Where are the Quilts?

So this is what you people get when I go on all these informal hiatuses.  SOAPBOXY POSTS.  So what am I on about this time? 

Quilting is art.

What was that?  Can’t hear me?  A little louder for the art snobs in the back? 

Ahem.  *deep inhale*

QUILTING IS ART

So what has brought me to this Captain Obvious moment?  The fact that it isn’t, in fact, a Captain Obvious moment. 

So this weekend I got the chance to actually get out and do something that wasn’t work.  Mom and I went and spent a really great day at the Corvallis Fall Festival.  For those who don’t know, which I guess is most of you, since you know…internet… the Corvallis Fall Festival is a FANTASTIC, free art fair held in downtown Corvallis, OR.  Like any other art fair, artists from all over hell and gone bring their work to show and sell.  It is legit one of the best shows in the area, and if you are local, I highly recommend it.  It is SO hard to walk out of there without buying stuff (the end of the month suuuuuucks). 

But among the many jewelry and pottery and mosaic and metalworking booths…there were NO quilt booths.  None.  Not one.  Sure, there were a couple apparel booths, and a couple purse and hat booths, and ONE gallery booth that had a couple table runners and some fabric bowls.  But NOT A ONE for quilting.  Where are the quilts? Why aren't they among the rest of the artwork?

Because people still do not fully recognize quilting as a “real” art form.  Sure.  People will appreciate the skill and the patterns are nice.  But the first thing most people see is (and this nearly physically pains me) a blanket.  It is function over form.  It is something their grandmother did.  It is something folded and tucked away in a chest being eaten by moths.  It's something for charity.  It is something nice, but surely, it isn’t art.  And if it is?  It is “only folk art,” which is just another way to say it isn’t legitimate.   Because people see this “only folk art,” they see the cost and balk at the expense.  How could a folk art cost as must as real art?  I cannot count how many times I have heard people (mainly non-quilters) gasp at the cost of a quilt.  The ascribed value is unequal to the actual value.  It cannot possibly be worth a large amount of money because it isn't "real art."  

But is it not?  Yes, ANYONE can learn to quilt.  Quilting is for everyone!  Just like ANYONE can learn to draw, or sculpt, or fuse glass.  It's a skill.  Art takes skill.  Certainly, some people have a natural affinity and require less practice or teaching and others have to work hard for the skill they have.  Quilting is no different. One doesn't just sit down and whip out a perfect double wedding ring on their first go.  It takes time, learning, experience.  One must know how to use color.  Just like traditional art.  One must have an understanding of balance and proportion.  Just like traditional art. One must understand the functionality of materials.  Just like traditional art.  The principles are all there, just applied in such a way that the art has taken the form of something that can be practical and usable.  And if you know me, you know I love a good multitasker.  TAKE THAT, traditional art!  

So the next time you are told that your quilt isn't a work of art, or that it isn't "real," smack your naysayer upside the head with some education.  And the next time you find yourself shirking a compliment, or find yourself saying you aren't an artist, remember:  QUIlLTS ARE ART.  YOU ARE AN ARTIST.  Be proud of your creation.