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Friday, September 11th, 2009
Thanks to a crummy cold, this post is later than planned…. Please pardon rambling, run-on sentences and broken thoughts…. the brain fog still hasn't cleared….
Now that you have an idea of how to display Mini Art Quilts, here are some ideas and information for display larger Art Quilts. What is considered a "larger art quilt" can be pretty subjective. For this post I will consider anything larger than 11"x14", to be in this category, but the following display methods may work for smaller pieces, too. I try to add some type of hanging "device" to the backs of the larger quilts to make displaying them as easy as possible for my customers.
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I have pulled this photo from a previous post to show these long, narrow Sunprint pieces (OK, with the cold, I just didn't feel like setting up for more photos). These Art Quilts have bamboo skewers hot glued to
the upper backs for hanging them very easily. All that is needed is a
thumbtack in the wall to hang the lightweight quilts. The skewers are fairly thin, so the pieces will hang very close to the wall. A hanging sleeve could be used to hold a dowel or slat, but it would add more bulk to the back of the piece.
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The long sunprint pieces could also be
mounted to long, narrow canvases as shown in the photo above. "Gilded Ohio Stars" is between the two sunprint quilt sizes in width. Choose a size that
will give a good border around the piece, or get one if available the
same size as the quilt. I painted the canvas this piece is mounted on. (The skewers can be carefully removed from the backs if framing or mounting on canvas). One thing I did find with this particular piece is that if you have a narrow border of the canvas showing, it makes stitching the quilt on a bit more difficult- the wooden frame was right where I needed to stitch…. It was a challenge! In the future, for a piece with a narrow amount of canvas showing, I would stitch the piece to fabric first, then staple that to the canvas- no poked fingers!
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The above photo shows 2 of my narrow sunprint quilts along with "Antique Iris and Tulips" displayed along with framed art in a gallery where all were for sale. The quilts are hung with no frames or canvas and look right at home.
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When my Art Quilts are wider than about 11", I attach a hanging sleeve or corner pockets on
the backs of the quilts. A dowel or wooden slat will slide through the sleeve or tuck into the pockets to allow for easy hanging. The dowel or slat will sit on
picture hooks on the wall. When I put hanging sleeves on my quilts, I try to use fairly long stitches that can be easily removed if the customer wishes to frame or mount them to canvas. Frames and canvases are available in pretty large sizes, but add much to the expense of hanging the quilts.
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This photo above, shows a group of quilts… The two very small, narrow ones are made with ribbon hangers and just need a tack to hold them, or are ready for frames. Upper left is one of my 11"x14" Sunprint Art Quilts
hanging without a frame. The other two are the pieces I wanted to point out…. They both have triangles of fabric stitched to the corners on the back. I discovered that these leaf pieces looked good displayed in any direction- up, down or sideways, so I added a triangle to each corner, so the customer can decide which side to use as the top. The slat or dowel just needs to be cut to the size of the "top" side used, slipped into the pockets to hang on a picture hook.
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"Stained Glass and Ferns" is the largest piece I have made as art for the wall, and it hangs very nicely from a slat through the hanging sleeve. With this piece and others in various sizes, the ends of the slat are able to stick out beyond the ends of the sleeve and still be hidden behind the quilt. The slat ends can rest on hooks in the wall, and it will hang nicely against the wall. If you wish, a decorative dowel and brackets can be used, with the ends of the dowel and brackets showing on the sides of the piece.
If you have a really large wall you wish to add color to, you can even stitch a hanging sleeve to the back of a bed sized quilt for it to be hung the same way my art quilts are.
Care of Art Quilts:
Art quilts are no harder to take care of than any other piece of fine art. As with any work of art, you need to consider the area you wish to hang your piece. It should be hung away from direct bright light. The paints I use in creating my sunprints are very fade resistant, and
these fabrics can fade much less than many commercially dyed fabrics. Displaying in too much light will cause an art quilt, or any other piece of fine art to fade. If you really want art to hang in a room with a sunny window, you may need to coat the window with a UV blocking film. Rotating a number of pieces for short periods of time, may be OK, or use reproductions prints in your sunny rooms.
Quilts made for your bed are meant to be washed to keep them clean, at least quality ones are. I have had lots of questions as to whether the art quilts I make can be washed to clean them. While most of my quilts are made with fabrics that are washable, there usually is no need to wash them. I have also been adding more and more beads and other embellishments that may not be washable. Unless you hang your art in a kitchen right next to the greasy stove,(which is not really recommended), the only regular care your Art Quilts should need is an occasional light dusting, or vacuuming with a soft brush attachment to remove dust. For more stubborn dust, a very slightly damp cloth can be used. If the piece has many loose or dangling embellishments, a piece of an old pair of pantyhose over the vacuum brush will further protect the embellishments.
I have a number of quilted wall hangings and art quilts that have hung in my livingroom for many years. I will admit that I am not a neat freak, and have my share of dust and cobwebs. Living on a dirt road and heating with wood adds to the amount of dust that can settle on my quilts. So far, I have only vacuumed the pieces I have, and they all look fine (as long as you don't catch me just before a long overdue dusting).
Hopefully this info has been helpful…. My next post will be showing a few photos of a new quilt I am finally making progress with…. It has gone through many, many changes along the way….
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Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
"What do you do with those??" That was probably the most asked question about my Mini Art Quilts when I was displaying and selling them at art and craft shows. This post will give you some answers and examples of displaying my Mini Art Quilts, by framing, mounting on canvas and more.
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5"x7" Mini Wall Garden Art Quilts #1 and #2 mounted on 8"x10" fabric covered canvas.
When most people hear or read the word Quilt, they think bed quilt or blanket. I have done those, but get the most enjoyment from creating my Art Quilts, which are works of art to be displayed like any painting or photo, on the wall. The largest number of my creations are from Postcard size to 11"x14", and even some tiny ACEO's, with most made to fit standard sized frames. My earliest Mini Art Quilts were made with framing them in mind. I began with small versions of my Windows and Trellises Series, and made most 8"x10", and a few 11×14". You could just use a small straight pin and pin the quilt directly to the wall, but here are some more options.
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Garden Arbor is an 11"x14" piece that I decided needed more than just a frame, so I matted it to fit a 16"x20" frame. The quilt is mounted on an acid free backer board with double sided archival tape along the top edge of the quilt, then the mat was taped to the backer board, and all popped into the frame with the glass.
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I have always admired the simple framed botanical prints that can be seen in many decorator magazines. The next series I began was my Botanical Applique series, that are already "matted" with a white or ivory fabric border. These just need to be sandwiched between the glass and backer board in the frame.
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To the right are two of these 11"x14" Art Quilts shown in frames. The color of the frame makes a difference in the final look of the piece for hanging. I tend to prefer the dark or black frames to contrast with the light borders, but the gold tone frame works well, if that fits with your home's decor better.
{All of the framed pieces shown are available for purchase unless noted otherwise… please contact me for more info.}
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This photo shows 2 pieces displayed in a grouping, you can display a number of the smaller pieces on a large wall, using similar frame styles to make a cohesive display.
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The first of my Sunprint Series Art Quilts were made to display the same way- a sunprint on fabric, matted with white or ivory fabric, quilted, and ready to frame without a mat if desired. If you are interested in my sunprint process, check out my Sunprinting Mini Tutorial, earlier in this blog.
After framing and displaying many Mini Art Quilts like this over the years, I have seen no ill effects from the glass touching the quilts. The first Sunprint piece on the right is an 11"x14" quilt framed in black. The second one is another 11"x14" sunprint piece in a gold tone frame.
Below is a 5"x7" sunprint mini in a frame, the color of the frame coordinates nicely with the colors in the sunprint. These examples will give you an idea of what a quilt you purchase can look like in a frame.
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The texture of Quilt Art can be better appreciated when displayed without glass, and I have been mounting some of my Mini Art Quilts on fabric covered pre-stretched artist canvases. "Wild Roses" above is an 8"x10" quilt mounted on a canvas covered in a hand painted fabric that coordinates with the sunprint. I have switched from a satin stitch edge to couched yarn to finish my quilt's edges in more recent works. These pieces look great stitched to the canvas with their edges in full view.
The fabric can be stapled over the canvas, then the quilt stitched on through both layers, or the quilt can be stitched to the fabric before stapling over the canvas- a bit trickier to be sure the quilt is centered this way. You don't even need to cover the canvas with fabric. "My Dream House" is mounted on the white prepared canvas just as I purchased it. Tiny screw eyes attach picture wire on the backs of the canvas frames for easy hanging.
"Beside the Door" on the right is also an 8"x10" quilt mounted on a canvas covered with black fabric.
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This method works great for any size Mini Art Quilt from tiny ACEO's through postcard size and larger. Here are a couple of my postcards mounted on 8"x10" fabric covered canvases. Both of these are available for purchase from my website.
Multiple small pieces can also be mounted on the same canvas or in the same frame.
I hope this will give you some ideas for what to do with Mini Art Quilts. Tomorrow, I will have another post with ideas for hanging larger Art Quilts.
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