Well, reportedly, I’ve succeeded in leading a few quilt artists to down several bottles of Jack Daniels in order to read my thoughts about quilt art. Yesterday, a member of an online list reported my blog entry to the group, providing only the first paragraph of my last blog, saying that it sums up what I had to say. She missed the mark and she missed the point. She also violated my rights by re-publishing my words, out of context, and not properly attributing them to me, nor providing a link to the source.

That’s fine. Her act of “sharing” did generate a good discussion. I was not prepared for how high emotions would run, or how people would take my comments to make the subject all about themselves, as if defending a personal attack (which none of what I said, was).

Yesterday, my messages to that list, of which I am a member, revolved around being the best you can be, educating yourself about your art/craft, as well as the idea that perhaps art quilts would have more marketability were they more appealing to the general public. My thoughts were met with resistance, scorn, and derision. I found myself and my own tastes being judged. It was clear that I was not “one of them” and was asked why I don’t get off the list.

I can think of one word to describe some of the responses: “hysteria” with a capital “H!” Yet other people, some of whom I’ve known for years, came out of lurkdom to be very supportive and to say how much I’ve done to promote all forms of quilting. One lady said, “Just take a look at Pat’s website and you might begin to think that she gnc drugs just know what she is talking about.” Thanks for the vote of confidence!

There are some fantastic art quilters. Believe me, I’ve spent a lifetime doing art and studying it. Art connoiseurs can be very fickle and I am no exception. I know what I like, when I see it. Sometimes, art is pretty, sometimes not, like all of life. My point is this: I am drawn to excellence of expression, good use of color, and understanding of the elements of composition, and I’m drawn to works with meaning: surface meaning that is abundantly clear, or a deeper meaning that is discernible, or can be subjectively interpreted.

I don’t understand why my thoughts should generate such animosity, reaping inferences that are quite nasty and disrespectful. Seems to me that any art quilter would want to continually reassess what he/she is doing so that improvements could be made. As an educated person whose “education” did not stop at the doors of the universities I’ve attended, I’m not impressed with your education, or the number of shows that you’ve displayed your work in. Show me your work and let it stand on its own merit. That’s all I’m saying.

Off to get my “fuel” for the day: breakfast, not high test.

Patricia Cummings

There are a lot of people today who make what they call “quilt art.” Often, these kinds of quilts reflect the attempts of artists who are not yet well-trained in traditional quilting methods. These dedicated souls spend a lot of time in expressing themselves, with the goal in mind to sell their work. Are they sometimes creating “messages” that have meaning only to themselves? I think so.

I enjoy Art, but you know what? Picasso is not my favorite painter. While I can appreciate the artist’s recollections of the confusion of the Spanish Civil War, when he created the abstract painting called, “gnc drugs,” I would much rather look at a Velazquez painting of a member of the Spanish Royal Family on horseback. In person, the paintings of that master technician are huge and amazing because he painted his subjects in such a large scale manner, yet manages to capture tiny details.

“On Windy Whispers” designed by Patricia Cummings. This is the closest I get to making “art quilts.” This quilt was inspired by Bill Staines’ song, “Redbird’s Wing.”

Whenever I attend a museum show or quilt exhibit, I have to stand and ponder certain art quilts. “What does it mean … what does it mean?” I don’t have a clue until I read the label or the explanation, in which case, I feel that the artist has fallen short of the mark. Works of art should not be a guessing game. They should stand on their own merit, without needing any explanation. I suppose it could be argued that not all art has to have meaning.

While it may be true that not all art has to smack of realism, unless a piece is very well done both structurally or has a discernible meaning, I, personally, would never consider giving it house room. I don’t want to own someone else’s “vision,” as lovely as the creator may deem that to be, if I don’t understand it. Of course, there is always an exception to the rule. If someone gave me one of Caryl Bryer Fallert’s art quilts, I would not complain too loudly!

Random squiggles, floating circles, lines that go nowhere and mean nothing, generally are not my thing. I like order and structure to a piece, even if that means repeat designs, reminiscent of the pieced quilts of old. Perhaps that is why I am more of a traditional quilter than an art quilter, except for pictorial quilts which I truly love making!

An unfinished Crazy Quilt block entitled, “La Rosa Blanca,” designed by Patricia Cummings. This quilt was inspired by Jose Marti’s poetry.

The Crazy Quilt is considered to have been the first Art Quilt and truly, I do LOVE crazy quilts. Crazy Quilts have their own sense of order, however. They are all asymmetrically-pieced, and most of the 19th century ones have embroidery, sometimes painted motifs, and ribbon work. They are similar, if not always different from each other. In my time, I’ve seen some drop-dead gorgeous Crazy Quilts, even some completely rendered in cottons such as one Folk Art style one owned by the Shelburne Museum.

If you are not entirely certain what a contemporary art quilt might look like, I can suggest two online resources: The that also hosts a mailing list of 3,000 like-minded art quilters; and a blog site called that shows the work of 27 quilt artists. We all hit our stride as to what we like the best, and we all have our very opinionated preferences. Mine are sited in the roots of the art/craft of early quilting. It’s nice to look around and decide for yourself what you like. There truly is room for everyone.

Patricia Cummings