Spotlight: Karol Kusmaul, Fiber Artist
Karol Kusmaul's first quilt was a project she and her class of third grade students put together for a school fair. Now she makes graphic art quilts - portraits, landscapes...
Art Quilts
Art quilts, at first a curiosity in both the quilt and art worlds, are now a contemporary genre of their own. They reflect the artmakers’ vision and creativity as much as paintings do. Beginning with fabric or other fiber-based material, art quilters conceive abstract or representational art. Fiber is their palette. Piecing, appliqué, thread painting, collage and more all play a role. Fiber artists create landscapes, portraits – any image they can conceive.
Browse through the art quilts and quilters for your own inspiration, then make your own.
Applique Art Quilts
Spotlight: Kathy McNeil, Appliqué Quilt Artist
Meet award-winning appliqué quilt artist Kathy McNeil! She began her creative journey as a young child, then later discovered the possibilities of making pictures from fabric. Her most challenging piece...
Spotlight: Lucy Levenson, Folk Art Designer
Her brave use of color when combining fabric, stitch and paint sets Lucy Levenson apart from the crowd. With intricate details, her fanciful work invites an up close and personal...
Abstract Art Quilts
Spotlight: Sherri Lipman McCauley, Fiber Artist
A paint flinger. Sherri Lipman McCauley's description of her process does more than hint at her improvisational style. Sherri's art cloth begins with plain white fabric that she transforms into...
Spotlight: David Owen Hastings, Textile Artist
Growing up in a household full of creatives, David Owen Hastings learned to sew on his grandmother's 1950's Singer - but David made clothes for his GI Joe platoon. His...
Spotlight: Alexis Deise, Contemporary Quilter
As a contemporary quilter, Alexis Deise works in series to focus and dig deeper into ideas that are important to her, all while honoring the women who built an enduring...
Thread Painted Art Quilts
Spotlight: Hollis Chatelain, Textile Artist
Inspired by her humanitarian work in Africa, Hollis Chatelain creates art quilts that raise awareness of the human condition in the third world. Back in the States, she wanted to...
Thread Painting
Thread painting is a type of free motion embroidery where the thread "paints" images your quilt top - the quilt top is your canvas and the thread is your paint. I...
Spotlight: Lea McComas, Thread Painter & Fiber Artist
As Lea McComas travels the world and immerses herself in rich and vibrant cultures, her art reflects the human experience. With fabric and thread, she captures moments that highlight the...
Landscape Art Quilts
Spotlight: Luana Rubin, Artist and Creative Entrepreneur
How do you spot Luana Rubin? She's the one with a gazillion balls in the air! Painter, photographer, art quilter, color forecaster, philanthropist, world traveler and fabric industry entrepreneur, Luana's...
Spotlight: Vicki Conley, Potter and Art Quilter
As a scientist, Vicki Conley loved doing research. It was while "researching" for a new job that she took a pottery class and never looked back. But she kept looking...
Spotlight: Susie Monday, Fiber Artist and Teacher
Raised in a creative home, at the age of 9 with the gift of a "real" artist box, Susie Monday became an Artist-with-a-Capital-A. She believed it, and so it was...
Modern Art Quilts
Spotlight: Jacquie Gering, Modern Art Quilter
Jacquie Gering begins each quilt with an idea, but lets inspiration lead throughout her process, sometimes taking the work on unexpected, but welcome, turns. Known for her use of clean,...
Spotlight: Sylvia Schaefer, Modern Quilter
Can art and science get along? Of course they can! With a Ph.D. in marine science, Sylvia Schaefer approaches quilting from a scientist's point of view, always asking, "What if?"...
Spotlight: Geraldine Warner, Fiber Artist
Fiber artist Geraldine Warner had never quilted, but knew she wanted to somehow paint with fabric. Working mostly with silk, she immerses herself in every part of the creative process,...
More Art Quilts
Spotlight: Diane Roubal, Up for the Challenge
Diane Roubal, Up for the Challenge artist, is an uber-experienced seamstress and quilt maker with hundreds of projects in her portfolio. To spice up her quilting life, she enters challenges…
Spotlight: Nancy Lee Chong, Appliqué Artist
Nancy Lee Chong, Appliqué Artist and Instructor from Snohomish, WA, found her singular passion for stitching and teaching the art of needleturn appliqué, and has never looked back! The only…
Spotlight: Tesi Vaara, Art Quilter
Tesi Vaara's quilting journey began with traditional quilts, then transitioned to art quilts. Like many other quilters, she took classes from established art quilters and learned much about style and…
Art Quilt Supplies and Inspirations
Art Quilts can be pictorial or abstract, use traditional piecing methods or fusible appliqué - anything goes as long as it is a minimum or two layers stitched together -…
Spotlight: Lorraine Torrence, Textile Artist
I am a quilter and wearable art maker and have been doing both since 1971. I now design and make patterns so people can make their own wearable art.
Thread Painting
I have always been interested in threadpainting. I took a workshop in Santa Fe from Jennifer Day. This was my first practice piece.
Log Cabin Prayer Flag
Born as a Log Cabin block, this wall quilt grew into something more with fun fabrics, narrow foundation piecing and lots of pressing! No marking - wonky!