On this webpage you will find an overview of all guest collections that will be on display during the Open European Quilt Championships 2015.
Belgium | Annelies Ghyselen |
France | Chantal Guillermet |
United Kingdom | Gail Lawther |
Belgium & Sweden | Jette Clover & Katriina Flensburg |
Israel | Noga Shraibman-Cohen |
Israel | Niza Hoffman |
Israel | QuilTrio |
The Netherlands | Museum De Kantfabriek |
The Netherlands | Dineke Ugen |
The United Kingdom | International Threads |
The United Kingdom | Stitched |
International group | Fifteen by Fifteen |
The Netherlands | Biezenmortel masterclass |
Belgium | Blanche Vandebroek |
Switzerland | Jacques Légeret |
The United States | SAQA |
The Netherlands | Hannie Hennink-Legters |
Egypt | Tentmakers of Old Cairo |
The Netherlands | Elly Prins |
Germany | Patchwork Gilde Deutschland e.V. |
Annelies Ghyselen
Experimenting with techniques and materials opens a door to more creativity. Exploring a diversity of materials that can be transformed in combination with surface design, keeps making quilts always fascinating.
The daily life and the world around me, are a source of inspiration just as nature, music and things that catch my eye are. The gathered impressions are reproduced in a figurative language. I prefer to work on a project with a fixed theme. Each quilt I make has to challenge me. I combine hand- and machine stitchery in the same quilt.
I make contemporary work but with respect for the tradition. I like to share my experience and techniques because it feels good and it is also enriching. I’m a participant and winner of international quilt competitions and exhibitions such as the Open European Quilt Championships and the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.
Dare to experiment, try to exceed your limits. This is very important to me and a message I would like to convey to every quilter.
Chantal Guillermet
I love to use hand printing and new techniques to modify the surface of the fabric I use. Most of the time I dye my own fabrics. My quilts are inspired by nature, landscapes, and photos taken while traveling. I’m also inspired by historical facts.
When I’m not making quilts or preparing an exhibition I teach. I like these opportunities to meet people and share my knowledge. I also belong to two online groups Fifteen by Fifteen and Stitched-Textile-Art
Gail Lawther
Gail Lawther exhibits two of her beautiful collections during the Open European Quilt Championships 2015. One collection is inspired by Britain and one is inspired by New Zealand.
GLIMPSES OF BRITAIN
What does Britain mean to us, its people? What do people abroad think of when they picture the British Isles? When visitors come to our shores, what do they most want to see? The answers to those questions are the inspiration behind this series of quilts! In Britain we have so many layers of history, plus the specific characters of the individual countries, countless different cultural influences and so on. I knew that each of my quilts would have to combine several layers of meaning and inspiration.
So, I began thinking and designing. I ended up with 24 quilts, which I called Glimpses of Britain. Whether you live in or come from England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, whether you have visited the islands, or whether you would just like a glimpse into British life, we hope that you will enjoy this celebration of our beautiful and complex land.
GLIMPSES OF NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is a land of spectacular natural beauty: mountains and glaciers, seascapes and waterfalls, tropical flowers and native bush. It is home to all kinds of extraordinary birds and plants: pukekos, pohutukawas, tuis and kawakawa bushes – not to mention the elusive kiwi. All these influences are the inspirations behind this series of quilts. Each one is a peek into some aspect of New Zealand life, culture, history, landscape, fauna or flora.
Jette Clover & Katriina Flensburg
During the Open European Quilt Championships 2015 a mutual guest collection of Jette Clover from Belgium and Katriina Flensburg from Sweden will be on display.
The exhibition is called “Eye-Talk”. The title refers to a visual exchange – this is not necessarily expressed in words – of subjects, matters and inspiration between the two artists.
Noga Shraibman-Cohen
I was born to a farmer’s family in Kefar Saba in Israel. I am married to Reuven and a mother of two: Amitay and Na’ama. I was an educator for 35 years. For 20 years I was an elementary school head master. I’m engaged in quilting for the past nine years.
My quilts range from traditional quilts to art-quilts. They were displayed in exhibitions both in Israel and around the world. My artistic quilts are based on personal photographs and diverse sewing techniques, both by machine and by hand. I live and create in Jerusalem. I am a member of the leading committee of the Israeli quilt association.
Niza Hoffman
Niza Hoffman, Israeli born in 1948, is the sixth child in a family of seven children. She resides in Ramat-Hasharon Israel. Niza was an educator and a geography teacher in junior high school. She retired 25 years ago. After her retirement she studied quilting and hand and machine embroidery, in Israel, the U.S.A and Europe. Niza teaches quilting since 1994. She teaches groups and individuals in her own studio. For fifteen years, she voluntarily taught retired teachers from the first step and very basic techniques of patchwork to designing and art quilt.
Niza is a member of the Israeli Quilt Association. She teaches workshops in the Israeli Quilt Association. She served as a voluntary chairwoman in 1998-2000, and as a treasurer in 2004 – 2008. Niza is also a member of the International Quilt Association.
Niza’s quilts are exhibited in the most important quilt shows in Israel, Europe and America. Her inspiration for her creations comes from all that surrounds. The sun and light in her homeland Israel, nature and landscapes and her personal life. She dyes the fabrics herself. However she also uses commercial fabrics. Especially those she buys in exotics places where she travels.
QuilTrio
We’re three close friends – Liat Engler, Orit Modiano and Leeanne Shilo – who share a strong love for quilting. We’ve known each other and have been creating together for years. QuilTrio is defined by our coordinated efforts in producing joint works of art, whether projects of one subject to which each one gives her own interpretation, or projects in which a single picture is cut into separate pieces, translated by each artist, and then remerged into a divided-but-single whole.
In the past, Leeanne produced traditional quilts pieced with hundreds or thousands of tiny pieces. Today she focuses on modern quilts, often integrating additional materials in her work. Liat creates modern art quilts of many types. She enjoys learning one thing and quickly changing it, translating, calculating and transforming it while creating her own language. Orit focused on traditional quilts in the past, but today she prefers creating art quilts, enjoying the translation of images from another medium to fabric while returning frequently to a favourite technique – paper foundation piecing.
Our work has been shown in various exhibitions in Israel as well as in Europe and the United States, in some cases winning prizes. Our two solo exhibitions were praised by visitors and reviewers describing the coherence they see and experience in our work. We’ve started a tradition of publishing a calendar each year, presenting a collection of quilts produced during the previous year.
A dear friend recently described us by quoting Ecclesiastes 4:12, “the threefold cord is not quickly broken”. We each hope to grow, develop and spread our wings in the world of quilting. As we do this, separately and together, our common studio serves as a retreat from the pressures and routine of the world around us; the studio – and the friendship it cradles – is our safe haven.
Museum De Kantfabriek
The lace fabric in the south of the Netherlands, called “De Kantfabriek” existed since 1928 and was one of the most important industries in Horst for decades. In its heyday, the factory provided work to more than eighty people in making high-quality cotton and linen lace bobbins for the fashion industry. The factory is a national monument because of the rare and original character of the building, the relationship with the authentic and valuable lace machines in a rare branch of the old industry. The property is rented by the Foundation Museum De Kantfabriek whose aim is to collect, preserve, study and exhibit objects in the interest of the history of the municipality of Horst aan de Maas and the region, as well as the textile history in general. Museum De Kantfabriek organizes exhibitions, lectures, educational programs and provides historical textile products. During OEQC 2015, a special textile collection of Museum De Kantfabriek is exhibited.
Dineke Ugen
Between 1965 and 1969 I studied fabric decoration and art needlework. During the 1980’s I became acquainted with the American patchwork techniques. Since then I have immersed myself in the process and history of patchwork and quilting. About 25 years ago I started teaching patchwork and quilting. In recent times, my traditional patchwork developed into contemporary (art) quilts. The experiments in this area are still surprising me. The combination of “old and new” fascinates me, but I remain faithful to the “three layers” that make up a quilt.
In 1998 I started with “Duikvlucht” groups in Groningen and Leidschendam, later in Santpoort and Bunschoten. I encourage the quilters in these groups to follow their own path and I constantly encourage them to raise the bar. My work has been exhibited several times in the Netherlands and abroad. Several quilts have been published in renowned quilt books. I also won several prizes with quilts. In 2003, I was invited to teach quilt classes in Oman. In 2010 and 2011 I did the same in Bangalore in India.
International Threads
International Threads is a group of eight artists from Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States. We have agreed to use member’s suggestions as common inspiration for our work three times a year. The Open European Quilt Championships in Maastricht will be our second international exhibition.
Every three months a different member of the group sets the challenge for the next few months. Our challenges have been so varied that it has really pushed us to try new approaches and new styles of working. An example of a challenge is: have part of your quilt in large scale and small scale, 90% grey 10% of additional colours. More challenging examples will be posted at the exhibition. Click here to visit the website for more information.
Stitched
Stitched is an international group of fiber artists. Our aim is to create a body of work for exhibition purposes. In 2014 and 2015 we have made four pieces each of 30 x 60 centimetres. Our members come from the United Kingdom, Israel, France, the United States, The Netherlands and Belgium.
Our members all chose their own theme to work on for 2014 and 2015. In 2014 some of us chose inspiration from our holidays and travels whilst others chose circles or lines. For 2015 we continued with the theme or chose new ones. We have all enjoyed working in a series.
Click here to visit the website for more information.
Fifteen by Fifteen
“Fifteen by Fifteen” is a group of like-minded textile artists coming from various countries throughout the world. We share a passion for textile art and we come together bi-monthly via the internet to participate in an art quilt challenge based on a theme and colour play. The quilts are published on our website into an artist gallery. Our artistic styles vary, but we share a love for art quilting, the desire to learn and experiment, and most importantly to share and grow. Our quilts are all 15 x 15 inches. To learn more about us click here to go to our website.
Artists
Gaye Alger | Oman |
Margaret Blank | Canada |
Joan Brailsford | United Kingdom |
Chantal Guillermet | France |
Helen Hazon | United Kingdom |
Caroline Higgs | France |
Susan Hill | United States |
Margaret Horton | United Kingdom |
Lin Hsin-Chen | Taiwan |
Kaylene Maalste | Australia |
Paulette Meldrum | New Zealand |
Els Mommers | Dutch Carribean |
Susan Slesinger | United States |
Diana Vincent | Australia |
Greetje Hein | The Netherlands |
Biezenmortel masterclass
The five-day Biezenmortel masterclass will be organized for the third time in September 2015. This masters class is only open to graduates of the course Quilten Speciaal or DIY Textile School. The masterclass starts with internet lessons in January 2015. During the period from January to September students will make several works dealing with the theme “Windows”. During the gathering in Biezenmortel, these works will be critically discussed, completed and selected by the students themselves for the exhibition at the Open European Quilt Championships in MECC Maastricht.
Jette Clover will be the lecturer of this masterclass next to a mystery guest. The masterclass is organized by Flox den Hartog Jager.
Blanche Vandebroek
In my youth I attended an education in beauty care in Diest, Belgium. Fortunately, the education also contained subjects that required creative skills. This was a way to express myself and I really enjoyed this. The foundation for creative expression was laid here. Later I studied decorative arts at the academy in Ghent and I completed an introductory course in clothing design.
I only discovered quilting when I was 42 years old. My youngest child was four years old and I wanted to make her a quilt. From that moment on quilting has enthralled me. Quilting became a real passion, with log cabin as my specialization. In addition to quilting I am engaged in cross stitch embroidery, crochet and knitting. Unfortunately, I lack the time to practice these activities as much as I would like.
Jacques Légeret
A Swiss journalist, Jacques Légeret was “adopted” by an Old Order Amish family in 1986, together with his wife and son David. His son, who is heavily handicapped is considered by the Amish as a “God’s special child”, this is why the family has always being welcomed in amish farms; David has always remained at home and the Amish do the same with handicapped people and the elderly.
Jacques has lived, in the course of several trips, around 24 months in Amish families of Pennsylvania and Indiana. As a result, he has often had access to the hope chests in which the women store their marriage quilts, therefore his collection is fully documented. His collection of amish and Mennonite quilts is at the origin of the creation of the Carrefour Européen du Patchwork, at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, Alsace. He is the author of three books on the Amish, in French and one in Italian.
SAQA
Two works each by twenty artists equals forty art quilts to explore and a multitude of potential pairings to consider. Two by Twenty is two exhibits in one. The first is a pairing of two art quilts by the same artist. Some are variations on a theme. With the same technique and subject matter, the artists explore subtle variations in line, colour or texture to fully understand the material. Some pairs have a narrative element between them. The time of day has changed, or the viewpoint has shifted. These little differences invite the viewer to engage with the work in a kind of “first — then,” or “spot the differences” game. The second exhibit is the variety overall amongst all the artists. The pieces as a whole demonstrate the wide range of approaches in the quilt art genre. From bold and graphic to subtle explorations of texture and nuance, there is plenty to explore in this collection.
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications. Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now has over 3,400 members worldwide: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators and corporate sponsors. Since its establishment, the organization has grown alongside the evolution of the quilt as an art form. Today, SAQA defines an art quilt as a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.
Hannie Hennink-Legters
Since elementary school I have been caught up with scraps. First, I worked on the treadle sewing-machine of my mother. Later when I married my husband Henri, I got an electric sewing machine as a wedding gift. In 1984 when I brought our oldest son to school for the first time, I saw a lady with a bag made of strips of fabric. It turned out to be a Log Cabin.
I was sold, and shortly after that I started to take patchwork classes. My love for patchwork never passed. I attended workshops of Dutch and foreign teachers. In 1993 I opened my shop “Marin Patchwork”. Soon I started giving classes in the Netherlands and Germany, and I still do. I organize exhibitions already for years with more than 200 pieces on display from students, friends and customers. I also design a block of the month every year. It is always a block made of fabrics. However, some years I have an extra block of the month of felt.
The Tentmakers of old Cairo
The work, which is done entirely by men, is called tentmaking because the brilliant applique you see around you is traditionally stitched onto canvas as the lining of tents and used to line tents creating a wonderful vision inside the tent. On the outside a visitor would see white canvas. Step inside a large tent and the walls are bright, dazzling and impressive.
The tentmakers’ art is dying. Cheap prints now copy the hand-stitched, needle-turned applique and are so much cheaper that they are replacing the tentmakers’ traditional work at all celebrations in Egypt resulting in a massive decline in the number of skilled artists for this beautiful work.
Elly Prins
Patchwork Gilde Deutschland e.V.