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. 

A Scrappy Point of View

So when I was writing this post, it kind of led me down an unexpected thought path and as promised, here is my rant.  It's not really a rant like Lewis Black-style.  Just some observations and where I find myself in it all.

So I have worked in a quilt shop for coming up on 9 years, I follow umpteen blogs, and I am part of another umpteen Facebook quilting groups.  And I have found that there are three main schools of thought on scrappy quilts and scrap quilting in general:

1. People who love scrap quilts/quilting - they love the challenges scrap quilting presents, that no two quilts will ever look the same, love the widely varied scrappy look, and they feel good about using up every little usable bit. 
2. People who like scrap quilts/quilting, but only in certain contexts - they like to use scraps, but maybe only for certain patterns, or maybe they only use scraps for applique pieces or in places where it's not evidently scrappy, but they too like knowing that they have used every little bit they can, but only where appropriate and where it makes sense.   
3. People who hate scrap quilts/quilting - they like colors to match and "make sense."  They might think scrappy quilts and using scraps makes quilts look amateurish, sloppy, or uncoordinated.   

Hey.  To each their own.  There are no Quilt Police.  No one is going to rappel from the ceiling to rip your quilt out of your hands if it is scrappy, or not.  But it should be clear at this point which teams I play for...I am a scrap lover all the way. 

 Scrap heap o'doom piled "neatly" under my cutting table.  

 Large, folded up scraps for...stuff.

 Pre-cut scraps so I don't have to cut later.  I love me some squares y'all. 

Yeah.  Scraps are my bag, baby.  That's not to say I don't love yardage too.  I also have that addiction.

 Part of my organized shelf.  Only part. The floor is a mess soooo

More disorganized shelf.  But only part. Because it's a mess.  But also, it's insulation.  IT'S AN INVESTMENT, OKAY.

Now, I can't speak for all scrap lovers, I can only speak for myself.  Why do I love scrap quilts and scrap quilting?  The challenge really gets my creative gears spinning.  I love strategizing placement and usage with the knowledge that I can't just cut another piece off my yardage.  Quilting is already like a puzzle, but this adds another problem solving element that I just find really enjoyable.  I love the challenge of making a quilt solely our of leftover blocks from other projects, and making it work.  It never gets boring, because there is always something new to consider and it forces you to look at things in a different way; it becomes less about pattern and more about color and value.  I love how the chaos comes together to make something beautiful.  But if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty, scrap quilting means you are getting the absolute greatest value out of your fabrics.  Imagine if you tossed a 2.5" strip off of every yard you bought just because it was surplus off of a project?  Or if you had a few 3.5" or 5" squares left that just got pitched?  Those are very usable sizes, and they add up.  If you wanna get real about it, making a scrap quit means you have reinvested very possible cent of what you bought that yard for.

But the best part is it is UP TO YOU how "scrappy" it looks.  It could be a free for all with all the colors. You could do it like I did in my blog background.  Or you could do it only for an element of the quilt, like I did for the background in this quilt.  Or, you could just use scraps to make up your appliques - no one would ever know where those pieces came from...for all they know, it was yardage all the way!  Scrappy doesn't have to be synonymous with a lack of cohesion.  A scrappy quilt can be harmonious and flow just as well as a quilt built with matching yardage.  That is the challenge right there that I love. 

If you have never done a scrap quilt, that is my challenge to you.  Try it.  Dive as deep as you want.  Make it chaos, make it calm, it's yours.  Sometimes it's fun to just play.  Who knows, maybe you'll fall for scrap quilting too :-)