U&U included among books that "spark" creativity

The Associated Press via the Union-Tribune San Diego has included Unconventional & Unexpected among an astounding list of books to "spark you or your child's creativity" -- craft and art that everyone can enjoy this new year.

Unconventional & Unexpected has great company among Merrilee Liddiaro's Playful: Fun Projects to make with + for Kids (also published by Abrams), Merrilee Liddiaro's Quilting with a Modern Slant, and The Plant Recipe Book by Baylor Chapman.

See the full list of craft suggestions here.

U&U is full of a "freer, more casual, utilitarian aesthetic"

Unconventional & Unexpected received a beautiful review in Hali:

“Collected by renowned quilt authority and collector Roderick Kiracofe via eBay, flea markets, estate sales and other sources, they represent a 20th-century quilt movement that remains mostly undocumented.”

"Some of these quilts did not even have straight sides!"

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My quilts and words were featured amidst this conversation, "Reassessing the Revival," about the quilt revival in Antiques and The Arts Weekly. Here is an excerpt from Kate Eagen Johnson's depth article:

“Unconventional & Unexpected is dedicated to quilts of more recent vintage. About ten years ago, long-time quilt dealer Kiracofe literally woke up one day and thought ‘What were the ‘everyday quilts’ made from the 1950s to the end of the Twentieth Century like? And where they even made?’ He had ended his historical survey The American Quilt, 1993, with quilts from the 1940s because quilt dogma held that no good quilts were made after 1950.

Kiracofe began checking out quilts of a more recent vintage. Many, of course, were traditional in style and technique, but there were also ‘maverick’ quilts whose makers reveled in breaking the rules and in improvisation. The latter were the ones that appealed to him and he began buying them on eBay and through other means. Perhaps to the chagrin of Arts and Crafts purists, the makers of these objects did not always fashion quality, natural materials by hand. Many unabashedly delighted in polyester and rayon that they ornamented via machine stitching and appliqué. Some of these quilts did not even have straight sides!”

An "eye-popping counterargument" that no good quilts were made after 1950

Monica Moses wrote a beautiful review of Unconventional & Unexpected in a recent edition of American Craft. I'm touched at how she has connected to the book. Read below for the full review:

“There is something of a consensus, says Roderick Kiracofe in the introduction to this lively book, that the end of traditional quiltmaking happened in the 1940s and that ‘no good quilts were made after that.’ Unconventional & Unexpected is an eye-popping counterargument to that belief. The book features about 150 examples of eccentric and previously undocumented quilts from the author’s collection, most dating from 1950 on. These are not precious quilts; most were made from ordinary scarps and meant to be used every day. And the vast majority are anonymous; Kiracofe, author of the classic American Quilt (2004), happened upon them in his searches across the country. Kiracofe’s charming introduction is not the only context provided in the book. Essays by Elissa Auther, Ulysses Grant Dietz, Denyse Schmidt, and Natalie Chanin, among others, add warmth and insight, as if sharing wisdom around the sewing circle. Wholly appropriate to its subject matter, Unconventional & Unexpected exudes a refreshing authenticity, character, and humility.”

— Monica Moses

Alabama Chanin shares her thoughts

My editor, Melanie Falick, sent the link to Natalie Chanin's (aka Alabama Chanin) Journal post on her thoughts about Unconventional & Unexpected. Thank you for your beautiful words and your essay, "Never Seen a Blanket".

Natalie Chanin writes:

Just as I found myself touched by the worn quilts making their way to my studio and intrigued by their history, Roderick was also moved by the stories, reminiscences, and intimate details he discovered in his research. We both shared an interest in this craft of quilting and the talented artisans who created the quilts.

Interview on NPR

I had the pleasure of speaking with Vick Mickunas, host of the "Book-nook" at WYSO in Yellow Springs, OH. (My old home before moving to San Francisco).  I love talking about Unconventional & Unexpected on the radio.

Airs Sunday, Nov. 2, 10:30 AM Central Time

To listen click here.

Textiles gaining favor in contemporary art

I was excited to receive this article from an important contemporary art collector friend. It made me feel that Unconventional & Unexpected is playing a role in elevating quilts and other textiles from the last half of the 20th century. They create a history and context for the incredible work being made today.

“Many point out that artists made textiles long before they were fashionable, and will continue to do so. ‘Fibre often becomes mired in conversations about art and craft, but artists don’t think about categories—they consider how a material might be deployed’...”

— Julia Halperin, The Art Newspaper

Read the article here.

Material world: Caroline Achaintre’s Befor, 2013. Image courtesy The Art Newspaper.

New Bed installation at Krowswork, Oakland, CA

To view images of my installation, visit New Bed on my Artist page.

I am pleased to have been included in the latest group show, "New Bed," at Krowswork in Oakland, CA. Here is a beautiful description of the group exhibition:

“Robert Rauschenberg’s 1955 work Bed represents a watershed in the history of art, one cited as signifying the moment when the hegemony of Abstract Expressionism in America let go. But the piece is far more radical than simply an invisible line in the art continuum. The work hangs on a wall like any painting, yet its central element is a quilt. The eponymous bed is ‘made,’ so to speak, with its corner turned invitingly down and a fluffed white pillow above; but the invitation is moot because the artist stained and closed off this opening with thick, brightly colored oil paint in drips and mottled strokes. Rauschenberg created a bed into which we, the viewers, cannot possibly climb, a bed in which we cannot lie. [...]

In this present show, multi-media, multi-sensorial sculptural installations by [the artists] offer insight into these boundaries between the personal and the public, private and shared history, exploring the disparities between the rhythms, expectations, and emotions of each.”

— Jasmine Moorhead, Krowswork Gallery

Robert Rauschenberg, Bed, 1955

What do we learn from the back, that which is usually not seen? I am fascinated by the backs of quilts and quilt tops. I also love the WPA photographs of the interiors of sharecroppers homes. My installation uses the backs of quilt tops and quilts along with a collaborative video piece with Jason Hanasik. I wanted to allude to the types of homes in which these textiles may have originated.

New Bed is at Krowswork in Oakland, CA with work by Roderick Kiracofe, Karen and Malik Seneferu, and Nicole Shaffer, along with a provocative video by Sanford Biggers.

The exhibition runs October 24 to December 6, 2014.