Besides producing amazing art quilts herself, Carolyn Lee Vehslage also has an appreciation for pieces done by fellow quilt artists. During my brief stay at the Vehslage home I had the pleasure of learning about the quilt art world. I also had the chance to view quilts she had collected throughout the years from various quilters.

When first walking into the house there was one quilt that stood out the most. What had caught my eye was Leslie Pontz’s “Wired Cactus”. At first glance it does not seem to be a quilt, but looking at it a little harder you can see that the wiring is crocheted & knitted in great detail around the piece. This piece screams dedication and hard work.

“Wired Cactus” 15”h x 16”w ?2003 Leslie Pontz	“Sorrow Walks” 11”w x 12”h ?2001 Maxine Farkas

Also “Wired Cactus”, along with Maxine Farkas’ “Sorrow Walks”, brings forth an idea not seen in the other quilts in this collection. Writing was on the quilt, whether it is a simple word of ‘cactus’ written on several pieces of paper or the short poem penned directly on the surface of “Sorrow Walks”.

Two artists can choose the same subject, but the end results can be very different. This can be seen in Karen Eckmeier’s “Comma, Comma, Chameleon” and Jessica Schick’s “Lounge Lizard #4”. Eckmeier’s has three lizards in the center of this brightly colored collage done on hand painted and dyed fabrics with beads and tulle. A more realistic lizard surrounded by an environment made of yarn and metallic thread and appliquéd rocks is in the center of Schick’s piece. The placement of the yarn, thread and single lizard in “Lounge Lizard #4” shows movement, while the positioning of the commas and the three large lizards in “Comma, Comma, Chameleon” shows repetition.

“Comma, Comma, Chameleon” 24”w x 24”h ?2003 Karen Eckmeier	“Lounge Lizard #4” 14.5”w x 19”h ?2003 Jessica Schick

There is a distinct difference in how the quilts were developed. Eckmeier used a neutral colored tulle to hold the appliquéd commas and lizards in place and then free-motion machine stitched them down. She also sewed on beads to make the smaller lizards’ eyes. Schick used a technique known as fused appliqué, which enabled her to leave some spots un-sewn. Trapunto was another technique she used, adding form and texture to the piece. Both Eckmeier and Schick used an amazing amount of free motion quilting to enhance the artwork.

“Circus Time” by Tanis Rye and Ruth Matthesis’ “So Little Time…So Many UFO’s” were both entered the same Canadian quilt challenge. These two pieces show that one can come up with different ideas when working with the same fabric and same theme of ‘time’.

“Circus Time” 32”w x 27”h ?2003 Tanis Rye	“So Little Time…So Many UFO’s” 23”w x 23”h ?2003 Ruth Mattheis

Rye decided to use a lot of the vibrant multi-colored fabric to create her circus with movable clowns, animals, and balloons. Matthesis used the same fabric to create a clock constructed from a couple of her UFO’s (Un-Finished Objects). “So Little Time…So Many UFO’s”, in the shape of an UFO (Unidentified Flying Object), had the clock’s hands pointing to a little bit before twelve o’clock. Does this suggest time is running out? Some may think that “Circus Time” is too busy with the different fabrics and colors, but I think it brings the quilt and figures to life. Both ideas are cleverly played out, and the results could brighten up any room.

“Leaf Mosaic #2” 18”w x 18”h ?2002 Vickie Hallmark	“Organic Shapes III” 14”w x 15”h ?Rosemary Claus-Gray

Vickie Hallmark’s “Leaf Mosaic #2” and Rosemary Claus-Gray’s “Organic Shapes III” are about nature. “Leaf Mosaic #2 is obviously focusing on leaves, while Claus-Gray’s quilt has undefined shapes similar to leaves and stitching that looks like the veins found on leaves. Hallmark chose to embellish the piece by using little metallic leaves and leaf beads, and different sized and colored metallic threads throughout quilt. Adding these embellishments made the piece even more vibrant. “Organic Shapes III” looks simpler since the hand-marbled silk has such light colors. Both artists chose to use silk fabrics in their beautiful quilt work, but decided to “dress” them for different occasions.

In Claire Fenton’s “Fragments” and Deborah Gregory’s “Lost Forms”, which so happen to be hung next to each other, the same color pallet was used. Both use many different materials, but one attracted my attention more because it is richly embellished. Can you guess which one?

“Fragments” 30”w x 30”h ?2002 Claire Fenton	“Lost Forms” 21”w x 19”h ?2003 Deborah Gregory

Julian Huannu Amcasi’s Peruvian Nativity Scene and Pamela Allen’s “A Little Bird Told Her” have a very similar palette made up of blues, greens, pinks, and yellows. Besides their vibrant colors, both artists used recycled fabrics, embroidering, and embellishing to create their “playful” folk art quilts.

Peruvian Nativity Scene 15"w x 18"h Julian Huannu Amcasi	“A Little Bird Told Her” 24”w x 23.5”h ?2003 Pamela Allen

Amcasi and Allen’s quilts may not look like they have anything in common with Elizabeth Rosenberg’s “The Three Fat Ladies”, but they all have images of people that were inspired by specific events in life. “The Three Fat Ladies” was, “inspired by 7000-year-old rock carvings in Chad, Africa.”

The figures made by Julian Huannu Amcasi in the Peru Nativity Scene reflect Peruvian culture. Pamela Allen’s statement about her piece said, “I added a few embellishments and elements relating to some personal events in Carolyn's life and it became "A Little Bird Told Me".” In a sense they all tell a little story, and who doesn’t enjoy a story once in a while.

“The Three Fat Ladies” 36”w x 36”h Elizabeth Rosenberg

©2004 Davita Crawford

Davita A. Crawford is a photographer specializing in portraits and landscapes. She is currently pursuing a dual Art and Biology major at Lafayette College and anticipates matriculating in May 2005. Her photographs were most recently seen at Essex Green’s Art on the Green held in West Orange, NJ. She can be reached at shutterbabe21@yahoo.com.