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modern quilting

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #43: Zak Foster

Posted on October 26, 2018
Zak Foster The Creativity Project Week #43 Leland Ave Studios Kim Smith Soper

Zak Foster has been quilting since 2010, when his partner’s grandmother taught him to quilt, and he’s never looked back. His quilts walk the line between art and utility, and they are designed for comfort, warmth, security, and memory. Zak works with reclaimed fabrics, which give layered meaning and visual interest to his work. An improvisational quilter at heart, Zak’s quilts are surprising and alluring. Each of his pieces are unique and custom-made for his clients, becoming modern heirlooms to be passed down for generations to come. Zak’s work has been featured in several magazine and galleries, including: the Handle with Care group exhibit in Melbourne, Australia; International Quilt Market (Houston, 2016); Seattle Pacific Art Center (2015); Quilty magazine; Fresh Cuts magazine and much more. In addition, Zak is the community organizer behind the 43-for-43 campaign. To create this social protest quilt, Zak asked 43 artists to produce 43 different quilt blocks, each dedicated to one of the missing Ayotzinapa students who disappeared in Mexico in 2014. Over 70 quilters organized in a short period of time to create a usable work of art that was dedicated to the families of those lost. His most recent political finish, O America, is a love letter to his country, and a reflection on the first 100 days of the current administration. Welcome, Zak! Continue Reading

creativity The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project Week #42: Riane Menardi Morrison

Posted on October 19, 2018
Riane Menardi Morrison The Creativity Project Week #42 Leland Ave Studios: Kim Smith Soper

Riane Menardi Morrison is a modern quilt designer making minimal quilts for the modern home. Her quilts; made with linen, cotton, and wool; are as beautiful as they are functional. Each quilt is hand-quilted with large stitching for an heirloom-quality finish. Riane got her start in the publishing industry, and through serendipitous events, found herself working on the magazine, Fresh Quilts. There, she produced and designed quilts, edited quilting-related copy, and oversaw projects. After a brief stint with an advertising agency, Riane started working as the communications manager for The Modern Quilt Guild. Riane has taught at QuiltCon and was a guest on season two of the public television show, Fresh Quilting. She regularly teaches about quilt design and hand quilting techniques to local makers, and was a co-founding member of the Central Iowa Modern Quilt Guild. Her work and writing has been featured in magazines including Modern Patchwork, Simply Moderne, QuiltCon Magazine and Quilting Arts. Riane is a coauthor of the book Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century, and her self-published book about her own modern quilts, Inheritance, is available now for pre-order! She lives and works in Des Moines with her husband, Kevin, and silly pup, Dallas. Welcome, Riane! Continue Reading

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 #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