Free Spirit Art Studio: My Creative Journey as an Art Quilter

Sunday, August 4, 2013

My Creative Journey as an Art Quilter

Hello, welcome to the next stop on the "How I Got Started Blog Tour" hosted by Cheryl Sleboda. I am Barb Forrister and I am an Art Quilter. My roots stem from very traditional quilting. My first quilt which I do not have a photograph of was a rail fence. This is my second quilt. It does not have a name because at the time, I did not know that you had to name quilts. I got my start from a friend who would bring her quilts

Esmerelda

for me to see from time to time. I soon found myself falling in love with the texture. I asked her if she would show me how to quilt but she declined saying that I should learn "the right way." And so, I took a class at the local shop where I was then living in Phoenix. I made three quilts in that class and fell in love with the age old art. Afterwards, I found myself totally hooked on quilting and texture! I made so many quilts for so many members of my family. Later, when I moved to Colorado, I began learning applique and made the switch from pieced quilts to appliqued quilts. Soon after, I realized that I could make my own designs and patterns. That is when I came up with my first original art quilt, Esmerelda. What a revelation!

Little Boy Blue

I lived in Colorado for two very short years before we moved to Austin. Upon arriving, I heard of the illustrious International Quilt Festival and now I was actually in range of making that trip! How fun! The first year I was here, I went to the IQA show not knowing what to expect. Boy, was I in for a surprise! I saw things way beyond my expectations and was so elated and ecstatic of what was being done in the field. I vowed then to one day have my work in that show and so I purchased some art supplies and came home to create Moroccan Play, different for me but still, so fun!

Morrocan Play

From there, I experienced a huge growth spurt and soon began to find my way, making nature inspired art quilts. My very first real intentional art quilt was Little Boy Blue. This piece was created in 2007 out of commercial and hand dyed fabrics, tyvek, dyed cheesecloth and fibers; inked and painted, heat distressed, machine appliquéd and quilted. Yep, by this time, I was totally inspired by learning to hand dye and heat distress fabrics, So cool!!!! And so, was falling in love with texture all over again! Seven years later, I found myself returning to teaching, creating art, sharing my work in various venues, museums and galleries, judging art/quilt shows and having a wonderful time. I absolutely love the art of quilting and wouldn't change a minute of it! Today, I work primarily in both abstract and nature inspired themes, primarily focusing on texture and 3 dimensional aspects. I am currently writing an article for Quilting Arts magazine regarding my 3 Dimensional flowers. Stay tuned for the December?January 2013 issue where I will be sharing some insight as to how I make my 3D flowers. For now, I am currently working on a teaser.