Lauren Klementz-Harte creates award-winning original modern art quilts that are influenced by her professional training in drawing and illustration. Her pieces are created using appliqué and reverse appliqué techniques, as well as hand quilting with each piece inspiring the next.
How did you get started making fiber art? Why did you choose that medium?
My professional training is in drawing and illustration, and I worked for many years in graphics, editorial illustration, and children’s publishing. But needle arts are a part of my family history and have always been a presence in my life.
My great grandmother and her mother were dressmakers, my grandmother was a big knitter, and my mom a life-long sewist. There was an ever-present creative energy in our home and the tools were made readily available. I started sewing and knitting my own clothes pretty early and adopted an adventurous attitude toward trying new things. This gave me a confidence in experimenting with mediums and building skillsets through trial and error.
Eventually, I turned my focus to quilting and it became a much-needed creative outlet that complemented my commercial art career. Following the passing of my Dad a few years ago, I created a series of tribute quilts using his neckties. The last one in the series used all the remaining scraps in a piecing method I was exploring at the time. When it was finished, I thought, “This could be displayed as art!” That was the moment when quilts moved from the bed to the wall for me and I glimpsed new possibilities for this medium.
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What motivates you artistically?
I’m really interested in playing with the elements of design, experimenting with textures, and pushing the limits of what can be done by hand. I like the problem-solving aspect of having an idea and working out how to execute it. For me, it’s most exciting to take a concept and make it a reality, pulling from skills I’ve already developed and incorporating new techniques. That’s energizing.
When an artist is engaged in the creative process, expanding their horizons and challenging themselves, one idea leads to another. It’s mentally and emotionally fulfilling.
In my work, a current project definitely informs the direction of the next one. In that way, they’re connected to each other. Still, I consciously challenge myself to make each piece unique to itself.
What do you do differently? What is your signature that makes your work stand out as yours?
Right now, my quilts are made completely by hand using appliqué or reverse appliqué, and incorporating various hand quilting techniques. I only use the machine to attach binding and occasionally piece units of finished blocks together. My compositions are made of bold shapes based on cropping a letter then rearranging the fragments to create new shapes, and I enjoy finishing it off with interesting textures in the hand quilting.
Do you plan your work out ahead of time, or do you just dive in with your materials and start playing?
Once I made the mental connection between quilting and my artistic training, I went back to what was familiar and started designing on paper, as I did when I was illustrating. If I’m working from one of these designs for the quilt top, I’m usually committed to seeing an idea through to completion. Any “playing” and editing generally happens in the idea stage, before I put needle to fabric.
I look to learn from each quilt and bring that new knowledge forward to keep growing and exploring the possibilities of design and composition. In fact, I’ve recently been experimenting with improvisation in my design and that has allowed me to be more spontaneous, a little more “playful.”
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works?
In reverse appliqué, there are no seams to match up. Two lengths of fabric are placed, one on top of the other, and then shapes are cut away from the top layer to reveal the color under it. It can be a pretty cool technique, because you’re literally watching these shapes appear as you sew the edges of the cut spaces in place.
When I’m using this appliqué method, I frequently start with a yard of fabric because 36 x 45 inches is easy to manipulate and a nice dimension for a wall hanging. Fabric can get pretty wrinkled while stitching, so after a sewing session I lay out the piece on a table or the floor to give the fabric a chance to relax and to assess my progress.
I was working on the first quilt where I used fragments of the letter “Q” in my composition. At one point, about a quarter of the way in executing the design for “Scrambled Q’s,” all the open spaces of the solid top color that hadn’t been cut yet caught my attention. My mind started racing with ideas about what the quilting could look like in these spaces. I remember debating with myself quite a while about sticking to my original design or going off in this new direction. In the end, the strong impulse to see the original concept through to completion won out. I took a quick picture to remind me of the idea and finished the quilt as planned.
That reference photo was the genesis of my next quilt, “Idea Crystalizing,” and it really is about how an idea takes shape. The top portion is filled entirely with quilting to hint at an idea, faintly developed. As the eye moves down the quilt, solid forms begin to emerge as if in a quick idea sketch. By the time the eye reaches the bottom right corner, the light background has dropped away and the two colors have solidified to reveal a design.
My goal for that piece was to capture the creative process. It would never have occurred to me to try to express that concept if I hadn’t stepped back from the first piece to assess its progress. To take that time for honest analysis as a project unfolds has become an integrated part of how I work.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
Honestly, I try to appreciate each step of the creative process, but it hasn’t aways been that way.
Early on, I loved making quilt tops, choosing the fabrics, planning the project, playing with colors, and testing out traditional blocks. That was where I put all my attention and effort. My least favorite part of quilt making was actually the quilting! I had to force myself to complete a project, relying on “stitching in the ditch,” (straight stitches along the seams), just to get it done and move on to the next project. I look back and realize that sort of focus was laying a foundation of skills that gave me confidence to problem solve and make more sophisticated choices in my current work.
I really can’t get over how my thinking on the quilting stage has changed through the years! At some point, it hit me that quilting was another opportunity to be creative, to add interest, and give the piece that little extra tweak that will make it even more dynamic. There are times when I’ve thought through every detail of a project, but often I wait to see the quilt top finished before I make decisions on how it will be quilted. This has actually become something I look forward to.
The thing I dread most is squaring off the quilt before the binding is applied. That can be a nightmare!
Scraps. Saver? Or be done with them?
Yeah, I get a bit attached to fabric, and I hate the thought of unnecessarily adding to the landfill, so I save just about everything. In the back of my mind, I like to think that saving scraps honors the quilting tradition of making every bit count . . . then again, that could be just an excuse to justify hoarding tendencies.
The interesting thing is this habit has led me to personal creative breakthroughs more than once. Recently, I finished a reverse appliqué quilt with fabric that had been a gift and had sentimental value to me. I couldn’t even bring myself to throw the “leftovers” in the scrap box. Suddenly it occurred to me that these cutout shapes could be appliquéd (duh!) and they became the inspiration for an improvisational piece.
Now I have these two ways of working: planning out a composition in advance and letting the composition unfold naturally as the work progresses. These two approaches seem to bring balance to my creative process.
Do you prefer the kind of project that is challenging and requires attention, or the kind where you get in your meditative zone and enjoy the process?
I feel like every project has a bit of both; moments that require focus and thinking through the process to anticipate what needs to be done and those spaces where you’re just on auto pilot enjoying the execution. They each have value in my mind and make the creative process rewarding.
Are you a “finisher”? How many UFOs do you think you have?
I prefer sticking to a project until the last stitch because I’m excited to see it completed.
The only time I get ahead of myself is when I have been traveling. The joy of hand work is that it’s portable, although it’s easier to bring along a project in the appliqué stage than it is to lug around a piece that is prepared with all its layers and ready to be quilted in a hoop!
It can also be challenging to rekindle the enthusiasm you have when you start a project once it’s been put aside for another one, so I try to avoid having too many tops waiting to be quilted. (Having said that, I’ll confess to having a few early UFOs in the closet that may, or may not, ever be finished.)
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?
When I was illustrating and didn’t have my sketchbook handy, I got into the habit of mentally practicing my drawing skills. I was always looking around and thinking through how I would draw a scene, a face, a collection of items, a building in perspective. I still do that. It’s become second nature to observe and translate the world into something I can store away for future use.
Now that I’m working with a different medium, I’m constantly taking mental notes (and lots of cell phone pictures) of color combinations, or textures I might want to replicate, unique uses of a familiar technique, or a cool layout in print. Nothing is beyond consideration. Fresh inspiration can come from anywhere.
Sometimes what I see is used right away in a project. More often it’s stored in a photo file on my computer. Most of it will never be used at all. I think the important thing is the act of taking it all in because, even if an idea is put on the back burner for a while, it’s gaining strength to come forward when you’re ready to use it.
Do you use a sketchbook or journal? How does that help your work develop?
I’m a big advocate of the creative journal!
Documenting things that catch the attention and inspire really help the artist refine their taste and figure out who they are. A journal is also a handy resource for those moments when inspiration is needed in the middle of a project.
My journal is a mixture of sketches and words: simple lay-outs, pages filled with sketches of everything I could think of during a brainstorming session, sentence fragments documenting a project or problems solved, paragraphs on ideas for future projects, and thoughts on creativity.
What I’ve found is that when you’re generating ideas the ones that come first are the obvious solutions. Either they are a variation of what you’ve already done or they’re someone else’s idea that you’ve internalized. The experimental stage of making little thumbnail sketches is a low-risk way of sorting through your ideas. It takes work to create something in your own voice.
Documenting a project as you go can also come in handy when it’s time to write those artist’s statements that accompany your work in shows. More often than not you’ve already moved on to the next project by the time you need to send off the last one. It’s easier to refer back to your notes than to come up with something out of the blue which might not come across as authentically.
Do you enter juried shows? Do you approach your work differently for these venues?
For a couple of years, I submitted pieces to juried shows and grew disappointed and frustrated when my work wasn’t selected. I finally threw up my hands and said, “I give up! I don’t know what ‘they’ want!” And that was my “ah ha” moment.
I turned my attention to making things I was really excited about. It was like I had to go through all the obvious ideas in my creativity journal until I stumbled on something that was unique to me. When I eventually came up with an idea that I was excited to share, it was time again to see if it would appeal to anyone else. That quilt was a last-minute submission and my first quilt juried into a show.
The quilting community is quite rich with many different voices working in a wide range of styles and techniques. That’s wonderful! It took me a while to realize that every show or gallery also has its own “personality.” That’s a really comfortable way for me to think about competitions and shows. These days I’m looking for opportunities to share my work in venues that showcase the modern aesthetic, highlight originality, or celebrate innovation.
Of course, an audience that likes your work can be very validating, I just don’t want to make that my first objective. I’m riding this wave of inspiration to see where it takes me, and there’s less stress about a work’s acceptance. I’d rather be creating what energizes me and makes me want to keep going than creating to meet someone else’s expectations. I already did that, in an earlier life.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
On the first day of freshman drawing class the college professor told us “You may as well plan to throw away 99.9% of the work you do in this class at the end of the year. You are creating the first 99.9% for that .1% that’s really good, that’s worth saving.” I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.
The message I’ve taken from it is to not let the product become more precious than the journey. The rewarding thing about the creative process is the very special privilege of expressing our unique voices. I think it’s natural that our individual point of view, our tastes, and interests evolve as we go through life, so bringing that to our work is progressive. Obviously, we’re enriched by continuous learning and growing. It’s really special if that’s a life-long quest.
Tell us about your blog. What do you hope people will gain by visiting?
Well, I hope that my perspective resonates with readers.
I’m fascinated by the compulsion people have to make a mark on the world. So sometimes I post examples of creativity I run across in daily life under the tab “Blank Canvas” and “Examples of Creativity.” I share things that catch my attention on a museum trip or at a quilt show. Under “Ponderables” I might feature a quote about creativity and talk about what it means to me. I’ll document a project I’m working on, not to say “look at me!” but to highlight the creative process using my experience as an example.
I’m really hoping to be a cheerleader for people who want to be creative and to be a coach for those who may travel through life not seeing the creativity that is all around us or not conscious that the ability to be creative is in all of us.
My blog: creativelifesampler.blogspot.com
My Instagram: @creativelifesampler .
Interview published April 2024
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