working in series--day 25

Yesterday I had a couple quilt makers in my shop. One was thumbing through my feature article in Art Quilting Studio from Winter 2016 and mentioned that they loved the series of five quilts featured there but could not imagine working in series. She said that she loved starting a quilt but then after a few rows she got tired and wanted to move on to another project.

Not me. If I start making a design and I like it, I want to make it in every color I can think of. Indeed while I am sewing I dream about more and more color combinations. Those famous "what ifs". Until I have to tear myself away from the project and move on to orders or other quilts I need in the studio.

Now to be fair to her, she was making more traditional quilts and I told her that I found that the sewing can become a bit tedious (personal opinion since I know there are those who find the repetitive nature to be soothing and there is nothing wrong with that.) However with my quilts where I am constantly choosing fabrics I long to fill the walls of my studio with one design in many colors. While I will probably never do it, I dream of a booth at a craft show where all the quilts could be mixed and matched to create different ensembles. What about you? Do you work in series?

three flames--12x40 inches--Ann Brauer

five flames--12x40 inches--Ann Brauer--photo by John Polak

from little mug rugs-day 24

Once, many years ago I won a couple of very nice grants.  A regional grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and I was runner-up for a Massachusetts Artist Grant. It was about the same time I made quilts that got into Quilt National. I was "hot". The sky seemed to be the limit. Of course I shouldn't be taking up my time making any of the smaller items--the potholders and placemats, the table runners and mug rugs that would sell at almost any craft show I did and keep me going.

There were certainly arguments to support that point of view and maybe if I had gone to Art School I could have developed a career teaching. Or maybe I could have pushed the quilts until I  sold them at a high enough price to not need the smaller items. I don't know. Could have? Should have? I knew though that I did not enjoy sitting at a craft show as the masses walked right past my booth realizing that even if they loved my work, today was not the day to purchase a more expensive quilt. I am not always a patient person.

But I also realized that there was nothing in my booth that I could afford. So I returned to making potholders and placemats. It wasn't my main business but of course if I was going to make them, they had to be well made and distinctive since they were part of my reputation. They had to be fun for the customers and for me. It was a balancing act to not get too many orders that I didn't time to make the larger more intricate quilts that I wanted to make.

For me it worked. At the studio I even sold small bookmarks and mug rugs. And in a round-about way, one of those mug rugs resulted in the order for all 12 quilts for the Federal District Court House in Springfield, MA. You just never know.

Quilts--Federal District Court House, Springfield, MA--Ann Brauer--photo by John Polak

Quilts--Federal District Court House, Springfield, MA--Ann Brauer--photo by John Polak

Do I still have those internal debates? You bet. When I get into that creative flow, when I get inspired and I just don't have time to make all the quilts I can envision, it is hard to finish an order for potholders. But then I get tired and need a break. Or the quilts are being a bit ornery and there is nothing like the quick satisfaction of a set of potholders that are DONE and will create a bit of joy in someone's life.

solo show Contemporary Landscape Quilts

I just shipped my quilts off for my solo show Contemporary Landscape Quilts of Ann Brauer at the Landmark at Corporate Campus in Tarrytown, NY.  I'll post images from the show after it is hung. Thanks Wendy Kelley for all your work.

Here is the information about the show:

ART AT THE LANDMARK CAMPUS
Tarrytown, New York

ANN BRAUER
Contemporary Landscape Quilts

July 2 - October 1, 2010



Ann Brauer grew up on a farm in Illinois where she watched her grandmother make quilts. She complete her education to become an attorney Twenty eight years ago she moved to Western Massachusetts and began supporting herself making contemporary art quilts.

Brauer's work is in museum and public collections including the US Dept of State, the Springfield Federal District Court, the American Museum of Art + Design, NY Wool Institute, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Museum of Women in the Art both in Washington, DC. She has received an award of Excellence from the American Craft Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. The quilts are for sale. Viewings by appointment.

All inquiries should be directed to Wendy Kelley Fine Arts
www.artworksadvisory.com   203.912.1044

it's time to finish the quilts

OK--I confess that normally I am pretty good about finishing orders. As you may know, I do like to buy more fabric. In addition, I love the feeling of completion--after all that work, I want to see what the quilt looks like. The possibilities of new pieces dance before me. New colors that I have been dreaming about. 

However, every once in a while something happens and work ends up hanging over me. Such is the case with the quilts for the Springfield District Courthouse. Let me tell you a bit about this project. A new federal district courthouse was being built in downtown Springfield. A gorgeous building designed by Moshe Safdie--an internationally renowned architect. Indeed the building itself has won awards. It was built around two ancient and magnificent trees. An absolutely glorious light building. The other artist was Sol Lewitt.  There were to be four court rooms--each one named for one of the four counties in western Massachusetts. Each court room had a wall designed to hold fiber art. I was honored to be asked to make these quilts through the GSA's Art in Architecture program.

Now this was a HUGE order and of course I was brought in at the last minute--that is frequently what happens with architectural commissions as you may know. I chose a simple rolling design with each quilt reflecting just slightly specifics of the county for the room for which it was designed. For instance in the Hampden Courtroom--which is the county for Springfield, I represented the two large trees. One a copper beech and one a magnificent oak. Hampshire County is known for its fields and meadows while Berkshire County of course has the  Berkshire Mountains.

Each courtroom had three quilts--while the size varied--they were all about 4 feet by 10 feet. A lot of sewing in very little time. Indeed I learned afterwards the only question the persons in charge had was whether I could finish the work in time. Of course I had to prove them wrong.

So I sewed. I went in on my days off--I stayed at work late. I learned every way I could to save time. Since finishing the quilts requires a lot of hand work which I couldn't do all at once without developing carpal tunnel I would finish the bindings while starting a new piece. And I had a secret bit of knowledge--they were not going to build out the last court room--the one for Franklin County for a while. I only had nine quilts to make.

The quilts were all hanging when the building was opened with great ceremony and many dignitaries. I was exhausted. Don't they look great though?

And I was SO ready to move on to other designs that I put the Franklin County quilts aside. I would get around to them later while I enjoyed working in all of the wonderful colors and designs that did not fit into the court house project. I'm sure you can understand.

Finally this winter I got the last of the Franklin County quilts pieced. Again I left the bindings for later. Gradually I sewed on the Velcro for hanging. Almost done. But always just a little bit more to do. After all even if you think of it as just three quilts, there still is a lot of work to do. Three quilts to press and thread pick. Three quilts to sew on the labels. But it is time. They are almost done. And I have heard they are planning to build out the last court room soon.

Do I wish that I had finished these quilts earlier? Sure. I have other quilts to make. Will I be a bit sad when this order is done? Of course.  Maybe that is why it took me so long to finish the last three quilts. I have enjoyed working on it even though the only people who can really see the quilts are the judge, the jury and the defendants.  Will I ever get such a great order again? I don't know--my next opportunity may be something entirely different. Life works that way. But it is time and I will get those quilts photographed and down to their new home.

What do you think? Am I the only one who can sometimes find it hard to finish an order?