Festival of Quilts 2018: Competition Quilts

Karen Callaghan (Winner FAQM) 

It was very interesting  looking at the  competition  quilts  this year , especially Fine Art Quilt Masters , as I didn't have  anything in myself and so could be rather more objective! 

 Each member  of  the local contemporary quilt group I belong to( ' Edgy Stitchers')   posted on our Facebook page  what we thought might win FAQM  this year  based on the photos submitted.  I  said that I liked Caroline Ramsey's best  but  thought it would be Linzi Upton's  piece as it was innovative  involving  a projection . When seeing the quilts 'in the flesh'  several were much better than the photos , others disappointing.   I had a long discussion with the winner Karen Callaghan   who  had a display  of samples and pieces produced for  her course   in the City and Guild Graduate showcase. A very worthy winner, I'm delighted for her ( and her tutor Barbara Weeks who encouraged her to enter)    

Caroline Ramsey 

 Although   I  loved some of the details  on Caroline's  entry, a lot of the  area  was not stitched ( one of the problems with scaling up ), the work on her website however is spectacular.

Linzi Upton 

 The projection  on Linzi's   piece was not working ( one of the hazards  of  doing something more innovative ) and I was a bit shocked to  read in her blog  that her entry was meant to be ironic!  

Ruth Singer 

I liked Ruth's  work much more in  reality than  in the photos ( mainly because I've got a bit of  a thing at the moment about  the seams remaining in old disintegrating quilts  ) The shadows it cast were intriguing too.  I went to a talk of her work on criminal quilts at FoQ   last year so it was great to see her gallery of thought provoking work  on show.  

Olga Gonzalez-Angula

 The work that had gone into  Olga's piece was mind boggling - all those different sized dots placed individually, no wonder it was worked in 'tiles'.  It had already  won major prizes.

Ann Barbara Smith 

  From the photos, Ann' s  entry  looked like a  relatively simple piece of art cloth but on closer inspection there  was a lot of hand stitch and  layering of marks. Much more interesting  than I'd imagined.

Susan Hotchkis

The work of Sue Hotchkis  always pays closer inspection- the  details, the textures, the  folds !  Photos never do them justice, it was a lovely piece.

Louise Jessup

 This depiction of Venice by fellow Oast Quilter , Louise Jessup,  was another quilt which looked so much better in the flesh than in the photos. It helped that it was  displayed on the  well -lit outer wall of the gallery  which showed off the exquisite  patterns  quilted in gold thread. It was one of those rare quilts which  draw you in from a distance then reward  you with intricate details.  Much as Ian  appreciates my artwork,  this  was his favourite, he'd have liked  to take it home and we both agree that we really must visit Venice! 

Laima Whitty (Winner 'Contemporary) 

Jean Mclean (Winner 'Art') 

It seems  that among the competition quilts, the formula for a  winning  quilt is that it be intricately machine  quilted to death with tiny stitches  and/or be photo realistic .   These  show stoppers of perfection personally leave me cold, I like rawness , meaning and  big stitches! 

 My ' Best in Show' would have been  powerful piece ' Global Harming' by Susan Sami which won  the Novice section with  layers of print and stitch representing ' an unwanted sea of faces  behind fences'   

Susan Sami ( winner 'Novice') 

  These are some of my favourites  from the Competition quilts ( apologies for  some of the photos -  first time I was using my phone rather than camera and the lighting was very poor) 

Gail Parker 

Yvonne Kervinen 

Suzette Smart 

Ana Buzzalino 

Marion Hall

Lesley Brankin

Jane Nairn

Nicola  Perren 

Antonia Stanford

After hearing Linda Sewards excellent talk on Contemporary  and Modern Art quilters ( including what makes a 'modern'  quilt) , Ian and I had a fun half hour going round  the modern quilt section deciding  which showed these characteristics and which should have been in the Contemporary ( or even  Traditional )sections. These below are my ' Modern' favourites 

Sarah Hibbert

Hanna Farquharson (3rd Modern)

G094 (not in the catalogue )