Rejected.
I’ve been told I shouldn’t use such a harsh word on myself, but it certainly is a clear statement of facts: I offered one of my quilts to QuiltCon, and it was not accepted for display. Don’t worry, my self-esteem is still quite intact… I love the quilt I made, and no amount of quilt show rejection will change that!
I have not attended the last two QuiltCon shows, so my impressions of what got in is somewhat distorted by the limitation of what can be seen on social media. I will say that, while I saw some envelope-pushing work in the feeds, I saw an incredible amount of “been there, seen that.” I have wondered on more than one occasion if the displayed quilts were chosen more for their illustration of and adherence to the definitions of modern quilting (as put forth by the Modern Quilt Guild) than for being perhaps more challenging examples of where quilt-making is going in the moment. Really, how many wonky what-evers (set off-center in a solid background with matchstick quilting) should be displayed? We get it! Point made! Mind you, it is their party, so they do get to groom the guest list. I will be attending the show in Pasadena next month, and am looking forward to making an informed opinion or two about the works in person. And of course, I’ll be sharing those thoughts here!
Here’s my rejected entry:
I made this quilt top in 2014 as I was developing my Five Stars pattern, with not a thought in my head about sending it to competition. I had been playing for some time with the idea of nesting stars, and thought the complexity of nesting them offset was a modern way of looking at things. I chose the color palette because I love ORANGE and teal, and love them both when paired with gray. I chose batiks as I’ve worked with them for years, and love the texture they have over solids. While they are often dismissed in a modern guild or shop as “your mother’s fabric,” they are one of the most hand-made fabrics available to us, a quality that I believe important to contemporary social and ecological interests. And if I’m being candid, I liked the idea of challenging the modern structural ideas with some batiks.
Photography by Bill Volkening
Once the top was done, I was so happy with it that I was bouncing about the studio. I knew my utilitarian quilting skills would do it a terrible disservice, so I hired Nancy Stovall to take it to the next level, and couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. Truly, she leveled it up out of the park – it’s stunning. It was at that point that I thought, perhaps, I should show the quilt.
In general, quilt show competitions (not exhibitions – the distinction is important) bother me a bit. As a formally trained artist with an MFA, I find it frustrating that the usual criteria that separates the winner from the runners is craft. And for the record, I’m a HUGE proponent of attaining good craftsmanship; I just don’t think it’s the only thing to look at.
While I have no idea if the QuiltCon judges will be checking quilts for square and checking the binding miters to see if they are stitched (don’t laugh, I was critiqued about the lack of stitches in my miters some 20 years ago on a quilt that went to Paducah), the fact that such technical nit-picking seemed to outweigh artistry made me abandon competition years ago. I was tired of getting judges’ notes about my miters, and having no mention of my artistry, choice of colors, or my prowess with hand-dyeing my fabrics. I see us wanting our work to be considered ART, but then still approaching it like it’s CRAFT. It’s hard for Craft to ascend to Art when it’s judged less for the artistry than the craftsmanship. By these criteria, a Monet would be rejected because the paint was a bit thicker here than it was there.
I know… it’s a bit of a chewy conversation, but hey, I’m trained in thinking about art this way, and these are the thoughts I ponder in the wee hours. You can take the girl out of art school, but it’s hard to take the art school out of the girl!
Anyway! The quilt won’t be heading to QuiltCon, but no matter.
Oh, and I still don’t sew down my miters ;-p
I don’t know anything about Quiltcon and a new quilter. But I like you block.
It’s not a block… it’s a whole quilt – and a huge one at that!
I don’t enter ‘competition’ shows any more as I create and quilt for me, not to have somebody tell me my batting doesn’t fill the binding. I finish what pleases me, donate PHDs (Projects half done) to charity organizations to complete, sell, or to fill dog beds.
Send it to one of the UK shows. It would probably do well. Great design.
I agree with your points about the batiks too!
Thank you for the compliments! As for the UK shows… meh. I’m not really interested in working the show circuit that hard. I’d rather sleep under it!
https://www.facebook.com/crookedpinequilts/?fref=nf
You go girl!!!!!
thank you!
You are right about “their party”. I joined in the beginning but walked away after I didn’t make last years entry deadline when my son in law was in a near fatal motorcycle accident (lost his arm, broken femur, etc.). I got a few days extension, but not enough. I was discouraged because I worked so hard and spent $$$ on the fabric challenge (which I will never do again). Your quilt is stunning and the colors make me smile!!! Thanks for all you do to share your knowledge. !
I *do* think it’s important to understand that the person putting on the show gets to pick what’s in it. As I said… I don’t make for shows, I make to enjoy making. I hope your son is recovering well 🙂
I love your quilt too!!! really adore the color combination!!!
Thank you!
Meh, one show, one rejection (although that always stings). And a really great quilt. Really. I have been in this business a long time. Things come, things go. Modern may just be a thing. It’s already morphed a lot. I am still an adherent of personal voice and good craftsmanship (and yeah, even stitched miters). In the end, that’s what matters, isn’t it? That we find our own voice and sing as well as we can with it.
Thank you! It didn’t sting… I expected the rejection! And you are spot on about the morphing… I’ve seen the MQG definition change and expand as their interests change. Art is always a moving target, and I think that occasionally gets overlooked by the “owners” of a definition… it becomes what the makers make of it.
I love your quilt! And thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I always enjoy your posts and have learned a lot from you!
Thank yoU!
Oh my girl I am with you 100% on this! Your question was spot on “how do we consider art when it’s being judged on craft?”
I have been involved in the curating part of exhibitions and that’s a whole other nest of worms but I feel it more equitable to art quilts as the whole quilt police issue is not considered.
I am attending Quilt con first time ever (and taking a class from Victoria Findlay Wolfe ) and would luce to meet up!
Stacy
It’s all worms, isn’t it?! And I could (and have) debated the art/craft question for hours!
Brilliant thoughts about the difference between judging art and craft; I hadn’t thought that through. I wonder, too, about the popularity contest and cronyism, and about organizers choosing quilts to fit their vision of the show v. choosing show-worthy quilts and organizing them coherently.
Regardless, I think your nested stars are really fun, the colors are great, and the quilting is, indeed, fabulous. I’d love to see the quilt in a glamour shot, so we can get a sense of its size. If it’s big enough to go on your bed, it must be very impressive!
Thank you! And yes… I have no idea if QuiltCon does their fist pass without seeing the names, but sometimes it does look like a popularity contest. Mind you, if one’s style is obvious and recognizable, then no amount of hiding the name will help. The quilt is 100” square – it’s pretty striking. No glamor shot available (can’t say my bedroom is glamorous!)
How about an outdoor shot? Imagine the contrast between PNW weather and your vibrant Five Stars; it could be very striking!
Love your post! It explores a lot of the things I mentally struggle with as well. I’ve been quilting for just about 35 years now. My personal favorite type of quilting is the Art Qult category and is what I love to do the most. Also, I am currently enrolled as a candidate in the certified judging program with the NACQJ, so your comments about judging particularly resonate with me. One thing that I think is easy to forget is that if you enter a “quilt” show, then your craft better be up to spec. If you enter an “art” show, then your art better be top notch. If you enter your piece in an “art quilt” category, then you’ve got to up to the challenge in both arenas. Certified Quilt Judges study art, composition, and color theory, as well as just about every quilting technique there is out there. I don’t know who the jurors were for QuiltCon. I don’t know if any of the jurors were Certified Judges. I don’t know the level of the entrants you were weighed against. What I DO know is that this is a SPECTACULAR quilt. You should be rightfully proud of it and consider entering it in different shows!
I love how clearly you cover the art and craft! I have no idea on the qualifications of the judges either, but the point is quite moot as the ship is under way! Thank you for the compliments – and no, probably not going to send it elsewhere 🙂
Their loss my friend. I love this quilt.
I have never been to to Quilt Con and am not sad I won’t be going this year either! Poo on them!
I love it too!
Their loss, Sam. I love love love this quilt! Terrific design, gorgeous colors and exquisite quilting … what’s not to love. I’m somewhat taken aback to learn that I must be “old” given my love of batiks …. they’re still my favorite fabrics to work with for many reasons, but the main ones being the hand-made aspect of each design, the “hand” of the fabrics themselves, and the fact that they usually don’t ravel like printed and solid cottons. Your comments about the difference between art and craft is thought-provoking and I thank you for giving me something to ponder today.
Thank you! And yes… all of these folks raised on solids that shred have no idea what they are missing in batiks!
Personally, I love it.
Me too!
Rejection is what kicked off the painters into all the ‘ism’s of modernism. I enjoy the combination of traditional piecing with our current visual aesthetics (graphic design, tagging and so on). Thomas said in one of his writings that ‘modern is what we make today’. Combining/Designing the intersection of piecing and our comfort level of fabric combinations is challenging and I think your quilt is great! As the French painters did, wear the rejection proudly!
I am!!
Love your quilt, Sam! You are right, it’s their party… and with so many entries, it’s hard to get your quilt out of the initial stage of thumbnail picks. You also bring up a good question about art vs. craft in quilt shows… it seems that quilts are ‘juried into’ a show based on art, but ‘judged’ at the show based on craft. I’m excited to hear your take on the Pasadena show!
Gail – I wish you were there with me… it would be fun to discuss them with you!
I like that quilt! I have attend QuiltCon in the past in Austin, Texas. The one major thing that bothered me was the fact there were only two judges. I am afraid that being “rigid” or uncompromising to the rules is going to stifle modernism in the quilting world. . There always needs to be flexibility to make way for new and improved stuff including the world of modern. Personally, while I enjoy viewing and admiring the talent of those who do modernism, I prefer to be a messy traditionalist. Ha! 🙂
I concur about the “rigid” – I think any movement has to recognize forces that act upon it that might be coming from outside.
The criteria that separate Craft from Art are fascinating, and I often wonder that if quilting wasn’t so female-dominated, if it would be taken more seriously as Art, just as Nursing was not really seen as a career until it got into University and got itself a degree. I love your quilt. And I don’t stitch my mitres down either.
LOL!!
I confess, I was amused that the first “Best of Show” at Quiltcon was a double wedding ring — how traditional can you get? I love your “stars” and would be delighted to buy a pattern if you decide to publish it!
It’s called Five Stars, and it’s available in the shop!
What an interesting post. I think your quilt is stunning and I can see the artistic eye that created it. As a former designer, I find discussions on the differences between art and craft so interesting.
I came to quilting from knitting and I remember a post a knitting blogger wrote about an original sweater she designed coming in second place in a competition behind a perfectly knit sweater using a published pattern. I guess the judges have their set of guidelines and all we can do is challenge them.
Remember that Monet and the Impressionists started as an Anti-Establishment rebellion that challenged the guidelines governing what was considered “art” at that time. In any case, it’s a beautiful quilt. Keep up the good work.
Your quilt is beautiful! I dislike quilt shows also. I got a bad mark for cat hair. Nothing to do with my design or piecing.
I love batiks. They are art within art. Really? Miters being sewn? Where is that rule?
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