I’ll be honest and say upfront that I don’t consider myself an artist … maybe one who crafts or a creative person?! We went to dinner the other night and struck up a conversation with a guy at the bar … Keith asked what he did at one point and he told us he was an artist and Keith said he’d never met an artist before. On the walk home, I asked him didn’t he consider me an artist?! I know it’s not the same thing and I don’t call myself an artist but I’m glad I have time to pursue creative things! I really wasn’t giving him a hard time either … I know he appreciates what I spend my time doing.
Funny thing is that as we continued to talk at the bar, we discovered that we are both patients at Moffitt – fellow creative spirits and cancer patients.
Mary, you ARE an artist. You create with fabric, just as another artist creates with paint or metal or beads. It doesn’t matter what medium is used, artists want to create something beautiful. One look at your quilts and the observer knows that the creator of them is a person who loves what she is doing and is adding beauty to the world around her-an artist!
I am sure many people think of artists only with a paint brush in their hand, so don’t be too hard on Keith!😊
In my opinion you are an artist and a good one. There are many levels of artistry and by definition art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. You have fantastic creative skills and your imagination is inspiring. I am an artist, just not nearly as skillful as you or inspired so that I can inspire.
Good question. I don’t consider myself an artist because I follow patterns that someone designed. I may alter the pattern, but I still didn’t design it.
I don’t consider myself an artist either although many people say I am. I never follow a pattern exactly because I either add or subtract and I use my fabrics instead of what they suggest. I am creative though, just like you. And it makes me happy.
I’m not sure that the word artist is the correct word to describe the variety of creative makers of the world because the word artist has long applied to those who paint. Artists, as painters, paint a picture of the things we make, document people, places, things and emotions. We put a lot of emotion into our quilts, and, look at all of the pictures “painted” using fabric instead of paint! Either way, we both make wonderful works of art. We are all artists who make.
I think of myself as an Everyday Artist. I think you are, too.
I believe that quilting is a form of art. Anne Loveless from Michigan won first place in the Grand Rapids Art Prize competition in 2013 and 2015 with her landscape quilts. At the time there was some controversy as some critics did not accept quilting as art. I saw both of her quilts and they were deserving of first place.
I think quilters need to think of themselves as artists because you create something beautiful. I have a couple of friends and one relative who have made their living as artists, and they all see quilting as just another medium.
My cousin is an artist and when we were children I spent hours with him trying to learn to draw. Hopeless! But then I discovered quilting and when Paul saw of my first quilts he told me that I WAS an artist after all. However I still think of myself as a quilter.
I do NOT consider myself an artist. I occasionally make art quilts. I am a quilt maker and crafter of quilted items. To me, ART is a whole different ball game!! I use elements of art when making my quilts, but to call myself an artist? No, not me.
After thinking about this a little more, you are an artist using the medium of fabric. You use light, shadow and color to express mood and create interest. You use line to accentuate your point of interest. You quilt to create depth and texture to express mood and points of interest. Your ability to choose each of these to make something that is appreciated by many is what make you a good artist. Just look at the very many quick strippies you have made. Each is very different and has a unique beauty. Are they fine art -NO! Are they art – definitely. They create a diverse study of your simplest works. For each you have chosen a subject, combined color and texture and the most basic lines to create a work that you were inspired to express.
Well, I ran off to the Google Machine to see how the dictionary describes an artist. There were about 5 noun descriptions. This one fits you: a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill. So there. Question answered. So then I thought about the last line of the post. It would be so great if we could find one thing in common with each person we ever meet I personally think the world would be a friendlier place. Differences seem to be what everyone is dwelling on right now.
xx, Carol
I think we quilters are textile artists! Fine art, traditional definition of art, maybe not; but art, yes! I know some of my best quilts feel like a lovely little piece of textile art to me.
I am definitely NOT an artist!!! I don’t have any creativity at all in me! Really! I am an excellent crafter in that I like to do and can do detailed work but I run up against a wall with planning. Give me a pattern, tools and time and something nice will probably get made. Ask me to design something on my own and I have no ideas at all!