Joan Schulze

The Illuminated Quilt: Textures, Text and Images

Course Description
Participants in this workshop will expand the possibilities for contemporary and personal expression, reconsider the way they find inspiration, and rethink the traditional idea of The Quilt. This workshop is about personal expression, problem solving, rethinking working methods, and finding ideas. There are rich possibilities in inventing and creating personal fabrics for quilts. We will investigate monoprinting, pigments, dye stick and crayon uses, photocopy processes, direct printing onto fabric, the layering of images & text, and a simple PVA (bookbinder's glue) transfer method. The goal is to find many different ways to create a personal illuminated quilt.

Artist's Biography
Joan has been a visiting artist/lecturer in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and throughout the USA since the 70s; a conference and symposium keynote speaker for institutions such as the San Diego Museum of Art, the Textile Arts Council at the de Young Museum, The Legion of Honor in San Francisco, the University of Washington Art Museum, and the Honolulu Academy of Art. Her work is in many public and private collections including Visa International, Adobe Systems World Headquarters, Queen of Apostles Church, Stanford University, The National Museum of American Art, Renwick Gallery/Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Oakland Museum of California, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the International Center for the Study of Collage in France, and Museo de Collage in Mexico. Joan maintains a studio in San Francisco.

Artist's Statement
I photograph - objects and surfaces; I collect - text and fragments of paper; I create - painted and altered fabrics. I glue, stitch, peel, and scrape to reveal under layers. These contrasting textures and narrative elements may include scribbled first drafts of my poems, vintage letters, pieces of found images, word fragments from newspapers and magazines, and personal photographs. I process contemporary culture, often focusing on opposites - cityscapes versus gardens, and found relationships in collected objects such as bowls, perfume bottles, and timepieces. Organizing these elements is a daily studio practice which helps me refine my ideas. Being a step away from chaos is a great motivator.