Quilts at the White Gallery

Kate Stiassni is a nationally exhibited textile artist and quilt maker who divides her time between her business, Imagine Design and Construction, and the textile studio attached to her home. In the historic 18th century Saltbox in Sharon, CT she brilliantly transforms the medium of the traditional quilt from its original purpose to a new and purely decorative form.

Uncommon Threads: Contemporary Art Quilts, an exhibit at The White Gallery in Lakeville, CT, will spotlight artist Kate Stiassini’s handmade quilts in her highly colorful, abstract designs. The opening reception is Saturday, December 15, from 4-7PM. The exhibit runs through January.

We asked Kate about her quilts.

“I became a quilt maker and textile artist because I love the idea rendering shape, line, and color with the medium of cloth. I create my quilts with hand dyed fabrics that I like to think of as my paints. The quilts are both hand and machine stitched. I enjoy the challenge of putting together technically difficult configurations. It is a bit like solving a puzzle, figuring out how all the different pieces fall into place.

“Patterning, juxtaposing color, arranging, restructuring, allowing for serendipity -- these are some of the words I think about when trying to explain how I approach a composition. I am a big believer that every cut, every sewn seam eventually leads somewhere. Sometimes I work from sketches, either in fabric or on paper, which I “grow” into larger finished quilts. However, often I start by experimenting with configurations on a design wall and then try to step out of the way while my unconscious thoughts assert themselves into the design process.

“I am always on the lookout, often locally, for inspiration for the next project. For instance, the Falls Village Bridge inspires the key elements in a number of my pieces. Its structural elements created a vocabulary of line and shape for me and the concept of a bridge - to transcend or to cross a barrier - was a strong attraction as well. Unlike the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, I doubt many famous artists have used this small country bridge as subject matter! The motifs for my Terra Firma series celebrate Northwestern Connecticut’s open land and the neighbors who continue to farm it.

“Another work called Vortex developed quite unexpectedly when I cut apart a finished quilt I didn’t like. I thought about the original pattern, a circle, beginning to whirl and rotate, gaining momentum. The breaking apart, or more literally cutting apart the original, allowed its elements and colors to move freely. I have adapted aspects of this technique for later quilts.

“I feel there must be an artistic muse here as well. This studio, with its high ceilings, wide plank floors, and wooden beams, has inspired some of my favorite pieces.”