All Posts By

lelandavestudios@gmail.com

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #41: Scarlet Sparkuhl Delia

Posted on October 12, 2018

Dr. Scarlet Sparkuhl Delia comes from a long line of artists and doctors. Scarlet grew up in Laguna Beach, California and studied modern dance, while simultaneously pursuing an undergraduate degree in pre-med. She spent a year studying Spanish in Chile, and then attended medical school, eventually settling down with her family in Fort Collins, Colorado. During her training in family medicine, Scarlet learned to quilt as a creative outlet. She is a passionate advocate for textile recycling, homeschools her two children, and all while working as a family doctor. Scarlet is also a member of the Fort Collins Modern Quilt Guild. Welcome, Scarlet! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #40: Alyce Blyth

Posted on October 5, 2018
Alyce Blyth The Creativity Project Week 40 Leland Ave Studios Kim Smith Soper

Alyce Blyth started quilting about seven years ago when her husband bought her a little $100 Elna and she embarked on a mission to make her children each a quilt for their fifth birthdays. Alyce taught herself how to quilt both from blogs and books, as well as through determination and experimentation. About a year later, her family moved from Australia to Japan. With the move, came time and the desire to connect with others; and so, Blossom Heart Quilts began, as a way for Alyce to document her makes and to share what she’d learned with others. Since then, Alyce and her family have moved back to Australia, and Alyce has continued to grow her business. She became a columnist for Make Modern Magazine, and began writing books. DIY Block Design was released in 2015, and her second book is due out in 2019 with Lucky Spool. In addition, Alyce was a Craftsy columnist, is a Pfaff Associate, an Aurifil Artisan, an AccuQuilt Associate, and an EQ8 Artist. Alyce continues to write patterns, to teach classes at local quilt stores, and to be a member of her local Modern Quilt Guild. Welcome, Alyce! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #39: Heidi Parkes

Posted on September 28, 2018
Heidi Parkes The Creativity Project Week #39 Leland Ave Studios:Kim Smith Soper

Heidi Parkes is a quilt artist exploring concepts of place, relationship, and memory. A graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Heidi has worked as a ceramicists’ apprentice, a high school art teacher, and now has established a loyal following as a quilter and mender. Heidi’s award-winning work has appeared locally in numerous shows in Milwaukee; at QuiltCon; as part of the 2017 Piecework Collective exhibit in New York City; and in textile museums including: the New England Quilt Museum, the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts, and the Dairy Barn Arts Center.  Heidi will be teaching in Nashville at QuiltCon 2019 and has two upcoming workshops with The Makerie in Boulder, Colorado in April 2019. Heidi is active within her local quilting community, and is a member of the Midwest Fiber Arts Trails, the Milwaukee Art Quilters, the Chicago MQG, and One-Onethousand. In addition, Heidi is a certified yoga instructor and teaches workshops like Yoga for Makers with Siddhi Yoga. Welcome, Heidi! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #38: Timna Tarr

Posted on September 21, 2018
Timna Tarr The Creativity Project Week #38 Leland Ave Studios Kim Smith Soper

Timna Tarr comes from a long line of quilters but did not begin quilting until after studying art history in college. She bought her first longarm in 2001 and began quilting clients’ quilts shortly thereafter. Since then she has custom designed and quilted thousands of quilts. Timna’s own nationally award-winning quilts are in private and corporate collections and have been seen in numerous exhibits, quilting magazines, and books. Her work uses color and composition in a unique and playful way. Each block in a quilt is made as its own element, independent of the other blocks. After all of the blocks are constructed, she arranges the small compositions to play off each other and to work together to create a larger whole. The resulting quilts are contemporary works, set in this time and place, which reference the rich tradition of quilt making. Timna is an in-demand speaker and teacher throughout the northeastern United States. She is a member of her local guilds in Massachusetts, Hands Across the Valley Quilters Guild and the Northampton Modern Quilt Guild. Welcome, Timna! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #37: Sarah Goer

Posted on September 14, 2018
Sarah Goer The Creativity Project Week 37 Leland Ave Studios Kim Smith Soper

Sarah Goer is a San Jose, CA based artist, teacher, lecturer, and pattern designer. As a former math teacher, Sarah is naturally drawn to the math and geometry of quilting and pattern design. Sarah has developed her skills by participating in challenges and swaps and is now eager to share her talents with others. She is currently traveling throughout California to teach workshops and has had three patterns published by Modern By the Yard. In 2018, Sarah became an Island Batik Ambassador, an Aurifil Artisan, and was a finalist for the Craftsty Quilt Designer Fellowship. Her quilts have been featured in Curated Quilts magazine (Issue 3) and have hung at Pacific International Quilt Festival. Welcome, Sarah! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #36: Jen Broemel

Posted on September 7, 2018
Jen Broemel Week 36 The Creativity Project Kim Smith Soper Leland Ave Studios

Jen Broemel was a creative kid who became an architect, then a stay at home mom, then a quilter, and is now making art with fiber. There is a playfulness to Jen’s work that draws the viewer in and lets them know how much fun she is having.  Her quilts have exhibited in numerous shows, including QuiltCon, and most recently her quilt, Sweet Spots, was selected for this year’s High Art Billboard project (and it goes up in Indianapolis this week)! Next on Jen’s journey is the desire to share her love of improvisational work with others. She is currently developing an interview series of her own to start a discussion around improvisational piecing. Called the Art of Improv, her series is set to launch later this fall. Welcome, Jen! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #35: Luke Haynes

Posted on August 31, 2018

Designer and artist, Luke Haynes, began working in quilts after an extensive background in art and architecture. Luke’s larger-than-life quilts often depict impeccably appliquéd human figures, and yes, often Luke himself, in iconic poses from recognizable works of art set on traditionally quilted backdrops. Most recently, Luke completed a series of 50 log cabin quilts (each 90×90 inches square) inspired by the work of minimalist artist Donald Judd. Each quilt shares the same materials (repurposed clothing and household fabric), size, and color palette of black-and-white with points of red. But, each quilt has its own unique graphic arrangement. To counter the fine art world’s prejudices against quilts, Luke calls his log cabin works “inhabitable sculpture.” He has travelled and photographed the quilts in various locations around the country to demonstrate the duality of their utilitarian and sculptural nature. Luke’s work has been shown in galleries and museums across the country.  His log cabin collection is currently touring the world, and his hope is that it starts the conversation about quilts as sculptural objects and furthers their acceptance into the fine art world. Welcome, Luke! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #34: Melissa Averinos

Posted on August 24, 2018
Melissa Averinos The Creativity Project Week 34 Leland Ave Studios Kim Smith Soper

Melissa Averinos is an artist and quilter living on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Melissa’s artistic endeavors span all across the gamut, as she paints, designs products, quilts and illustrates. Melissa won Best in Show at QuiltCon 2016 with her quilt My Brother’s Jeans and her quilt Face#1 received a Judge’s Choice Award at QuiltCon 2015. Melissa is also a painter of all things quirky and quaint. She paints everything from pet-portraits to landscapes or your favorite body part. Melissa teaches workshops across the country and is an author (her latest book Making Faces in Fabric is available from C&T Publishing). In addition, Melissa  has written articles and had her quilts and artwork featured in numerous publications. Her newest project is a line of awesome leggings, that you can purchase from her shop, Yummy Goods. Welcome, Melissa! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #33: Tara Faughnan

Posted on August 17, 2018

Tara Faughnan is a professional freelance textile designer and quilter living and working in Oakland, CA. Tara began quilting in 2001, and her love of quilting led her to school and on to a career in textile design with clients including Michael Miller Fabrics and Pottery Barn Kids. Tara draws inspiration from the simple bold geometry of antique quilts, the gorgeous bright colors of textiles from around the world, and the freedom and spontaneity found in unconventional and improvisationally pieced quilts. In her work, she uses simple geometry, complex color interaction, and always strives to find the line that exists somewhere between harmony and discord. Tara’s quilts have been featured in countless magazines, and have exhibited and won awards in quilt shows all over the country. Welcome, Tara! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #32: Gina Adams

Posted on August 10, 2018
Gina Adams The Creativity Project Week #32 Leland Ave Studios:Kim Smith Soper

Gina Adams is an artist of Native American descent who uses quilts to tell the story of her heritage and its complicated history with the United States. Her “Broken Treaty” project includes the reuse of antique quilts, to which she appliqués hand-cut letters depicting the language of broken treaties between the United States government and Native American tribes. Gina’s work is exhibited extensively throughout the US and resides in many public and private collections. The noted international art critic Lucy Lippard wrote the introduction on her artwork for her Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art Exhibition “Its Honor Is Here Pledged”, which introduced her Broken Treaty Quilts to a new contemporary-art arena in 2015, and helped to launch her career as an artist. In 2016, Gina was a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow (SARF), and had “Its Honor Is Hereby Pledged” exhibitions in Boulder, Colorado at Naropa University’s White Cube Gallery, where she is a Faculty in Visual Arts. In the summer of 2017, Gina presented and exhibited at the American Indian Workshop (AIW) Conference at Goldsmiths College, University of London, England. Gina’s work is currently exhibiting at the Bemis Center of Contemporary Art and The Museum of Design in Atlanta. At the same time, she is finishing an  Artist-in-Residence at Dartmouth College (which includes a Solo exhibition), and this summer she was a visiting artist in residence at the  Kohler Arts Center.  Among other exciting events, Gina has an upcoming exhibit at the Minus Space Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Welcome, Gina!

Continue Reading