which way is up?

Some quilts are so versatile. They can be hung sideways, upside down, right side up. Always a different look. What fun. Which do you prefer? Don't you love all the different colors that create the greys?

grey flame--12 x 40"--Ann Brauer 2019

grey flame--12 x 40"--Ann Brauer 2019

grey flame--12 x 40"--Ann Brauer 2019

hot off the sewing machine

One of the reasons I love having a studio open to the public is that I get to test public reaction to my new quilts as I finish them. Now of course I don't always listen but sometimes it is reassuring when customers are immediately drawn to a new quilt. That happened this week-end with my quilt "suddenly spring" which I just finished. Aren't the colors wonderful?

suddenly spring--32 x 48"--quilt--Ann Brauer 2019

And hanging in my studio in Shelburne Falls.

suddenly spring--studio shot--ann brauer 2019

daybreak

What a fitting name although a bit bittersweet to show a quilt that has a new home. In this case, I am honored that my quilt "daybreak" was chosen for a space where it may comfort many. On the other hand, I will miss it. They have promised to send me an image once it is hung and I promise to share it with you. But that is for later. For now, it is thanks for the memories and the inspiration.

daybreak--16 x 40"--ann brauer 2018

finishing the quilt

I don't know about you but sometimes I find it hard to finish a quilt, especially if it is a custom order which means I must send it off to its rightful home. After all, I have spent a lot of time working on the piece--I have to figure out how I am going to make it. What tweaks will make the quilt just right for its location. After all, the customer usually wants specific colors and sizes. They have honored me by wanting me to create their vision for their home. Think about it for a moment.

Sometimes as is the case with this quilt, the customer the customer liked the colors of an existing quilt but it was not the right size. Since I was going to be remaking the piece, they also wanted me to change the bottom of the quilt to incorporate a design element from another quilt of mine.

OK--I could do this. Of course this meant I had to think about just the right colors and proportion for the new size and design element. I wanted the quilt to sing and be more than the sum of its parts. And I did learn something when I made it. That is the fun of custom orders. They push me to see my work in just a slightly new direction. Now I want to make another in this series--different colors, different feeling. But a quilt that I am curious to see. I should start it as soon as I get to the studio today. That is the best way to get the quilt done.

another fine day--24x60"--quilt--Ann Brauer 2017

sweet--day 9

Checking my e-mail is always exciting. Usually it is the same old same old so to speak. But occasionally I get one of those lovely surprises.

When I make a quilt I do believe that it has a home--and it is just a natter of waiting until the quilt and its home find each other. This was certainly true of my quilt--sunrise.

I loved the simple but complex colors of the sun rising above the water. There was a wonderful graphic design to the piece. When I was making it, I had to concentrate to get the two sides to be similar but have enough difference that the quilt had a life to it.

At 30x80 inches it could look fabulous over a king size bed or a large sofa. It could be an accent on a hallway. However, the size made it more difficult to show at a craft fair as it would dominate the wall but leave a lot of unused space around it. It looked great when I hung it in my studio but again it commanded a large wall. So I waited.

Until this week-end when I got the e-mail. Ta da. My theory is proven true again. Soon the quilt will be in a new home although I confess I will miss its presence. Don't you love the light dancing on the water? And the reflections of the sun in the sky?  Isn't it a happy quilt?

sunrise--quilt--30x80 inches--Ann Brauer--photo by John Polak

Thanks Etsy. I do love opening my mail. To see more of my quilts and check out my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauerhttp://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer

the quilts of Ann Brauer--finally April

Dear all,

Finally it is April. This winter that never seems to end is finally ending. The snow is melting. Of course now we have mud--but that to shall pass. I even have a couple of daffodils just poking up through the ground. Soon flowers.

I am getting ready for my last show of the spring season--The Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show at the 23rd Street Armory in Philadelphia this Saturday and Sunday. I haven't done this show for a while but I know there will be some absolutely amazing hand built furniture. This year there are also five--count them FIVE--quilt makers. We all have different styles so it should be fun to come and check us all out.

I have been working so hard getting ready for this show. My latest addition to my quilts is an intense over-quilting which provides even more texture and substance to the work. Don't you love the simple design and the colors of this quilt--colors of the sky?

colors of the sky--quilt--Ann Brauer--2014

Another piece I am very proud of is "blue river in autumn" which I finished yesterday. Here is the wall hanging before I added the binding. Yes, it is long. About 76 inches long. I have intensely quilted the rust colored fabrics while leaving the blue river flowing freely.

blue river in autumn--12x76"--Ann Brauer--2014

Speaking of long. Yes, they are still working on my building. Yesterday they blew in the insulation to keep the place toasty warm. Soon they will start sheet rocking. Needless to say I can hardly wait. Patience is not my strong suit.

Well enough for now. I hope to see some of you at the Furniture Show--the discount ticket is attached below. For others, I do keep posting new items on my Etsy shop. www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer And I will be working in my studio when I am not at shows--although if you are coming from a distance I suggest calling to be sure.

what makes an artist?

Recently I found an interesting blog post on What Makes a Professional Artist? Even the story of how I came to read this particular blog post shows what a small world we live in. My internet friend Valerie Goodwin--herself a wonderful quilt maker from Florida--had posted this on Twitter and Facebook wanting to raise the question for discussion. The article begins with  a discussion of a situation I am sure we have all been--the nurse, friend, seat-mate on an airplane, even relative who announces that they too are professional artists. What do you say in that situation? How do you define what being an artist is?

Now the word professional is one that I think we can figure out--don't we all know what a professional lawyer is? What about a professional doctor? Would you want to be treated by a non-professional one? And why is the term "professional politician" considered an insult--oh don't get me started there.  Back to the topic at hand, the term professional usually implies a seriousness of purpose and certain standards of conduct and responsibility.

The issue becomes more what is meant by the term "artist". How do you distinguish between art and craft, art and fine craft? Is there a distinction? I know there are many art quilt makers who are trying to get their work recognized in the fine art market. There is a believe that painting is considered more serious--and by definition more lucrative--than quilt making or sewing or fiber arts or textile arts.

OK--I can agree that earning money from your art is a good thing--at least for me.  I have been supporting myself for 29 years making quilts. So I post on a discussion on LinkedIN that I am willing to make a blue and red quilt if that is what sells. And the question becomes whether I am then "selling out." Of course the blue and red quilt has to be in my style--I may love the Double Wedding Ring pattern but I don't want to make.

Indeed currently I am working on an order for a quilt similar to first light.

It is an order for a specific place in a specific lovely architecturally designed home. Yes, there is thinking to do--artistic inspiration. How to make it twice this length and keep the feeling for the piece. What happens when the piece is seen looking up at it? How will the sky appear? Will the lines in the quilt echo the lines in the house?

I think of some of the "old Masters"--the Dutch Masters with their assistants and wealthy patrons, Sargent who painted the four young daughters at the request of their parents. Even the "primitive" portraits of Colonial America painting the sons and daughters of the wealthy.  Audubon published his birds in wonderful portfolios that you could subscribe to. Without the orders and the patrons, we would not have this art.

And interesting I discover on reading more about Nancy Natale--she used to have her studio in the same small town in western Massachusetts where I live. What a small world this is. Note to self-- maybeI should get out of my studio more.

And you--where do you draw the line? What is art? What is professional?