We chose the theme “At Play – asobi” for our quilt exhibit. How simple the word sounds and yet how implicatively it inspired us! 

     –Ryohjin-hishoh – Folk Lyrical Ballads edited by Emperor Goshirakawa around ll80 AD

Quilt making is, in a sense, an ultimate “play.”  When the word “play” is mentioned, we think of children playing hide and seek, or playing house, totally absorbed, lost in time. That sensation of thrill stays with us as we experience the world of music, theater, art, games and sports. We, the quilters, become involved in making quilts, and the element of play is fully incorporated in the process of designing and creating quilts. 

When we chose this theme, there was some hesitation among some quilters as they had trouble expanding to more than just children’s play. However, eventually, as we went on discussing the theme, we became excited about many ideas and many designs started to spring up. With limited time, we could not express all our ideas in quilts but we put our hearts into the quilts we are presenting. Through our quilts, we share our joy in quilt making with all who visit the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum. We hope you will enjoy the quilts and perhaps, you will be inspired by the theme, “at play”.

I would like to express my heartfelt pleasure in exhibiting our Japanese quilts for the 8th time at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum.

The Ainu race lived in wide area ranging from Sakhalin Islands to the Island of Hokkaido in Japan.  The history of the Ainu people may be as old as 4,000 years. Today, the Ainu people have assimilated into Japanese culture but, they have prided themselves into preserving their language and their rich culture and life style.

Yoshimi Kato and I have focused on their textiles, garments and stitchery for this show at La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum. Most of the embroidery was made by Yoshimi and her students.  Kato encountered this unique stitchery in Hokkaido ten years ago and learned from an Ainu lady who was handed down the traditional stitching techniques as well as its historical and cultural backgrounds. The Ainu garments are no longer for practical, daily use but they are worn for festive occasions or for tourist events and are displayed in museums. In order to preserve this tradition and give a life to it, we believe the beauty of the textile and the stitching technique must further be understood by the new generation and it will stimulate them to interpret and create new things for various practical uses. Yoshimi Kato and I are pleased to have this opportunity to express our aims and show the works of Ainu stitchery at the La Conner Quilt Museum.  I hope you will enjoy the show and it will give some inspiration to your creations.

Mariner’s Compass made by Roxy Terrill and Amanda Cheney for Amanda’s grandson, Edward Nobles in 1865. Hand pieced, hand applique, and hand quilted.

“Real Men Don’t Quilt or Do They?” blares the headline of a 2005 article by quiltmaker Kent Williams. The growing frequency of publications about men who quilt makes this an easy question to answer: Yes, men (real or otherwise) DO indeed quilt. In fact, we now know that men have been quilting for hundreds of years: Renown San Francisco quiltmaker Joe Cunningham has documented the story of Joe Hedley, a tailor-turned-quiltmaker who lived in England during the last half of the 18^th century. 

Despite the contributions of men to the world of quilting over the past two centuries, quilting is still perceived culturally as “women’s work.” But that perception is slowly changing with the increased visibility of quilts made by men. Some male quilters have achieved celebrity status in the quilting world (e.g. Kaffe Fassett, Michael James, Ricky Tims, Joe Cunningham, David Taylor, Mark Lipinski), teaching, publishing books and magazines, creating television programs, some even designing their own fabric lines. 

The larger question is not about whether men quilt but what men have brought to the art of quilting, which is the raison d’être of the upcoming exhibit MATERIAL MEN: INNOVATION & THE ART OF QUILTMAKING. While there have been periodic exhibits of men’s quilting in other parts of the country, there has never been a large-scale group show of men’s work on the West Coast. That will change on October 11, 2012 when MATERIAL MEN: INNOVATION & THE ART OF QUILTMAKING opens at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum in La Conner, Washington. This exhibit will showcase many of the innovations in design, technique, and materials which a formidable group of 15 male quilters have brought to the art of quiltmaking. 

As part of the exhibit’s official Opening festivities, Dutch master fiber artist Leslie Gabriëlse will present a lecture at 2:00PM on October 13, 2012. The Artists’ Opening Reception will follow at 5:00PM. For details, please visit the Museum’s website: www.laconnerquilts.com

The Quilt Artists of MATERIAL MEN:

Thom Atkins (Santa Cruz, CA)

Tristan Robin Blakeman (New Haven, CT)

Edward M. Bostick (New York, NY)

Richard Caro (Waterville, ME)

Michael A. Cummings (New York, NY)

Joe Cunningham (San Francisco, CA)

Leslie Gabriëlse (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

Luke Haynes (Seattle, WA)

Raymond K. Houston (St. Louis, MO)

John Lefelhocz (Athens, OH)

Mike “Mac” McNamara (San Francisco, CA)

Shingo Nakano (Tokyo, Japan)

Shawn Quinlan (Pittsburgh, PA)

David Taylor (Steamboat Springs, CO)

Erick Wolfmeyer (Iowa City, IA)