MdmSew'n'Sew

BRAVA!!!
That should be emblazoned above every quilter's workspace ... beautiful, poetic and so true - thank you for expressing it so well for all quilters, everywhere - members of the sister(and brother)hood of the traveling needle

GramMER

Laura,

My original motive for quilting was to have a nicer gift for those loved ones I quilted for, but more recently the "art" has pleased me. Why is it that I have never quilted anything for myself? I have often wondered that. I am usually pleased with the ebb and flow of design and color in modern quilts, but sometimes people just need to keep warm and comfortable. I think we all can tell by the end product whether a quilter has an eye for art even when using traditional patterns.

More recently I have been interested in digital designs for the quilting machines as well as the free-hand machine quilting. It seems there are some out there that have totally lost the original reason for quilting. They use so much thread that it has to be heavy and even uncomfortable to use anywhere but on a wall. Maybe they live in a cabin with no insulation???

Perhaps what I am really trying to say is that I want my quilts to say, "I love you!"

Covered in Threads

I'm in agreement that quilting is a ARTISTIC ART FORM. The amount of time, love and creativity that goes into each piece deems it the proper title. As for you seeking a degrre in "art" - go for it. Each and everyone of us should seek ways to further our education - stretch our greatest muscle, the brain - right up to the day we pass away. So much out there for us to all enjoy and share.

BettyGee

It is a passion! I consider it both.

jcrow

Painting is a hobby. Some painters become artists. Some just do it as a hobby. Same with quilters.

quiltmau

I consider it an art. I can't paint but I can make jewelry, stain glass and quilt. I consider these all an art form. Any thing designed and put together by hand is art. Some are better than others-some are used for different purposes but that does not make then less than art.

If you hung a hat from Michelangelo's David ..hand, would that make it a hat rack or an art piece??!!

stitchquick

Laura, I THINK IS BOTH, I WOULD LIKE TO GO SCHOOL FOR QUILT , ANY ONE HAVE ANY SUBJECT ABOUT GO SCHOOL FOR QUILT?

roguequilter

beth & jeff gutcheon's "the quilt design workbook" was among my first quilt books when i embarked upon my quilt journey. in fact most of the books i found in the mid 80's when i started were more design/concept & technical focus on technique. then along came the artists. i was and still am in awe, but i am not an artist. then along comes all the books full of traditionsl patterns rendered in modern fabs w/the artistic flare of professional designers, wiyh patterns included, of course. so we learned to copy instead design as the gutcheons & gwen & joe et al had attemted to encourage us to do in thier early books.
by profession an rn, married to an engineer. two sensible, left brainers that love art - try our hand at art..he in his ornamental blacksmithing, me in my quilts..all original patterns of mine. i have tried to draw the free & flowing florals etc that i so admire and my efforts are stiff & lifeless. this all leads me to an abservation i have made over the years when do further reading on some quilt artist currently being feted/written about etc. many or most have backgrounds in some sort of art training - liberal arts, commercial art or advertising art/layout...if not right out art major. yes, i am reading of late of some newcomers to the art quilt venue that are just natural artists. i am terrible at names, & w/o a list here at the kitchen counter (where i am reading/typing instead of dishes & laundry ) ) i cannot name names, but pick up any issue of mags like qnm in lst few years & the cover or focal quilter will be someone just like me...with a desire to create, but unlike me...he/she has the ability to create profound beauty. so, i too, on occassion wish that along the way as my nursing career careened into my future, that i had taken a few art classes along the way. learned how to bring idea to canvas so to speak, and now when life has so slowed, i could do the lovely flowing jacobean florals & vines that i see in my mind, but can't translate into a work of art in fabric & thread.

DO IT!! go for that secondary degree...in art. i think it sounds wonderfull adventure. and...scholastic setting, learning new things help keep the wrinkley gray brain at bay. and your adventure sounds way more fun & stimulating than brain/thought strengthening websites like luminosity or AARP!

Friday1961

An art, a hobby, a profession, a pastime, a therapy, an interest, an education......

It can be, and sometimes is, all those, and more.

I'm often astonished by how some people feel free to diminish something they do not personally have experience of or know about.....simply because they do not have experience of or know about it.

misseva

I agree - I'd take a course in a NY minit if it was available where I live.