I have seen quilts where someone appliqued shapes cut from batting on the top, but I have never seen batting left exposed. If you were to applique a lot of pieces and overlap the batting, you would basically get the effect you are after. The batting manufacturer states how far apart the quilting lines can be and if you stay within those guidelines, you should be OK. Personally, I would not like exposed batting on the top but then I am not an art-quilter.