This exhibition is part of a progressive series of works from 2003 to the present. The vocabulary of marks come from the artists experience researching domestic textiles and how repair and reconstruction builds time and history into cloth.  
The imagery in the work extends Caldwell's interest in conventional organization of landscape and its' interaction with intimate landmarks of a personal nature.  Hills, lakes, ponds, and roads of the world where Caldwell lives become abstracted forms floating on the mathematical grid of the land survey. These formal elements in the work reflect both the larger exterior landscape and the intimacy of the domestic environment. An example of this is the elliptical shape which could be read as the large crater of a lake, a bowl holding water, and on a smaller scale, a patch or mend as applied to utilitarian cloth.
With this work, Caldwell continues to employ very physical surfaces where repeated marking, abrasion, oversized stitching, and accidental drips of wax record a history of making. She expands her characteristic use of wax resist and discharge techniques through additional hand stitching, mending, and repair to create cloth that resonates with image.

For nearly three decades, Susan Brandeis has combined a lifelong love of fiber with a fascination for natural places and forms.  In technique her work has ranged from - and often combined - hand and digital printing; dyeing, weaving, piecing, felting, applique, reverse applique, and hand and machine embroidery.  In imagery it has drawn from sources as varied as the carpet of forest debris in North Carolina; the starkness of the American Southwest; a rain forest on the coast of Oregon; aerial photographs of land and human settlements; the rhythm and light of ocean surf; and the beauty of minute life forms and tissues under a microscope.  She has sought a personal 'language' of materials appropriate to each image, seeking to convey its feeling rather than to depict it literally.  All share a fascination with the ways abstraction delights - and sometimes deceives - the eye.
Susan writes: 'I have chosen to work in textiles because for me they provide a breadth and flexibility of expression which make all other materials seem limited by comparison.  They combine the texture and relief qualities of sculpture or pottery, the color range of paint, and the literal expressive potential of photography.  All of my work is an attempt to describe with fabric my intense visual experience of the Earth: everyday experiences elevated and intensified.  I use color, layering, juxtaposition of patterns, exaggeration of detail, and complex textures to re-create the dichotomy I see in Nature: compositions bold enough to be visible from a distance, but which invite the viewer to come closer and to discover a more intimate surface alive with visual energy'.
This exhibition will include a range of Susan's work from the very early to the very recent. Susan Brandeis is Distinguished Professor of Art & Design at North Carolina State University, where she coordinates the Fibers and Surface Design Program and is a member of the University's Academy of Outstanding Teachers.  Visit her personal Web site at http://www4.ncsu.edu/~brandeis/

Ricky Tims is known in the international world of quilting as an enthusiastic and encouraging teacher, an award-winning quilter, and a talented and spellbinding speaker.  His innovative and entertaining presentations feature live music and humour combined with scholarly insights.  His quilts have been displayed worldwide, and are highly regarded as excellent examples of contemporary quilts with traditional appeal.  Ricky began designing and making quilts in 1991, and was recently selected as one of 'The Thirty Most Distinguished Quilters in the World'.  He maintains an extensive international schedule of teaching and speaking engagements, presents national seminars and the week-long Rocky Mountain Quilt Retreat in LaVeta, Colorado, and is the co-creator and co-host of The Quilt Show, a live, internet webstream quilt show, with renowned quilter, Alex Anderson.  Ricky is passionate about quilting and is delighted to share his experience and enthusiasm with quilters at every level of expertise. He is challenged by creativity in all forms, and encourages individuals to cultivate self-expression, reach for the unreachable, and believe in the impossible.
Quilting is a relatively new interest compared to Ricky's lifelong passion for music.  He began formal music lessons at the age of three.  He is a conductor, composer, arranger, music producer, and performing artist.  Ricky is proud to have implemented and conducted the 1998 concert 'When We no Longer Touch' featuring the St. Louis Voices united Chorus and members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.  Passage , the CD recording of this unique concert, was released in December 1998.  He has also produced several solo piano recordings.  His blend of music and quilting is unique and remarkable.  You can learn more about Ricky, see his award winning quilts, and order his fabrics at www.rickytims.com, or join The Quilt Show community at www.thequiltshow.com.

Two Visions on a Theme is a unique concept developed over the last 15 years by two internationally acclaimed textile artists. Els and Cherilyn's working collaboration has culminated in a series of successful exhibitions shown at prime, international venues.
 
Els van Baarle:
My inspiration is based on antiquity and ancient times. Remains of structures ravaged by wind and weather offer arresting observations. On the surface of the cloth we discern subtle colours and textures. This correlates to my technique of layering waxes and dyes.
Just like an old wall reveals a treasure of details when observed up close, so does my cloth. What at a first glance appears to be one colour, becomes a layer of nuances when studied in detail.
 
Cherilyn Martin:
I use the textile medium to portray my affinity with antiquity and with tactile remnants of the past. Classical architecture and ancient ruins have been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for many years. Layering is a fundamental element in my work.
Whilst experimenting with a variety of materials and techniques to explore surface texture, panels are constructed and in turn layered to give depth of composition.
Layers in which concepts of time/experience and emotion are embodied.
 
 

Inge Hueber's quilts express joy and light, order and rhythm, always in pursuit of happiness. Born in East Germany during the war and brought up near Cologne in the West, she struggled for her roots, and found quilt-making instead. She enjoys  traditions and also the great freedom in her work, being totally self-taught. In her show at the
Festival she presents quilts from about 20 years, introducing a great variety of methods and intentions but always using her home-dyed cotton.

She is a member of the British Quilters Guild and a founder member of Quilt Art (since 1985), also the chairman of this international group still based in the UK, but with members from nine countries.
She exhibits, lectures, juries and communicates around the world with
great pleasure. See her website for more information: www.ingehueber.de

In 2005, the members of quinTEXsenz started their third project with the title "GROSSFORMA®T". The project had the following conditions: each of the five quilt artists should make three quilts, on any theme of their choice, but at least 180 cm in length to do justice to the overall title of the collection "GROSSFORMA®T" (ie large format). The result is 15 large-scale innovative quilts and an interesting, attractive exhibition thanks to the wide range of topics, the different approaches and individual styles of the five quilt artists.
The topics include:
Barbara Blattl - networks
Renate Dehrberg -  memory resides in writing
Greti Raffeiner - stories in/of time
Bibi ?berlackner - mysticism
Margareta Wackerle - the gulf stream.

We started our group four years ago and now we feel that if it did not exist, we would have to make it up.  There are ten of us and we all live in central Scotland.   We each feel a need for a place where we can stretch our creativity amongst our peers, each striving to excel on a personal level so as not to let the rest down.
At the Festival of Quilts we shall show our Rainbow Collection.  This is a stunning display of tall narrow pieces taking us through the spectrum and has never been hung in its entirety. We shall also exhibit new collections.  One based on the mythology of Celtic trees and one worked round three fabrics chosen by one of the group.  We also plan to each make a piece which expresses what Scotland means to us.

Janet and Sally met by chance several years ago while setting up their teachers demonstration stands at a quilt show. They discovered a shared love of nature which they express in very different ways. Both are teachers of many years standing - Sally in Norfolk and throughout the UK, and Janet in Milton Keynes, throughout the UK and as far abroad as Sweden. Sally is best known for her crazy embellished quilts and her land and seascapes and this will be reflected in her quilts. She has written several books. Janet is known for her landscapes and work based on Roman mosaics. This exhibition will show her progression into natural mosaic forms.
Sally and Janet have held one previous joint exhibition and collaborated on a two-person quilt. They meet occasionally to agree on themes and are constantly surprised by the fact that they often come up with the same ideas and solutions!
More than 16 pieces of work in a variety of sizes, plus information as to how some of them were created, illustrate how two very different quilters can work on the same theme in two very different styles to produce a cohesive and exciting exhibition.

We are working together on an exciting new project, exploring what happens when embroiderer meets quilter. Called 'Bodies of Evidence' this project is inspired by our shared interest in the human form. We are looking at the pattern of gesture that arises from dance and sporting activities, capturing those moments in time that define the discipline.
As teachers we are constantly seeing students struggling with design that we would be eager to progress and work on ourselves. This poses the question. Can we use others' designs? Are we so involved in our own ideas that we can't see the solution objectively? So the challenge is to try it ourselves in spite of our differences in approach and practice.
We are very excited by this concept and intend to exhibit the details of our collaboration along with our individual response to the theme. We think that the viewer will find this meeting of two disciplines to be both stimulating and fun.
Terrie Hitchcock - Artists Statement
Terrie uses images of the human form as source material for her work.  Often the figure is suggested in simplified form and the interest lies in the relationship between the figures and the surroundings.
The combination of fabric, stitch and paint produce exciting textures and colours to express these ideas.
Terrie divides her time between producing her own work and teaching creative techniques to adults. She is a member of two local textile groups Four/88 and Force 8 and exhibits with them. She takes part in the Hampshire Artists week opening her studio to the public.
Susan Chapman - Artists Statement
Susan works as a tutor, author, lecturer and as an exhibiting artist throughout the U.K, as well as the USA and Europe. Her work is mainly concerned with issues relating to the human form. Susan is very much inspired by Matisse, his love of bright colour and simple repeating  images and uses this as the basis for her current work. Although Susan has roots in quiltmaking, having lived in New York in the early 1990's where she learned patchwork and quilting, she collages her dyed, painted, printed and screen printed fabrics, then stitches and embellishes her pieces.

This collection of Quilts is made by members of the Hungarian Patchwork Guild (www.hunpatch.com ) which was formed in 1989. It was in 2003, that one of the founder members: Anna Dolanyi, had the idea of using  the traditional Blue & White cotton,(Kekfesto)in the making of quilts. The fabric is still hand-printed in the country, by a handful of master printers. At one time every town had it's own Kekfesto printer, and there are hundreds of different patterns still produced.
The quilts are mostly hand-stitched, and some machine pieced, in traditional styles, using the different patterns of the 'kekfesto' cotton to great effect.

Sponsored by Coats Crafts UK, Prym Consumer and Rowan fabric
This year we celebrate a decade of this prestigious award for excellence in quilt-making. One outstanding piece will be selected as the winner of Quilt 2008, and will be awarded the generous prize of £5,000.
If you'd like to enter your quilt, please download a registration from our competitions page.

We are pleased to welcome a selection of the best graduates in textiles and related arts. We hope the showcase will not only provide these BA graduates with a platform from which to develop their careers, but we also hope to show our visitors the high standard of work emerging from our colleges.

We welcome back the Virtual Studio where you can see textile artists at work in a 'virtual studio' built especially.  Leslie Morgan and Claire Benn (of Committed to Cloth) have organised an exciting line-up of students and artists who'll be working both wet and dry. The wet benches will have a rota of students and artists working live from Friday through to Sunday to develop multi-layered cloth.  Using dyes, colour removing agents, screen inks and metal leaf, they'll be working with a wide variety of tools including silk screens, brushes, stamps, rollers and so forth, so come and see what can happen to the 'plain white canvas of cloth'.

Jacqueline has been making quilts since 1990 and is a self-educated machine quilter. The quilts on show in this gallery range from some of Jacqueline's earlier works to new quilts made especially for this exhibition. Machine quilting and the effect it has on fabric is Jacqueline's great love. Dense and overall machine quilting produces the rich and lively structural surfaces - inspired by nature. Some quilts suggest landscapes, with room for the viewers interpretation. Others are just inspired by a certain feeling or mood, while observing the turn of the year. Most of Jacqueline's recent quilts are constructed like a 'wholecloth' combined with the application of wool and silk fibers. The machine quilting is intended to be the main attraction. Jacqueline won the Quilters Guild Challenge in 2007 and she was also selected for the Quilt 2007 collection.

ColourFX Textile Art presents 'Dreams and Visions' - a new exhibition by Marlene Cohen, Claire Crocker, Margaret Jarvie, Alicia Merrett, Christine Restall and Stefanie Rickard.
ColourFX is delighted to launch its third touring exhibition at Festival of Quilts 2008. 
From our beginnings in 1999 we quickly discovered common interests, sharing ideas and influences without compromising our individual styles. Our aim with the new exhibition is to explore through textiles our different perceptions of inner and outer worlds.  We have chosen to work to a common format, but each artist has responded differently to the theme: from quiet reflection to strong feeling, from cold to hot, from abstraction to realism - depending on the individual's own style and inner eye.  Further information available at http:// www.colourfx.org.uk

"I was born in Norway in 1952. My mother is an artist, educated as a sculptor but she always worked with textiles and my father worked at the Ethnographic Museum where I, spent a lot of time, and I have loved all kinds of folk art and �primitive� art ever since.
My mother introduced me to sewing and I made my first piece of fashion at the age of 8. As I grew up I did a lot of fashion design and sewing. Art was a normal part of life.
Today I am occupied full-time with quilting in many forms: I am Editor of Quiltemagasinet, writing and making models for the magazine, teaching and working with my Art Quilts and exhibitions.
The last 30 years have been a continuous process towards a more free and individual style and i hope I am still moving forward! I dye all my fabric and use different printing and painting methods on the dyed fabric, building up layer on layer. And quilting is the final touch, and I love a lot of quilting! My inspiration comes from everywhere, literature and nature. I use my own photos a lot as background for my work.

For the fifth time the European Art Quilt Foundation, founded by Simon and Olga Prins-Lukowski in 1996, is happy to present itself again in Birmingham. With its premiere opening at The Festival of Quilts, the juried exhibition EAQ V will contain around 50 contemporary works of the best European art quilters. An international jury has selected the works for their originality, artistic quality and expression. The visitor will discover an exciting variety in theme, form, colour, technique and material. This non-photograph exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue. After the Festival, EAQ V will tour Korea, the Netherlands, the USA, Denmark and Germany. For more information visit www.europeanartquilt.com

A series of wall-hung patchwork quilts. Janet's new work is inspired by her dye painted fabric. In both the painting and the piecing shew explores the effects of transparency and luminosity. For further information visit http://www.janettwinn.co.uk

Each of the artist members of Studio Art Quilt Associates who are represented in Transformations 2008: Icons and Imagery used the idea of an icon, with its ability to elicit symbolic meaning beyond the object represented, as a starting point for the quilts in this exhibit.  German textile expert Rudolf Smend, who served as the sole juror of Transformations 2008, chose work he felt "focused primarily on artistic originality, perfect craftsmanship and innovation," while providing a new take on the meaning of iconography through the use of fresh imagery and interpretations. Transformations 2008: Icons and Imagery, composed of 32 quilts from nine countries, travels to South Africa and the United States after opening in the UK.

BQTHL is an online group of enthusiasts linked by their love of antique and vintage quilts, and interest in textile history. Although created to examine quilt history from a British viewpoint, BQTHL has developed into an international group discussing many & varied topics from the fabric of our textile heritage.
In 2007, inspired by the complex designs on traditional, British, village signs a challenge was set to the group. �Discover the textile history of a chosen area. Design and create a 12�, three layer, block, using any fabric technique to depict this�.
In sharing our Challenge blocks in this gallery, we hope to inspire interest in the wealth of textile traditions, and reflect a microcosm of their history from across the world .

The Festival of Quilts, which is the only event to have won the support of The Quilters' Guild of the British Isles, also enjoys the active support of the European Quilt Association, the body bringing together all 17 national quilt guilds and societies around Europe.
One common theme is how the young can be introduced to the pleasure of quilting and this year's EQA initiative at The Festival reflects this.
All the national guilds will be encouraging youngsters in their respective countries to participate in one of two competitions in the Festival specifically aimed at the young. There is one competition for individuals (with 3 sub categories for different age groups) and another for entries from schools. Again, this competition is split into two categories for primary schools and secondary schools.
All these competitions are sponsored by Brother UK, who will be offering attractive prizes comprising sewing machines and other consumer goods from their extensive range.
All the entries will be judged in their respective competitions but, in addition, the EQA will be selecting two entries from each country to be featured in their own separate gallery within the Festival. In this way, two talented youngsters from each member country will be awarded the privilege of representing their nation as the face of young stitching.

Breathing the life and colours of the Pacific, the patterns of tivaevae are unique to the Cook Islands. The works in this collection of Tivaevae are inspired by both traditonal island flowers and more exotic blooms such as daffodils, irises and tiger lilies. The flowers are intricately embellished with brightly coloured variegated stitching. Some of the stitches are only found in Tivaevae and the patterns are passed down from mother to daughter and granddaughter.
There are three distinct types of Tivaevae in this collection. Tivaevae Tataura are multicoloured and elaborately emboidered motifs appliqued onto a background casement cloth.Tivaevae Manu are a simpler form of applique, weithout the intricate stitching, usually in two colours. Tivaevae Taorei are pieced Tivaevae. All are worked in plain coloured casement cloth which was the only cloth readily available in the islands in the1960's when these Tivaevae were stitched.

Project Linus brings comfort and a feeling of security to sick and traumatised children and teenagers through the gift of quilts. Since its conception in 2000 until July last year, quilts and blankets which YOU have made were distributed throughout the UK, and all the co-ordinators would like to offer you all a very huge thank you for all your support.  Without it none of these children would receive their very own comforter � or experience the feeling that somebody else was thinking of them.
So, building on this wonderful support and the interest shown by the Alphabet Animal blocks we are announcing our next �Block Theme� which will run until August next year.  We are specifically targeting the older children and teenagers this time so that the block size is now 9.5 inches (24 cms) square, which includes the seam allowance. (Please note though that we also still need quilts for the younger children!!)
The theme is �All That Jazz� and you can use any technique and interpret the theme any way you want (just remember no buttons etc)

Prism was established by Julia and Alex Caprara, Directors of Opus School of Textile Arts in 1999.  Since its inception Prism, under Julia�s Chairmanship, has established itself as an international textile group with members worldwide.  They are drawn from the Opus advanced courses, BA (Hons) Embroidered Textiles and the Master Class in Stitched Textiles, as well as Opus tutors and artists affiliated to the school. Prism is delighted to be exhibiting at this show alongside established quilt artists; it has members who quilt and also embroider, collage, paint and use many other disciplines, all in distinctive personal styles.  For this �selected entries� exhibition members have been asked to submit work that would create a powerful collection, personally challenging and visually stimulating.  Prism hopes the exhibits will provoke and intrigue, while inviting comment on the tension of difference and contrast possible within the medium of quilting.

In 2006, Sandy Snowden won the Student Category with "Distressed and Deconstructed", a skirt design inspired not only by erosion and decay in metal, but also by the aging seen in corsets from the Tudor period.
Since FoQ 2006, Sandy has often returned to exploring some of the same themes used in the skirt - made of rust-dyed fabrics and a corded yoke. Her display of work in the "Two Years On" exhibit will showcase some of the results of investigating twin-needle and channel cording. In using various fabrics, cord weights, and colour combinations; Sandy has found not only the strength in the technique, but also that line and stitch are an integral part of it. Being a Student Category Winner has also opened the door to several exciting opportunities including the invitation to be a Bernina Fashion Designer for
2007, and again for 2008. Sandy has recently been invited to join the teaching team at New Directions, Reading, Berkshire. More of her work can be seen at www.sandysnowden.com where she is currently continuing to explore
other historically inspired themes, both in textile and wearable art.

This year's heritage exhibition focuses on the quilts produced by members of the church guilds during the 1920's and 1930's in the town of Hawick in the Scottish Borders.
The quilts distinctive motifs of thistles and hearts make them easily identifiable from the more well known quilts produced in the North of England and in Wales.
The exhibition includes quilts and templates from the Guilds Collection as well as items on loan from private collectors.

The first Russian quilting magazine, published by the Astreya Publishers Ltd, continues to introduce the most outstanding Russian quilt artists to quilters and quilting fans. This year, visitors to the Festival of Quilts will see the most interesting creations of Irina Voronina, a talented and original artist from St. Petersburg.
Irina Voronina's decorative quilts are more than just pieces of artwork made on a highly professional level: there is harmony in the author's use of colour and composition. In terms of sewing skills, the execution of each piece is faultless, as well as that of the decorative details such as embroidery, elements of applique and collage, or traditional patchwork techniques.
As for the content (i.e. the visual imagery), the images reflected in the "screen" space become a three-dimensional picture, where everything is subordinate to the author's narrative. She tells a story about life and expresses it through art, where the author herself is always present: reflecting, inspiring, admiring and causing admiration.
In fact, Irina Voronina's decorative fabric pictures are "action stories", born according to the author?s intention. But these could also be described as "told" and "pictured" dreams, where reality and mystery intertwine, and trivial things of everyday life become full of fantasy, as in a fairytale. Each of the pieces is full of light and motion, full of melody. Each has its own mood.

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