ART QUILTS and JUDGING

© Joyce Hyam

Ozquilt Network Newsletter Issue #39 March 2001

In my experience, the term art quilts confuses some quilters and judges. To clarify this, I compare the traditional artist with the contemporary one. That is, the traditional photographic-realist artist is one with which the majority of viewers feel comfortable and who doesn't make them feel insecure, since it affords the pleasure of identifying with earlier visual experience. Similarly, traditional patchworkers feel less secure with creative works.

'How to' patchwork publications are, I submit, similar to the filling in the dots approach to drawing and children's colouring-in books, that are so detrimental to early creativity. Once the techniques of quilting are mastered, the next stage of venturing into artistic creativity is to get acquainted with the elements of art, i.e. line, tone, colour, texture, and, very importantly, feeling. To approach this stage, look at works by artists such as Mondrian, Hundertwasser, and Gustav Klimt.

If it is the principal aim of quilters to have a perfect join and a perfect stitch, this is commendable, but it offers no aesthetic challenge, nor is it inventive. You can't feel very excited or creative, and it does not offer the viewer a new experience. It is a sad indictment of judges who have to abide by a list of points that reveal a sorry lack of truly aesthetic values. In the last competition I entered, it was clear that the judges were at a loss because there were no ticks in any areas of my sheet against the best features, nor in the areas which need improvement.

It may be of interest to quote a statement I wrote about one of my recent works. "I endeavour to give the viewer a new visual experience. My inspiration comes from sketches in my sketch-book and from browsing through art books. My quilting is mostly close, free stitching, using gold metallic threads. I aim to produce works that sing and glow, made possible by the limitless range of exotic fabrics and threads." Art quilts, then, have art in them - they are not just ordinary quilts, a minor variation of what has been seen and done before.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) For art quilts purchased in Australia, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) is applicable to those items labelled "includes 10% GST".

For international purchases, the GST is only applicable to those items labelled "includes 10% GST" and where a quilt is purchased and not delivered within 60 days of the date of purchase.