When you do "art" for a living it becomes a constant struggle to keep things fresh and up-to-date. For me, relief comes in the form of quilting, it's a way to get "in touch" with art in a very different way.
Graphic design is fun and interesting. There are so many things you can do and so many directions you can go, all with the help of a keyboard and a pen tablet. But for some people art is about so much more. It's about getting up close and personal with your materials, getting in there and mixing things up in a more immediate "hands on" way.
I started sewing when I was five years old. My mother taught me to embroider by doing those "days of the week" dishtowels you could pick up at the five and dime, (yes, I remember the five and dime...when you could actually purchase something at those prices. Yikes!). I went from that to sewing doll clothes, and my own clothes when I started using a sewing machine at ten. I didn't start patchwork until I was about twelve. Fascinated with combining colors and patterns I took off and haven't looked back since.
At eighteen I won my first Best of Show at the local county fair, and then went off to college determined to become an artist. As it usually does, life intervened and it wasn't until my son was born in 1998 that I started quilting in earnest again. He was a great napper, so I had the time to put together an entry to the 1999 Embellishment show in Portland, Oregon. I was thrilled when my piece was juried in, but even more thrilled when I arrived and found it had won Best of Show!
Since then I've been in a Quilting Arts Magazine Calendar, had my work used in advertisements, won another First Place, a Judge's Choice, and a first and second place in Robert Kaufman's Quilt Quest.
My work has progressed from traditional scrap quilting, to abstract, heavily embellished work that makes it necessary for me to push the limits of my abilities. I wouldn't have it any other way.
What amuses me the most is when people say to me, "You must have so much patience." When frankly, it's the complete opposite. If I didn't keep adding stuff and mixing up patterns and colors I'd go crazy from boredom. It's what keeps me going, not only in my quilting work, but also as a graphic designer. What more can I do? Where else can I go? If this is boring me...it's time to move on to something new!
Susan Gannon O'Connell
For more insight into the quilting side of things, check out my blog.
