What is an art quilt? 

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt: "a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure."

While as a maker of art quilts I acknowledge the debt I owe to my grandmother's and mother's quilts (and have made ones like them), I am an artist first and foremost.

My chosen medium is fabric and thread. I never met a piece of fabric that I didn't like (to paraphrase Will Rogers). In other words, I just love fabric. The textures of fabric are infinite; the colors nearly so. I began sewing doll clothes in early elementary school and my own clothes in fifth grade. The manipulation of fabric with needle and thread opens up thousands of creative possibilities. 

I found my voice through SAQA.

SAQA's vision is that the art quilt is universally respected as a fine art medium.

For me, the key concept is "creative."  A quilt intended to go on a bed could be an art quilt--although most art quilts hang on walls. A wall hanging that mechanistically follows a pattern or kit created by someone else is not an art quilt.

To learn more about art quilts please visit the SAQA website! www.saqa.com