Qu’aint
Convergence
August 14 - November 30, 2020
Featuring Qu'aint
Qu'aint
Qu’aint is a unique collaboration between 8 Oklahoma artists. A painter of quilts unites with contemporary art quilters. Participating artists include Sarah Atlee (OKC), Mara Dearing (OKC), Brenda Esslinger (OKC), Susan Michael (Tulsa), Elizabeth Richards (OKC), Ann Solinski (OKC), Agnes Stadler (OKC), and Jason Wilson (McAlester).
Canvas to Fabric
Visitors to Convergence will enjoy the similarities in form and style resonating from canvas to fabric and back. Pushing the accepted boundaries of functional versus fine art, the artists of Qu’aint strive to motivate one another to transcend definition. This is the third exhibition of an ongoing collaboration.
Sarah Atlee
Sarah Atlee, one of the artists in the Qu-Aint Collaboration, came to quilting after 20 years as a professional painter. “Working with found, reclaimed, and donated fabrics is crucial to my practice. I source materials from what is around me – discarded clothing or other textiles, local thrift store finds, even antique market bargains. My experience using donated fabrics has taught me that even the unlikeliest materials can work together, if you’re willing to be surprised. In this way I can keep fabric out of the landfill while breaking down barriers around traditional expectations of quilting and fine art. By practicing an ancient art born of necessity, I connect with our shared past while reflecting on self-sufficiency in consumer culture.”
Sarah Atlee Website: https://www.sarahatlee.com/
Mara Dearing
Growing up, I often heard the gentle hum of my mom and her friends’ sewing machines going at the kitchen table. At the same time, other ladies hand-stitched in the living room at a giant wooden quilt frame. Altogether, they were putting together quilts for various women in the church and basically keeping the dying tradition of quilting bees alive for my generation. My interest in quilting and handwork was further solidified by reading Amish fiction during my pre-teen years.
For my Fashion Marketing degree, I was required to take a class in Decorative Textiles. It was there I was formally introduced to more processes. After my move to Brooklyn, NY, I delved into quilting and I was reminded of those comforting childhood memories. I was now a creator and not simply an observer.
The dichotomy between modern and traditional is where I find the most interesting dialogue, particularly when an unexpected element is present, whether in color, design, or scale.
Mara Dearing Website: www.facebook.com/mara.dearing
Brenda Esslinger
Brenda Esslinger has lived most of her life in central Oklahoma. Even though she did not grow up around quilters she did grow up in a house full of quilts and has loved them from an early age. At the age of four she begged her mother for needle and thread. She hasn’t stopped stitching since. During her formative years she taught herself many forms of needlework. This insatiable love of stitching is coupled with nearly as strong a love of mathematics, especially geometry. Quilting provided her with a way to marry the loves of stitching and math which led her to begin designing and making quilts while still in high school.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in physics education Brenda spent several years teaching high school math and science. She then spent time working on a master’s degree in meteorology and teaching in a science museum.
Brenda has been professionally quilting and teaching since 2002 when, along with her sister, she opened a quilt shop in Edmond, Oklahoma. The shop closed in 2007 at which time she opened her own long arm quilting business, Toadally Awesome Quilting. She has won numerous awards for her work including four Best of Shows at the Oklahoma State Fair. In 2009 her first book Fabulous Fractures was published. This has been followed up with the 2014 publishing of Fracture Frenzy.
In recent years Brenda has turned her focus to the use of color and value. This is proving to be a never-ending source of inspiration that should keep her busy for years to come.
Brenda Esslinger Website: https://brendaesslinger.com/
Susan Michael
Susan R. Michael, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, creates one of a kind, abstract geometric quilts. She draws inspiration from the color and texture of fabrics. Her compositions evolve from contemplating, and filling in, the spaces between forms. Her work has been exhibited in juried art shows and art quilt exhibitions across the US, most recently, Form Not Function 2019, Fiber Focus 2019 Art St. Louis, and Quilts=Art=Quilts 2019.
Susan Sparks Michael Website: https://www.instagram.com/susansparksmichael/
Elizabeth Richards
Understanding that her passion for handwork and crafts was drawn from her grandmother, today Elizabeth L. Richards uses the skills gained in the creation of her quilts and textile art. Finding pleasure in tactile works, she loves making textiles filled with texture and color. Gratification is found in naturally dyed linen, vintage textiles, and recycled fabrics and her inspiration comes from the beauty of nature. Mesmerized by the bright, bold colors of summer and the subdued, calm colors of fall, her goal is to share the joy found in her creations.
Elizabeth Richards Website: https://elizabethlrichards.com/
Ann Solinski
As an only child, I companioned myself with the creative process, dipping into many arts and crafts. I started quilting in 2010. In recent years, using the digital tools of my graphic arts profession, I design my own fiber works by constructing boundaries then unifying them with color.
A lifelong appreciation of architecture steers me to set solid structure in my forms. My works, usually modern quilts, are often bold and vibrant. As my style develops, I incorporate more techniques and media.
Ann Solinski Website: https://www.instagram.com/annski3/
Jason Wilson
Forty years ago, a young boy watched his Native American grandmother design, assemble and sew his family’s quilts. Today, contemporary Perceptual artist, Jason Wilson, influenced by his grandmother’s quilts, gives new life to old concepts.
To produce Perceptual Art the artist must: conceive; mathematically calculate, pilot; draw and finally paint his design on canvas. Jason says his designs are about building the painting as much as painting the painting…involving hours of construction. To this end, Jason developed his own specific acrylic paint formula to hand paint the canvas. The result is a technically perfect, remarkably flawless finished canvas.
Perceptual Art asks its audience to visually or emotionally interact with the design. Some Perceptual Art appears to shimmer and shift while other designs may, for example, provide a sense of serenity and grace. By bringing his designs to life, Jason Wilson hopes to delight and inspire others.
Jason Wilson Website: https://www.artbyjasonwilson.com/
Agnes Stadler
Agnes Stadler is a modern quilter, long-armer, and educator from Edmond, Oklahoma. Agnes was born in Budapest, Hungary, and raised partly in Havana, Cuba, and Spain. She, along with her husband George and two grown children, have made Edmond, Oklahoma, their home for the past 20 years.
A former government translator and college professor, Agnes’s sewist hobby gradually turned into a second career as she channeled her creative energy into exploring and perfecting techniques in the fabric arts, quilting, fabric dyeing, stamp carving and gourd art.
Her quilted pieces take inspiration from the very core of the traditional American artform of quilting. She finds creative excitement in re-thinking the graphic and textural elements of quilts and aspires to arrive to a more modern aesthetic.
Agnes Stadler Website: https://www.agesstadler.com/
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