around in my head. I knew I wanted to make a quilt of it.
At first I thought I was going to make a pattern to match the diagonal.
I began creating blocks using distressed fabric. They weren’t going to be literal old clothes, just blocks meant to evoke a time and place where clothes weren’t thrown away when they got old. They were mended and passed down, repurposed.
I wanted to capture the sun and the passage of time. How the world grinds everything down. The beauty of weathered cloth.
It was a busy time for me and I wasn’t paying attention and kept making these blocks.
The quilt got away from and grew into a much larger thing than I had expected. But, I gave it the freedom to grow.
Eventually I had enough blocks to make two rows of clothes. And then, I used dozens of different blues to form the sky around them, because the sky is never one color.
When I was finished, you might not look at the original picture and see that it was the inspiration for the quilt.
But it was a fabulous journey.
How do you decide when to follow traditional quilt making methods and when to try something new.
I love the classic quilt blocks from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. The stars and the churn dashes and the log cabins! You will often find these nestled into my work.
But a lot of contemporary mainstream quilting is about precision. Points linking up, quilts laying flat, nitty gritty details!
I am physically incapable of such exacting standards. For a long time I thought this meant I could never be quilter.
But I had a wonderful epiphany, I might not be that kind of quilter, but I could still be a quilter. Gate keepers be damned!
I’m not making a Swiss watch here. I’m making a thing of beauty for someone to snuggle under. The imperfection is part of that beauty.
Is there quilt you have made that holds a special place in your heart? What makes that particular piece so meaningful to you?
Early in the pandemic, like everyone, I struggled to keep connections with the outside world.
My current husband, Joe, and I cleaned out our closet (Helpful hint: get yourself a spouse the same clothing size and your wardrobe doubles!)
I took a dozen shirts and cut out the pockets and made a quilt.
Then I put a little treasure into each pocket. Little trinkets or fortune cookie messages or polished rocks.
I then sent it to an old friend telling her that she should keep this quilt as long as she wanted (days, weeks, years) and then fill the pockets and pass it along.
She was so delighted to receive this!
Do writing and quilt making draw on the same creative instincts for you? Or do they feel like two separate worlds.
They often do feel separate, but when they mix, it is magic!
In 2023, I put up my first ever one person show. It was the story of my first husband’s addiction and how I rebuilt my life.
And, the whole thing was illustrated with quilts.
The two art forms complimented each other brilliantly.
Describe your creative space(s).
For the quilting: UTTER CHAOS! Piles of fabrics! Boxes of fabric! Bags of fabric! A path to the sewing machine!
For the writing: a nice half-full coffee cup is wonderful. But, sometimes is at my desk at my day job. (The day job is running the loading dock at a natural history museum.)
How has your approach to writing and quilt making changed over the years? Are you more willing to take risks now?
Ooh, excellent question!
For years with my writing, it was plays. And I told myself I could do dialog, but not prose. And also, other people had to say the words. But, in the past few years I’ve been writing stories that I read aloud. I’m finding I love it and am getting better at it.
With the quilting, I’ve really gotten into distressing fabric. Using bleach and rust and stains altering the cloth. I love the way the material can evoke time and change and damage. It becomes an integral part of the story!
What have writing and quilting taught you about yourself?
Writing has been so helpful when it comes to dealing with aging.
Getting older is wonderful, but it sure isn’t easy. Writing shows me not what I am losing, but what I am gaining. Which is a depth and perspective that is only possible with decades of experiences.
Quilting taught me that so many of my limitations are self-imposed. I a very uncoordinated child. My handwriting was and is a scrawl. I really internalized that I was a messy, clumsy person. And there was a lot of unexamined shame around that.
Quilting showed me that when it comes to creating things in the physical world, I didn’t have to let other people set the rules.
What keeps you curious and excited about making things?
Lately, what really inspires me is community. When I was young, creativity was all about expressing myself. Getting attention. Lots of ego.
Now, I love working with others.
I’m doing a project right now with a friend that is a communal quilt, we have two quilts going that we swap back and forth, each doing a section at time.
With writing, I have two friends and the three of us read original stories about once a quarter. Lately, we have been conspiring on joint tales. (We go by Three Headed Tales)
My current husband Joe and I recently collaborated on a mini quilt series called MURDER CIRCUS.
So, I don’t know where I’m going (I never really have) but it will involve community.
Where can people see your work?
We are in the midst of turning my one person show, “Arson of Crows” into a film. I have learned that making a movie will always take longer than you think. But I am hoping it will be out in 2027.
If you live in Seattle you can see me reading a story this December at Seattle Public Theater.
And then early next year I’ll be reading with Three Headed Tales, probably at SOAP at 18th and Union.
My goal is to have some sort of Galley show up next year featuring the Murder Circus quilts with another small series of quilts based on my love of the Greek God Hermes.
And, I now have a modest YouTube channel: quilterdammerung.
Rapid Fire Fun:
- Words or Fabric, which do you reach for? If I am at work, note book and pen. At home: fabric
- Blank Page or Blank Design Wall: Which is Exciting? Which Intimidating? Old habits die hard so I am going to say blank page
- Plan or improvise: These days? Jump in and see where it leads you!
- What’s bringing you joy right now? My husband, my cat and my friends!
Interview posted October 2027
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