Nancy Cook

Nancy Cook

NC28270-001

audio

Nancy Cook

Karen Musgrave

Karen Alexander, in honor of Barbara Gonce

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<title>Touchstone Quilt: "Sourwood Festoons"</title>
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<partial_transcript>This is Karen Musgrave and I'm doing a Quilters' S.O.S: Save Our Stories interview with Nancy Cook. Nancy is in Charlotte, North Carolina and I'm in Naperville, Illinois, so we are doing this interview by telephone Today's date is April 21st, 2008, and it is 6:05 in the evening. And Nancy, thank you for doing this interview with me. And tell me about the quilt that you selected for this interview, which is "Sourwood Festoons." </partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Cook has always loved trees and, as of the time of the interview, has done a number of quilts based on trees whose main habitat is the southeast Her touchstone quilt is based on the sourwood tree, which turns maroon in the fall, but has contrasting "long, finger-like, um, seed fronds" in a "beige gold" color. The idea for this quilt arose from a photograph containing a sourwood tree that she came across while taking a quilting class. Cook was able to quickly find hand-dyed fabric the same color as sourwood trees in fall. She describes the process of making the quilt including research, phototransfer, drawing, design, and free-motion quilting in some detail. She feels that, unlike many pieces created by artists, this quilt "really captured what [she] was trying to say, and, and, and the feeling, and the tone that [she] had about, about the tree and the experience." At the time Cook made "Sourwood Festoons," she had been making many quilts depicting fall. Retrospectively, she reached the conclusion that she was using this imagery because she "really came to [her] artwork in what can be considered the autumn of [her] life" and that she was very concerned about how much time she had left as a productive artist. After coming to that realization, she concentrated on trees and their seeds. Cook discusses at moderate length quilts she made depicting, respectively,, mimosa and beech trees. "Sourwood Festoons" is 34'" x 21". While Cook's quilts are a number of different sizes, this one is within her usual range. She hopes that the quilt, which at the time of the interview is on display in a gallery, will sell, but if it does not do so, will take it home and display it each fall.</synopsis>
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<keywords>Nature; Trees; Techniques; Quilt Surface Design Symposium (Columbus, OH); Cherilyn Martin; Judy Robertson</keywords>
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<time>707</time>
<title>Interest in quiltmaking</title>
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<partial_transcript>Tell me about your interest in, in quiltmaking.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Cook's mother worked as a seamstress, but lacked "the patience to teach [Cook] how to sew." Later Cook took home ec, but she feels that making curtains for a home she bought some years later was what really taught her how to sew. Nevertheless she did no more sewing for quite some time after that. Even though Cook's matrilineal grandmother and great-grandmother had quilted, Cook's mother thought "cutting up fabric and sewing it back together again was absolutely ludicrous." Cook did, however, learn an appreciation of fabric from her mother, who made all of Cook's clothes. The two of them would find fabric they loved and then spend considerable time figuring out what Cook's mother would use it for. Cook continued to look at fabric in stores, even when she was not actually making anything with it. When browsing in a quilt store, Cook came across a quilt pattern that she really loved. She got the pattern which, she realized later, was quite advanced for a rank beginner. A quilting friend who lived in another state was able to advise her over the phone. After Cook finished the quilt, she went on to do more quilting projects. She joined a quilt guild, largely for social reasons. She realized that she really enjoyed quilting. For her, needlework projects of various types, where she could see the impact of doing, say, eight hours work, was a "counter-balance" to her job and her volunteer work, where results were less obvious and immediate. Cook started quiltmaking full-time when she retired, six years prior to the interview. </synopsis>
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<keywords>Sewing; Grandmothers; Learning quiltmaking</keywords>
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<title>Whose work is drawn to</title>
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<partial_transcript>So, whose works are your drawn to and why?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Cook remembers being particularly impressed by an exhibit of African-American quilts in a museum because they were so different from her family block quilts.. She describes them as "pictorial quilts, by and large, and there was such freedom and color and life to them that it just tremendously excited me." Later, but quite some time before Cook started quilting herself, she went with her quilting friend and several of the friend's friends to the American Quilter's Society Quilt Week (Paducah). While there she visited a museum. [In the interview, the name is given as the "Museum of American Quilts," but Cook probably means the National Quilt Museum (Paducah, KY).] Cook saw Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry's work there for the first time and was very impressed "with the color, the movement, the design, the ability to catch, capture such a magnificent concept and idea..." Cook has continued to be enchanted by Fallert-Gentry's work. Other influences on Cook are Ruth McDowell, from whom Cook learned the method of piecing she uses most often; Patty Hawkins, who uses the same type of "motifs and concepts" as Cook "and has such an ability to extract, um, the essence..."; Judith Content who combines a number of different techniques to depict "scenes on, on the water"; and her quilting friend who helped her long distance with her initial quilt. That friend is pleased she continued quilting and they have kept in touch over the years.</synopsis>
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<keywords>African American quilts; American Quilter's Society Quilt Week (Paducah, KY); National Quilt Museum (Paducah, KY); Caryl Bryer Fallert; Ruth McDowell; Patty Hawkins; Judith Content; Pictorial quilts</keywords>
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<time>1462</time>
<title>Artist or quiltmaker? / Challenges confronting quiltmakers</title>
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<partial_transcript>Do you think of yourself more as an artist or a quiltmaker or do you even make the distinction?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>When asked if she considers herself an artist or a quiltmaker, Cook says, "I'm not sure that I make a huge distinction there..." That said, if forced to choose, she would most likely describe herself as an artist, while acknowledging that she has a particular preference for working with fiber. Cook thinks there are several challenges confronting today's quiltmakers. For traditional artists, it is finding a place to get fabric. Some people shop on-line, but others want to be able to touch cloth before they buy it. Some people live where they can buy cloth easily, but others do not. The biggest issue for art quilters is that quilts are often not acknowledged as art. Cook thinks this is because quilting is seen "as one of the, lesser crafts," probably both because it is usually done by women and because crafts as a whole are not taken seriously as art. Another challenge, is selling quilts, something Cook thinks is made more difficult by the economic conditions at the time.. </synopsis>
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<subjects>Arts and crafts</subjects>
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<title>Studio</title>
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<partial_transcript>Describe your studio</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Cook describes her studio in great detail. She used first a smaller bedroom and then a larger one as studio space, before her husband agreed to swap his office space with her. Her current combined studio and office space is the second-largest room in the house and is on its bottom level. She has bookcases the full length of one of the shorter walls, where she stores things like quilt books and supplies. As well, she has a cutting/pressing table and a sewing table, both of which her husband made for her. Cook stores fabric and interfacings in bins underneath the sewing table. Her large design wall was also made by her husband, The room contains, in addition, office equipment, including Cook's desk, file cabinets, and computer. The studio has a good-sized closet, which is where the fabric Cook works with most is stored. She has a additional design wall, which she says mostly functions as an "inspiration wall." During a four month residency at the McColl Center, Cook realized that she can evaluate what a good-sized project looks like best from a distance of about eighteen feet, and her studio is large enough to allow her to do this. It also has very good lighting.</synopsis>
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<keywords>Work or Studio space; McColl Center (Charlotte, NC)</keywords>
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<time>2084</time>
<title>How many hours a week quilts / Using quilting to get through difficult times</title>
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<partial_transcript>How many hours a week do you quilt?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>When asked how many hours a week she quilts, Cook says, "Not enough." She explains that over the last year and a half, her mother-in-law suffered a lot of health problems and eventually died. In the aftermath of her mother-in-law's death, Cook has been "working with cleaning up her place." Between that task and low energy levels she associates with mourning, Cook has not been able to spend much time quilting. At the time of the interview, she spends between ten or twelve hours a week quilting. Under ideal conditions, "it's closer to thirty, thirty-five." The number of hours she spends a week is, however, currently climbing. Cook says that quilting has helped her through difficult times and cites as an example the beginning of the Iraq War, when she felt compelled to work on something when she watched television. During her mother-in-law's illnesses, however, since Cook spent a lot of time in hospital rooms, she was more focused on embroidery, which she could bring with her..</synopsis>
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<time>2223</time>
<title>What makes a quilt artistically powerful / Aspects of making a quilt that does not enjoy</title>
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<partial_transcript>What makes a quilt artistically powerful?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Cook thinks that a quilt is artistically powerful "when the artist understands, what he or she is trying to say, and has the ability to use art elements to convey that in a way that comes across to the viewers." Cook thinks that art consists of a three-way communication process. The first stage involve "communication, uh, between the artist and something inside the artist..." The examples she gives are emotions. The second stage is communication "inside the artist to the artwork, with the artwork" and the third "the artwork to the viewer." For Cook, line and color are important, but she points out that some of the artists she knows are trying to avoid the use of color. Aspects of quiltmaking that Cook does not enjoy include binding, "piecing a curve," cleaning the sewing machine, and the paperwork necessary for someone working professionally as a quilter. </synopsis>
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<keywords>Libby Lehman</keywords>
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<time>2531</time>
<title>Art or quilt groups belongs to / Taking classes / Anything else would like to say</title>
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<partial_transcript>Do you belong to any art or quilt groups?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Cook is a member of several quilt groups and craft groups, including a quilt guild in her area, Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), the International Quilt Association, and the American Crafts Association [which might possibly be a reference to the American Craft Council]. At the time of the interview, she is planning to become a member of, at a minimum, one art group in her locality or region. Cook says that she is increasingly identifying as an artist and wants to work for quilting to be acknowledged as a medium in which art can be created. She says, "I think the way to do that is to be out there with other artists. To be i-, associated with other artists." Taking classes continues to be important to Cook. She describes it as a way of nourishing "the artist within me." She feels that she can learn from "Anybody who has done things really well who I admire." She really likes being able to concentrate on a particular element of either art or quilting for the duration of a class. She prefers longer classes (at least three days) to one-day classes. At one point, Cook's focus in taking classes was to learn as rapidly as possible. At the time of the interview, she is more interested in the nourishment she receives from taking classes. When asked if there is anything else she would like to say, she says she has noticed an increase in "people wanting to learn more about basic art, uh, elements and principles and utilize them..." or, to put it another way, to focus on the "fundamentals." She feels this a good change that in the long run will save artists time and energy.</synopsis>
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<keywords>Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA); International Quilt Association; Crafts</keywords>
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<type>Oral History</type>
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<transcript>Karen Musgrave (KM): This is Karen Musgrave and I am doing a Quilters' S.O.S. -

Save Our Stories interview with Nancy Cook. Nancy is in Charlotte, North

Carolina and I am in Naperville, Illinois so we are doing this interview by

telephone. Today's date is April 21, 2008 and it is 6:05 in the evening. Nancy

thank you for doing this interview with me. Tell me about the quilt that you

selected for this interview which is "Sourwood Festoons."

Nancy G Cook (NC): "Sourwood Festoons" is one of my favorite pieces. I have been

doing a number of pieces around trees found primarily in the southeast. That

interest relates back to a lifelong love of trees and going out into the woods

with my mother. She would identify the different trees and particularly the

trees that had edible nuts or fruits that we could eat. That was just a fun kind

of thing and over the years I've continued that interest. So being able to do a

quilt about something I have a passion about pulls a number of passions together

at one time.

"Sourwood Festoons" is one of my very favorites because here in the southeast

the Sourwood tree is an edge land tree in the foothills and the lower mountains

that turns this wonderful, wonderful maroon color early in the fall. It is the

first of the trees that gives really good color in the fall and then at each

terminal branch, the end of each branch, it has a cascade of long finger like

seed fronds that cascade down the tree. The seed fronds are beige gold and it is

like the tree decorates itself for Christmas. The tree is just a marvelous

combination of deep maroon with the beige gold seed fronds hanging in front of

the maroon color.

I was working on some design exercises playing with layers of quilting in a

class at Quilt Surface Design with Cherilyn Martin. We were doing a number of

different things in the class and I came across a photograph that had a Sourwood

tree in it and I thought 'I want to do something with that tree. I wonder what I

could do.' I started thinking about the fall color and went down to the vendor's

booth to Judy Robertson's hand dyed fabrics and found a piece of fabric that had

the exact maroon-mahogany color in it. It was just this serendipitous experience

of finding just the precise piece of fabric to use. Once home, I looked at the

design of the seed fronds that cascade down and turn up on their ends and

figured out a way to capture that. That fall I found a Sourwood tree in fruit

and I took a sample of the seed fronds to see the details. I copied a small

section of the photograph on the scanner in black and white and then cut chunks

of the seed fronds and made an interesting arrangement of them. I took a design

of the seed fronds and I drew them out until I discovered the rhythm that

conveyed the sense I was looking for. I had the design blown up to full size and

then traced it onto tracing paper.

Next I quilted that wonderful maroon-mahogany piece of fabric with a Sourwood

leaf design. I used a heavy variegated thread that pretty much disappears from a

distance. When you get closer to the quilt, you see the pattern of the leaves in

the background. I did those by free motion, first practicing the leaves on

another quilt sandwich until I could get the motion of quilting the leaves,

doing the veins in the leaves and such.

Next I put the tracing paper on top of the quilted piece and pinned it down

thoroughly. Sewing through the paper, I again used free motion quilting in

different weights of beige threads to do the seed fronds cascading over of the

leaves. Sourwood Festoons is a favorite because it really captured what I was

trying to do. Like with any artist's works, we get an idea in our mind and often

what we create is maybe not exactly what we were wanting, we didn't quite

capture it. "Sourwood Festoons" is one of those that really captured what I was

trying to say and the feeling and the tone that I had about the tree experience.

What I learned after I created "Sourwood," is that I had been doing a number of

pieces that related to the fall, tree and leaf color. I came to my artwork in

what can be considered the autumn of my life and that awareness was really very

strong. The feeling was that I don't have much time, feeling almost frantic

about trying to learn as much as I could and master as much as possible about my

craft. Because of arthritis, declining vision or loss of physical stamina and

strength, a number of people don't produce beyond a certain age. I wondered,

'Well I don't know how many more years I've got out there.' And then I

recognized the reason for the repetitive autumn metaphor in my work. Once I

realized that metaphor was recurring, I have focused on trees and their seeds

and find that they are endlessly fascinating.

Another piece that I did was on the Mimosa tree ("Mimosa Dancing") and the

wonderful leaves and seed pods that the mimosa tree has in combination. The

Mimosa blooms early in the spring so that their seed pods are fully matured by

summertime. They have the combination of those wonderful ferny leaves and the

peapod-like form of the seeds. That combination is especially interesting.

Right now I've just completed a piece on the Beech tree and its seeds. The

leaves and seeds are fascinating, complex forms. The Beech tree leaves have

wonderful ribs and veins which are very pronounced. A cluster of several leaves

gives a wonderful pattern, almost like strip piecing and their fall color is

quite marked. The leaves between the ribs turn golden while the ribs are still

green and make a fascinating pattern. That tree is the one I'm playing with

these days. I just finished a small piece 11 x 14 inches that I did for

practice. I'm rather pleased with it. I have been experimenting with inks to

help emphasis the design in the fabrics. I enjoy working in a whole cloth quilt

process using exquisite hand dyed fabrics by other dyers and then working with

threads and stitch for the design. I have said a lot more than just Sourwood

didn't I?

KM: You did good. This quilt is 34 [inches.] by 21 [inches.] Is that typical? Is

that a typical size for you?

NC: That is a fairly typical size. The group that I'm working with now is a

little larger than that, it is running thirty-six by twenty-eight inches, just

scaled up a little. Some of my pieces have been substantially larger than that,

but many of them are just about that size. It is a very comfortable size to work

with. A lot of my work I use in my own home until it is sold so that works well too.

KM: What are your plans for "Sourwood Festoons"?

NC: It is on my website now. It is currently in a gallery and if it sells I hope

it finds a very happy home. They are kind of like children, you want them to

have good mates and find a good home. Otherwise I will keep it and enjoy it, and

bring it out every fall, because I certainly enjoy it still.

KM: What about your interest in quiltmaking?

NC: I grew up with quilts. I grew up with a mother who was a professional

seamstress who did not have the patience to teach me how to sew. I took the

obligatory Home Ec program and made a skirt that I hated and never wore. I did

not really learn to sew until I was an adult and had to do the curtains for my

new home. We had spent all the money we had for the house down payment and the

refrigerator that we had to buy for it, and with a new baby coming we didn't

have the money for the curtains. I went to one of our wonderful North Carolina

textile mill outlets that we used to have and bought the fabric and made them. I

ended up having to remake every curtain because the sizes on the architect's

drawing were the sizes of the window openings and did not include the moldings.

So the eighteen foot picture window and side windows that I had in the front

room actually turned out to be twenty-two feet wide, so everything had to be

remade. I didn't sew again for years.

My mother, whose mother and grandmother both quilted, thought the idea of

cutting up fabric and sewing it back together again was absolutely ludicrous.

You can buy a blanket; it was so much easier than making a quilt. I grew up with

that kind of thought. I enjoyed and used the quilts my foremothers had made, but

I certainly had no interest in making them, but I loved fabric. My mother made

all of my clothing. Some of my favorite memories of my mom are when either she

or I would find a gorgeous piece of fabric and we would plan what she was going

to make with it. That was just a joy, so I loved shopping for fabric and looking

at fabric and touching and handling fabric, even though I wasn't doing anything

with it personally. Even as an adult I would go in and look at fabric, on one

such visit to a quilt shop I saw a pattern and thought, 'Oh I just love it.' It

was white trillium and I just thought, 'Oh I want that.'

I realized the only way to have that piece was to make it. I bought the pattern

and fabrics and cut this piece out with my sewing shears. I knew nothing about

tools like rotary cutters or rulers or mats or anything else. Fortunately a good

friend who lived in Oklahoma was a quilter and was even doing quilt restoration

for museums. The entire time I made the piece, I was calling her and saying,

'Sue, how do I make a quarter of an inch wide stem without it fraying on both

sides?' She would teach me over the telephone how to do everything necessary.

Later I learned that the Trillium design was an intermediate to advanced quilt

pattern. It was a small wall hanging, but the complexity of the appliqué work,

probably because it was created by a person who designed for cross stitchers,

was pretty awesome. But I made it and when I got it finished, I put a piece of

black felt on the back so nobody could see my quilt stitches. [both laugh.] I

needed to hide the stitches because they were so bad. [laughs.] I absolutely

loved it and then I saw something else in a local quilt show where I thought 'I

could do that.'

I had done hand work all my life. I've done some embroidery or crewel or

needlework of some kind, macramé, but strictly as an avocation. Then I quilted

something else, and then I needed pillows for the couch, so I made pillows. I

joined the local quilt guild, not so much because I wanted to make quilts, as

much as I enjoyed being around people who quilted. I got started somewhat slowly

but found that I was really enjoying it a lot. I have always found my needlework

to be a good balance in life to what I had done both as a professional and as a

volunteer. Much of the time I was working on things that were either so long

range that it was hard to see what had been accomplished from one day to the

next, or the work required influencing organizations or individuals. Maybe you

could look back in a year and see what had been accomplished, but seldom where

you could say 'I've put in eight hours and I can see eight hours of

accomplishment.' With a needle and thread, I would put in an hour, and could see

an hour's worth of results. That was satisfying since I'm strongly results

oriented. Needlework provided that kind of balance. About six years ago I

retired professionally from working as an organizational psychologist and began

working full time in doing quiltmaking. That has been just a real joy.

KM: Whose works are you drawn to and why?

NC: The first quilts that excited me beyond measure were a group of quilts by

African American quilters at the history museum in Columbus, Ohio. I lived in

Ohio for a number of years. I don't know the name of the group of quilts, but

they were pictorial quilts with such freedom, color and life to them. They just

tremendously excited me. I had never seen anything like them before. All the

quilts I had ever seen had been pretty straight forward block patchwork quilts.

Mainly what my family did was block quilts, and I just found the African

American quilts to be tremendously exciting.

Later I met that same friend, Sue Rose, who I mentioned before in Paducah. I was

at a conference out in Saint Louis. Sue and I tried to get together every year

or two so I called her up and I said, 'Hey I'm going to be in Saint Louis, would

you like to meet and spend some time together after the conference is over?' She

said, 'Well I can't, I'm going to the AQS [American Quilter's Society.] show in

Paducah [Kentucky.].' I said, 'What is that?' I certainly wasn't a quilter at

that time. It turned out one of the people who had been going with her group had

to cancel out so they had space in the person's home they were staying in, so I

met them there and went to the Paducah quilt show long before being a quilter.

It was the year they opened the Museum of American Quilts and I walked in and

saw Caryl Bryer Fallert's "Solar Eclipse 2" and was totally bowled over with the

color, the movement, the design, her ability to capture such magnificent concept

and idea. Caryl's work is something over the years that I've really, really

loved. Ruth McDowell is another person I have studied with and really like her

work a lot. She certainly has had a lot of influence on my piece work, because I

not only do whole cloth quilts, but I do some piecing and it is usually done in

the style that Ruth McDowell uses and teaches. Patty Hawkins' work inspires me.

She deals with similar kind of motifs and concepts that I do and she has such an

ability to extract the essence of what she is trying to say. I really admire

what she does. There are just so many quilters who are just so wonderful. Judith

Content, her estuaries, her use of silks, shibori dyeing and appliqué to create

these wonderful evening scenes on the water are just magical. I can continue

because there are just a number out there whose work is just phenomenal and very

exciting to see.

KM: What does your friend Sue think of your quiltmaking?

NC: [laughs.] Sue is delighted to see that I continued on with it. She has been

a big influence to me. We were next door neighbors for about seven years back in

Ames, Iowa and then she and her husband and family moved to Centerville, Ohio

and where we were again neighbors. Then she and her family moved to Missouri and

then to Oklahoma and my family moved from first Ames, Iowa to Centerville, Ohio

and now to Charlotte, but we have constantly kept in touch. Her work is more

traditional than mine, and she has had the opportunity to work with a critique

group over many years and it has been interesting. They call themselves a color

group and I think they have probably aged out of meeting regularly any more, but

we have spent many an hour on the phone talking quilting as well as sharing what

we have done first with photographs and now with CDs and emails.

KM: Do you think of yourself more as an artist or a quiltmaker or do you even

make the distinction?

NC: That's a really good question.

KM: It is one of my favorites.

NC: I'm not sure that I make a huge distinction there. If I had to weigh on one

side or the other it would probably be artist, but artist with a particular

medium that draws me more than others do. Certainly the fiber medium has drawn

me all my life in one way or another.

KM: What do you think is the biggest challenge confronting quiltmakers today?

NC: Oh, the biggest challenge confronting quiltmakers today. I want to answer

that in several different ways.

KM: Excellent.

NC: I think the biggest challenge to quiltmakers from a traditional standpoint

today is that more and more of their sources are drying up. Many people will

shop for fabric online by sending swatches of fabrics to an online e-store and

ask the vendor to select some fabrics to go with the swatches and mail the

packet to them. Many people prefer to be able to touch and feel the fabric

themselves in making their selections. So I think sourcing of materials is an

issue for many, and particularly traditional quilters. Unless they live in an

area where there are a lot of resources available.

For the art quilter, I think getting recognition for the medium as an art form

is probably the biggest issue and that is related to quilting being perceived as

one of the lesser crafts primarily because mainly women do it. Crafts by in

large are less often accepted as an art form. From a sales standpoint, the poor

economy is not helping at this point in time. That pretty much covers it.

KM: Describe your studio.

NC: My studio is in the lower level of the house. Our house is perched on the

side of a hill so you go upstairs to get into the living area. Initially I

started in part of the smallest guest bedroom and then went into the largest

guest bedroom and now I have moved into the second largest room in the house. It

is in the lower level behind the garage where my husband's office had been. He

very kindly exchanged places with me so I could have more office and more studio space.

Let's describe the studio. It is a longer room than it is square. One of the

shorter walls has wall-to-wall bookcases that are floor to ceiling that are

loaded with quilt books, magazines and supplies. There is some other stuff, a

former hobby that I haven't totally weeded out yet. Then I have a cutting table/

pressing table that my husband constructed for me out of two TV stands from when

TVs weren't as large as they are today. He put them on a riser and backed them

up to each other so they have two shelves on each side. Then he put a box on top

of them so that the top is the right height for me ergonomically. I can put my

long rulers, my large drawing pads, and my box of freezer paper in there. The

base is designed to be the exact size of a cutting board. I almost can't cut on

anything else now because the height is so helpful.

He constructed a sewing table for me out of a sheet of press board with a hard

smooth white surface. My sewing machine drops into it so it is flat and level

and large, which is wonderful when quilting a large quilt. But there is too much

stuff on top of it. It is a little cluttered at this point. Underneath the

sewing table, I have bins of fabric and bins of interfacing. The table sits in

front of the bookcases and next to the cutting and pressing table and they take

up about half of the room. At the opposite end of the room is a floor to ceiling

design wall that is about eight feet wide. My husband constructed it for me and

it has both a white surface and a black surface so I can use it either way that

I want it. I can just take the black felt down and use the white surface when I

want to. There is a window next to that and between the window and the design

wall is a two drawer file cabinet, on top of that is a little TV and then in

front of the design wall on the wide side of the room a desk with four file

drawers, my computer and printer, telephone, all that kind of stuff. On the

other side of the room is another file cabinet that is recessed in the wall.

Next to the file cabinet is a double door closet with shelves and hanging bars

for my fabric. It is where most of the fabric that I use is kept. My batiks and

hand dyes are in there. Fabrics that are from earlier years are in bins and in

the garage and in the room stacked on top of each other. I haven't quite been

able to let go of them yet, but they will have to move out at some period of

time. I have another smaller design wall between the computer set up and the

design wall at the end of the room that I use more as an inspiration wall. That

pretty much describes it.

KM: Yes, it sounds like a nice place.

NC: It is. I had the opportunity to have a residency at McColl Center for Visual

Arts for four months and had a fantastic studio there. There I learned that I

need to be able to see my quilts from eighteen feet away to really understand

the visual impact of a piece. That was part of the reason that we moved me

downstairs so I could get that eighteen feet visual distance from the quilt. The

room is probably twenty-two feet long if you included the bookcases. It is

really helpful to be able to get that long view. I've tried all kinds of other

things to get that visual distance, looking through the door peep holes and the

wrong end of binoculars, and all that kind of stuff, but nothing is quite as

effective as being able to see the stuff from a distance. I have really

excellent lighting installed in the room too. I have two ceiling lighting

fixtures of four tubes of florescent lights that include daylight florescent

tubes and also have some flood lights that are focused on the design wall.

KM: How many hours a week do you quilt?

NC: Not enough. [both laugh.]

KM: Good answer.

NC: This last year and a half my mother-in-law who is in her nineties was quite

ill and needed a lot of care and attention and this year she became quite ill,

fell, broke her arm and had a long period where she was trying to recuperate and

then had a stroke and died. Cleaning up her place after she was gone and the

loss of energy that sets in with mourning has decreased my productivity this

year. I've been coming out of that. Right now I'm spending about ten, twenty

hours, but when things are flowing right it is closer to thirty, thirty-five.

I've never quite made it to the forty that I thought I would do. It is moving

back in the right direction and that feels so good.

KM: Have you ever used quilts to get through difficult times?

NC: Oh heavens yes. I remember as the drums of war were beating before we went

into Iraq the second time, I got out fabric and just literally had to work on

something interesting and fun as the TV droned on and the bombing began. That

was a piece that really saw me through. Generally, I do more hand work, well I

guess much of what I had to do recently in my difficult times has been sitting

in hospital rooms, so I was taking a lot of hand work with me. I've been doing

more embroidery recently as a result.

KM: What makes a quilt artistically powerful?

NC: What makes a quilt artistically powerful? Wow, that's a good question. I

think it is when the artist understands what he or she is trying to say and has

the ability to use art elements to convey that in a way that comes across to the

viewer. To me art is communication, it is like writing or music or conversation,

it is a communication between the artist and something inside the artist whether

it is anger or love or passion or but something inside the artist. The first

communication is the artist's understanding of that part of themselves that is

trying to come out. It is usually not totally conscious but pulling something

that is deeper than you could articulate. That is the first communication that

is what is inside the artist and then inside the artist to the art work, and

then from the art work to the viewer. Some artists are able to have art work

that really helps the viewer understand something that they have never

understood before, and sometimes that understanding is not even at a verbal

level. In terms of art elements, I think great lines and great color; however,

some of the most interesting art I see today is almost void of color. I see

artists who are trying to get away from the use of color to do their art because

it is so seductive. I'm still drawn to color, I'm drawn to texture, but good

line and movement compels me.

KM: Are there any aspects of making a quilt that you do not enjoy?

NC: Oh yeah, putting the binding on. I think it needs to be done well. I'm one

of those who likes to see work not only have something to say and be meaningful,

but also to be well executed. I find some people can work raw edge and loose and

do it successfully. I don't find that is something I can do with comfort, but

let's see what else. Oh, sometimes I find piecing a curve just a little tedious

if it is too tight of a curve to begin with. And I don't care for cleaning the

machine, which I do every time I change the bobbin.

KM: Oh you are good.

NC: I find it works. [laughs.] It is the old saying, pay me now, or pay me

later. [laughs.] If I don't clean it regularly, my sewing machine doesn't

perform well, so cleaning is important. Regular cleaning is something Libby

Lehman taught and taught that cleaning the machine on a regular basis will pay

you large dividends.

Oh Lord the paperwork involved in being a professional quilter and trying to

keep your work out there and that type of thing, that probably is my least

favorite thing but highly important.

KM: Do you belong to any art or quilt groups?

NC: I belong to both craft and quilt groups. I belong to a local quilt guild,

they supported me and I continue to support them. I belong to SAQA [Studio Art

Quilt Associates.] and I'm a professional member of SAQA. That association is

certainly something that I have found very valuable. I'm regularly a member of

the International Quilts Association and the American Crafts Association. I am a

member of the QuiltArt List and several small local art and quilt groups. My

goal this year is to join at least one regional or local art association.

KM: Why is that important to you?

NC: I'm finding more and more I'm identifying with the art part and I have just

a real commitment for people to understand that art can be made in the quilt

medium. I think the way I can do it, is to be out there with other artists and

be associated with other artists.

KM: You mentioned taking a lot of classes, is that important to you also?

NC: I find the way I nurture the artist within me is to take classes. Anybody

who has done things really well or who I admire I will learn something from, it

may not be precisely what the class is about, it maybe something else. They've

learned something that I can learn and it is such a pleasure to spend a day or

preferably a week focused on some aspect of art or quilting. My preference is

for long classes, a three-day minimum is a restorative thing. Classes used to be

the way I learned and I was trying to learn as fast as I could. Now it is more a

focus on nurturing than it is a focus on learning.

KM: Is there anything else you would like to add to the interview before we conclude?

NC: I'm seeing more and more people wanting to learn about basic art elements

and principles and utilize them. As people try to make their own original

creations they are realizing that they need to go back to the fundamentals that

make any art good. Learning the fundamentals really helps make your work better

rather than stumbling your way into a design. I think that is a healthy trend.

KM: I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to spend it with me, and

we are going to conclude our interview at 6:50. Thank you.
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