Is quilting a hobby or an art?
 

Is quilting a hobby or an art? In a conversation about retirement plans with a non-quilter, I mentioned that I plan on doing a degree in Fine Arts (Fabric Arts) to help me with my quilting. The utter astonishment of the non-quilter threw me for a loop. He asked why I would go to the trouble of getting a university degree “just for some old hobby.” I love traditional quilts because they comfort me, but I also like unconventional ones, having been influenced by Beth and Jeffrey Gutcheon’s The Quilt Design Workbook, published in 1976 (and even made the quilt on the cover). My question is this: do you consider quilting a hobby or an art, or both?

YES it is!

Depends....usually I consider it my beloved hobby, and I mostly make quilts that fit in this category...soft, cuddly, made with love for a specific person.

Occasionally I make a quilt or a wallhanging or some such that is made specifically for entering in a show, and then I go into "artistry" mode.

So, yes, it depends. I don't think I would go to college to get a degree to apply to it, but I do take quilting classes to learn skills that I would not use for a general use quilt, but would for an artistic quilt.

i think it can be both.....

It depends on the person. For some people it's totally a hobby and for some it's both a hobby and an art. For some it's totally art.

I would say that most all hobbies can be considered a form of art. You are taking pieces of fabric, cut them into smaller pieces and then sew them back together to make a beautiful quilt. How is that not art? I look at a pattern and see different colors, often the complete opposite of what the pic shows.....so I am creating a different look. Is that not art? Yes, it's a hobby that gives me relaxation and stress relief. Yes, it's an art form because I am creating something.

If someone can splash paint all over and call it art, why can't we sew pieces of cloth together and call it art. I think in some peoples minds anything that began as a way to make something useful will always be a "hobby." In their minds "art" is narrowly defined as something that hangs on a wall or stands in the park. Maybe we can just say we have a very artistic hobby.

I agree with Buckeye Rose. It is definitely an art form. Not everyone can make quilts or art pieces from fabric. Just like not everyone can paint pictures with oils etc. You have to have a creative spirit to make quilts. You can call it a hobby, but it is art.

Definitely BOTH!

I consider it both