I had a message the other day, from someone who had just gotten a copy of of the Miniature Quilts Magazine that had been published in Summer of 1991. She was very interested in making my "Kentucky Skies" miniature quilt that was featured in the magazine, but one important corner was missing from the pattern page, so, she contacted me through Facebook. I was able to photograph the pages and send them to her. I love my iPhone camera, but that's another topic.
KENTUCKY BLUE SKIES 9"x9" was designed by me in response to a challenge issued by Natalie Lahner at the KHQS Getaway in 1989.Natalie gave us each the blue fabric and we had to make a miniature quilt out of it and agree to let the quit be displayed at the QUILT BOX Shop in the fall of 1989.
This has brought up a few thoughts for me about several things.
Number 1: It was nice to be reminded about having had some of my work published and that it was and still is good work, of which I am very proud. I remember being pretty excited about having two of my handmade miniature quilts published in the same issue of the magazine. In addition, the work of one of my students was also published.
Number 2: This is the second instance of someone telling me that they had recently seen one of my quilts in a quilt related publication. The other instance involved a quilt of mine that was published in a book by Marie Salazar, 1997 called A Gallery of Quilts. The quilt was one of my first attempts at asymmetrical design. It is all hand pieced and quilted. The star blocks are 6" squares.
It's called "BIRDS of a FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER" 1992.
I did look the book up the other day and found a used copy at Amazon. I don't know why I never received a copy of the book but I'll have one now.
Number 3: All of this reminded me that I had done some pretty creative work over the years I've spent as a quilt artist.
JOURNAL OUR WORK
Number 4: It's very important to journal our work. I was able to look up both of these quilts and get a full remembrance of the shows and publications that they have been in because I had put that information into a journal.
Several years ago, after I got a computer and digital camera, I started writing a formal journal of my work, on my computer and printing it out to go into a large binder. I used hand written notes and show notices to get information about my earlier quilts.
I now keep a catalog of photos on my computer for entering into my journal whenever I finish a new piece, at least, that's the plan. I try to do a journal entry for each quilt as I finish it but I don't always keep up. It is a lot easier to do the entry while one still remembers the fiber content of each material used, the name of the batting, the threads that were used, patterns, inspiration for the design, embellishments, the size of the quilt, etc.
A journal like this could also be very helpful to anyone who might seeking an appraisal on the quilts that are in it. Only the artist really knows what they have intended artistically and the techniques that they have used and why. When asked for an appraisal of my quilts, I have submitted very detailed journal pages with a full provenance with my quilt. Since I am the only appraiser around here, and I know better than anyone what has gone into the creation of my quilt, the pages were accepted by the show, even though technically, I cannot appraise my own work.
I also keep all show entries and other publicity about my quilts, including thank-you notes for loaning them out for exhibit. One thing that I have not thought to do is to include an up to date photo of myself with my recent work. Historically, this is an important validation of the claim that a certain person made the quilt. It's also good to keep an update biography on hand with the journal pages. It does not have to be very long.
This journal has been very important in reminding me of just what I have accomplished with this art of quilting and teaching in the last 37 years. It's a great history of my growth as an artist in this wonderful world of quiltmaking and I"m loving it. It's also a great reminder of all the wonderful , beautiful and creative quilters that I've know and do know and call friends.
I encourage each of you to start keeping a journal of your quilted art work and to print it out.
Creating Always,
Karen
