Why Make an Art Quilt?

Trying to explain why one does what one does is quite a feat. Here is the beginning of my attempt to explain:

Why use fabric and thread to create art?

Why not watercolours or oil paint? Textiles raise the surface of the piece, one can actually see the texture of the materials. Rather than flat, the picture is three-dimensional.

Working with soft materials you can achieve effects not possible with paint. You are physically connected to the materials instead of one step away at the end of a paintbrush; your hands are touching the fabric and thread.

Have you ever thought of how limiting it is to be faced with a blank canvas? Whatever you paint, the image is contained within the space. Not so with fiber. The only restriction is your imagination. You might begin with the idea of creating a two foot square piece of artwork. Pretty soon you are finding all sorts of reasons to increase the size or change the shape.

Rose Rushbrooke
Artist