We recently posted an extract from an article by Sarah Entsminger (SAQA Journal) on writing artist statements that welcome. Sarah has kindly given permission to share the full article on our ‘help’ page.

Click here to read the article and see Sarah’s website below

Rippling Waters

The tenth story is told by Robin…
The Illyarrie or Eucalyptus Erithrocorys is one of WA’s beautiful and fascinating trees. No one can ignore its spectacular display of red bud caps and fluffy yellow flowers in mid summer. A closer look reveals the amazing square shape of the centre, and the unusual arrangement of the stamens in each corner, the flattened base (pedicel) and stems below. The quilter in me had to reproduce it! So began my journey of collecting fabrics and ideas and experimenting with techniques.

Then Lisa Walton visited Perth and led a workshop, ‘Fantastic Fusion’, using fused fabrics and improvisational techniques. As I had taken my Illyarrie collection of fabrics, I soon found I had an interesting set of background pieces that cried out for an embellishment. Yellow flowers, but how? That is when I began fringing yellow strips and forming them into circles. I had my flowers. 16 blocks and many flowers later I had a quilt ready to free motion quilt. It was a very engrossing and satisfying piece of work which I entered into Stitched and Bound in 2019.
Most amazingly it was sold.

A story from Jan…

‘Some years back I needed some hand sewing to do while travelling. One batik fabric was chosen as backing to give the pieces some cohesion. A rainbow assortment of stash scraps were used to make the front. Batting off-cuts were used to pad out the little pillows which were stitched around with perle embroidery thread. Pinking shears neatened the edges.
A shoebox full of little squares stagnated for a couple of years before the next step revealed itself.
The inspiration came from the cooking show “Masterchef”. They have a challenge which requires the contestants to reinvent a traditional dish.
I applied the same criteria to my little quilted parcels, thinking they looked like ravioli.
Then came the problem – how to string them together.
Narrow black ribbon was appliqued vertically and horizontally to stabilise the pieces, grading the rainbow colours across the quilt.
Something was still missing. It needed a sauce – berry coulis was the answer. This was made with a variety of berry coloured sheers and tulles using the yo-yo technique. These were scattered across the quilt.
The entire quilt is hand stitched.
The reverse side of the quilt also looked interesting, so the next problem was how could it be hung so both sides could be viewed.
A custom made perspex strip was ordered with holes to correspond with each vertical band. Suspending the piece with fishing line through each hole ensured the quilt hung straight and could be viewed from each side.’

This is Ginny’s story…

‘Inspired by studying the Gees Bend group I made a series of quilts in work clothing. I like the unfinished rough results of seams , pockets, buttons etc which add to the texture. The quilt is about mining in Australia, because I was appalled at Leigh Creek SA to see the un-regenerated land after a mine had closed. All vehicles can erode our thin ancient soils and destroy flora so I copied a mining truck tyre pattern and created a flower stalk using paint and clothes as an ironic comment. I also like the impact of the hot oranges in the quilt which is free motion stitched.’

Here is meg Cowey’s story about her 2019 submission ‘Storm Warning’…

“I particularly love the view of a storm approaching across Gage Roads while travelling along Stirling Highway. I wanted to capture the view of rain clouds and glints of sunshine.  

I had seen a technique on Pinterest where thin strips of various coloured fabrics were sewn horizontally to create a quilted landscape and then covered in net.  It gave a lovely impressionist look that I was keen to try as a seascape. At about the same time, there was a presentation at our monthly meeting of the Contemporary Quilt Group about making non-traditional edges to quilts. 
Because I had never used the technique before, I created a small piece to try out my fabric strips, their positioning and colour. This was very worthwhile as it made me realise that the fabric I’d chosen for the sky was actually much better suited as the sea. 
Eventually I created a larger art quilt called ‘Weather Warning’ that I exhibited at QuiltWest 2017. 

However, I kept my small sample piece, as I really liked the extended border of sea and rain cloud. When stitched and bound opened for entries, I included Storm Warning as my second entry. Of course, I was delighted that it was juried into the exhibition, but a little chagrined that my first choice was not selected!

We hope you are enjoying ‘The Stories Behind the Quilt’ posts

If you entered and exhibited at any of the past stitched and bound exhibitions we would love to hear your story. We want to inspire both new and old exhibitors to get working on an entry for the next one!

email your story to waqasandb@gmailcom – include a photo of your work if you were not a recent entrant

Here is Julie’s story about her quilt ‘Orange Peel’

‘I began the orange peel quilt early in 2018 when I was playing around with Sari silks.

Ironing these onto light adhesive interfacing gives the fabric a bit more body and it’s easier to manipulate. It was also the time Woolworths was introducing its plastic bag ban, in fact everyone was talking about over packaging and waste in general.

Unpacking my shopping one day it twigged that my oranges were in an orange plastic net bag. We all love the old legend of Lafayette being invited to a celebratory dinner by George Washington. When he took out his knife and quartered his orange a lady at the dinner used the discarded segments to design her next quilt pattern.

So that was it! The idea that now the three areas of household waste, clothes, food and plastic could be represented. Sari silk for clothing, orange peel shape for food and the plastic net covering for the plastics. Twelve panels symbolised a year and that if we were mindful every household could help reduce landfill.

The quilt was backed using a repurposed designer dress from an op-shop.

Julie McAllister

Writing an artist statement is often a daunting task but is an important part of sharing your work with others.

For stitched and bound, this is a short statement that introduces your work to the jurors and to viewers of the exhibition.

This is what the jurors will read while looking at an image of your work. It  will demonstrate why your piece is worthy of being part of the exhibition. You want your words to fill in the blanks and cause the jurors to linger over your image, to be engaged and make them look a little longer, to look for more than is apparent at first glance.

The following is taken from an article written by Sarah Entsminger, who is a SAQA Juried Artist Member

‘it was created to tell a story. Your artist statement speaks for you when you are not present to answer questions or introduce a piece of art.

Here are some tips for writing an artist statement:

1. Write more information  than you think you can use. Come back later and highlight the most important parts. Simplify and streamline your text until it presents a short, compelling look at your work.
2. Use first person to welcome others into your world and help them feel comfortable. Write why you make art, what inspires you, what your art means to you, why you chose a specific medium to work in, and how your work is different from others.
3. Catch the viewer’s attention in the first few lines; people tend to have short attention spans.
4. Answer questions you think someone might ask as they view your work. Show connections between your ideas and the finished work. Materials and techniques should not be your focus.
5. Write for a wide range of viewers. Make your statement sound like something you would say to another person. A sense of humor will take you a long way.
6. Ask your friends, including non-artist friends, to read your drafts and give you feedback. If they can’t follow your story, re-write the statement until it is clear.

Click here for other ‘help articles’ available on this blog

A short story from Pat Forster about her 2019 entry.

‘The motif is a result of geometric doodling and, after using it in green and then blue quilts, I thought I’d try hot colours. The result evokes, for me, flaying arms in an aerobics class, hence the quilt name Aerobics’.

Pat Forster

…or a person in an extreme yoga position, maybe?

The story behind this quilt from the 2019 exhibition is thought-provoking. As Megan explains…

‘I was concerned with the increasing rate of male suicide in Australia and in WA in particular. I have 4 boys and two of my boys have friends who have tried suicide. I wanted to find a way of talking about male suicide. I had also been working on various ways to portray windows for other projects and I had one of those aha moments. A window is an opening. It allows the passage of light and sound and air. Windows can be opened or closed, covered or not, locked or not. I could use windows to open the conversation.Stats are shocking for male suicide in Australia and in Western Australia male suicide accounts for 75% of all suicides. Suicide is the leading cause of death for males aged 15 – 44. Men are less likely to seek help and more likely to use lethal means.There were 383suicides in Western Australia last year and 285 were male. 13 to 17 year olds and aboriginal children are significantly over represented in youth suicide data. The indigenous suicide rate is nearly 2x as high as other groups’