Where are you from and how’d you come to be in New Bern?
I am a native West Virginian who moved to New Bern 10 years ago. We had often vacationed at Emerald Isle and with children settling in the Raleigh area, New Bern seemed the ideal town.
Did you have any teachers that really inspired you, or are you self-taught?
West Virginia enjoys a strong heritage of traditional crafts. My mother taught me to quilt and I studied with many well-known textile artists at craft workshops to expand my skills. While my art degree is in painting, I’ve continued to work in fabric.
Is there a theme to your work, or multiple themes?
My quilts are all original designs, often inspired by nature and they are all about color. I use swatches of fabric the way a painter uses dabs of paint. I try to manipulate the color values to enhance natural shapes, set the mood and give some perspective to the design without abandoning the traditional methods of quilting.
A lot of work features optical illusions or geometric designs, what sparked that?
I’ve specialized in commissioned landscapes, both mountain and coastal scenes, but I enjoy exploring the relationship of colors and using value, lights and darks to make shapes or give dimension to the flat surface. I really love all the visual texture that fabric gives to a design, even geometric designs.
Your work is a really great example of pieces that exist both in the fine art world and the craft world. What sort of relationship do you see between these two fields?
Fabric is another important medium for creating art and I think viewers enjoy seeing various media in art shows. More importantly, I hope people will learn that quilts are not just functional items but are making artistic statements and so I think quilts have crossed that line between craft and fine art.
Is there any artist in your field or any other whose work inspires you or you admire?
It is inspiring to see the work of other artists both contemporary and in museums. I like the philosophy of important artists such as Picasso and Kandinsky, who argued that simple shapes and colors can create beautiful works and quilters do that.
Is there any particular award, exhibition, or piece you’re especially proud of?
Shortly after arriving here I was awarded Best of Show at the Twin Rivers Quilt Guild Show for a New Bern landscape quilt. This was a thrill because there are lots of fine quilters in this local guild.
In one sentence, what is art to you?
Art is choosing the materials I want to work with, making a statement about the world I see around me and hoping it has meaning for the viewer.
Do you have any advice for starting artists or someone who wants to take up art?
I think if you learn all you can about an art medium or craft then you are free to do anything with it. Start by associating with groups such as the Twin Rivers Art Assoc. or the Twin Rivers Quilt Guild. The members are great about sharing art techniques and many offer workshops.
I know you have work at Bank of the Arts in the Sales Gallery and in the Stacked exhibition, but where else can people find your work?
On permanent view in the public area near the entrance of the Carolina East Hospital is a five-panel quilted coastal scene that I completed recently. My mountain landscapes are for sale at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC.
By Jonathan Burger, Craven Arts Council & Gallery, Inc.
317 Middle Street | New Bern, NC | www.cravenarts.org | 252.638.2577