Art Quilt Meets Acrylic

Matte medium and acrylic paint on a vintage textile and book page art quilt.

Hello Fellow Artists and Art Lovers,

As you may know, I am formerly a science teacher. Twenty-five years in the classroom to be exact. When I tell people that, they look at me and say, “Oh, I would have thought you taught something creative, like art.” Hmmm. I’m not sure where people get the idea that science isn’t creative. After all, we do a lot of experiments. We start with a question or a problem and then set out to solve it. Which often in science leads us to another question. To me this sounds like perfect training to become an artist. Curiosity and uncertainty.

We have a question. What if - I mix these two paints, dye these different fabrics, scrape away paint or use this new technique? The possibilities are endless. Which always leads the artist, (and a scientist), to a new question. Ok, I mixed these two colors - what if I add white? black? paint over what I did and scrape into it? The what ifs are unlimited. Which is the perfect playground for the curious mind.

So, in my recent series of black and white art quilts, I have asked myself a bunch of what ifs. And today I am sharing with you a new way that I have devised for mounting and displaying an art quilt.

I asked what if I add red? What if I cover the piece with acrylic matte medium? What if I don’t want to put it under glass and in a big frame? How else could I showcase a piece? What if the edges are uneven? and so on.

I’m still working on the series and the ideas are coming to me only because I am making observations and asking the questions. Until recently, my studio has been divided into fiber on one half and paper and paint on the other half. It was inevitable that I would eventually combine the two. So for now, the paint and acrylic mediums are joining the art quilts. I imagine that further down the road, stitch will meet up with paper.

Here’s some photos of the series and how I am playing with the process. I hope you find something inspiring here. I encourage you to ask your own questions. One small idea that meets with another small idea can actually be a pretty big idea. I rarely get big ideas - but stringing together a bunch of small ones has been serving me pretty well so far.

I applied some cold wax medium to the sides of some 6” X 6” cradle panels and let it dry for about 30 minutes. Then I buffed it to a nice satiny finish. No one will notice this but, I like to have the work finished as nicely as I can.

I went to the local box hardware store and bought some stainless steel nails with thin shanks. Then I gathered my tools for the job.

I carefully placed my 6” X 6” art quilts on the cradle panels and tapped a nail in each corner, starting with diagonally opposite corners. I see the little frayed piece - I’ll have to trim that away.

I also added a nail at the midpoint of each side. If this were larger (and I have a larger one planned), I’d put them at whatever regular intervals make sense and securely hold the piece in place.

I had a couple of frames in the studio so I auditioned each piece in the frames. These are for 1 1/2” deep panels so these are recessed and I will need to use blocks on the back to raise them a bit.

I think I prefer the natural wood frame. Lightens the look and still feels contemporary. I’d love to hear your vote. Black or Natural? Feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks for checking out the blog. Feel free to leave a question or comment. Then go make something - start with “What two things can I put together?” That’s the big idea.