Modern Quilt Month 2015 (part 4)

We've designated both July and August as Modern Quilt Month 2015. We've enjoyed seeing the modern quilts at various shows, and summer seems like the perfect time to feature these fun quilts. Here is part 4 of Modern Quilt Month !

Raindrops over the Rainbow by Jane Bachus (Arizona)

Who's to say that modern quilts can't convey rainbows in a more abstract form? Jane Bachus says that the quilt is an abstraction from a watercolor painting, which was enlarged and converted to fabric.  It was inspired by a class with Katie Pasquini-Masopust.  "Raindrops" appear as splotches of white paint dripped randomly onto a painter's canvas. We really enjoyed looking at all the different quilting patterns.

Gee's Ocean by Judith Putnam (Paris, Tennessee)

Judith Putnam loves The Quilts of Gee's Bend and was inspired by those amazing quilters to create her own improvisational quilt.  The rich blues reminded her of the ocean, which led to the quilting designs.  Quilted bubbles travel up and down the blue strips.

A Scorching Sun, ~85 x 65", by Reiko Naganuma (Tochigi, Japan)

Here's a great example of a symmetrical arrangement that is very pleasing to the eye and shows a wonderful sense of design and color. The rays of the sun are comprised of small triangular slivers, alternating with sturdy rectangles and trapezoids. Reikos' fascinating work was featured in Martha Sielman’s book Masters: Art Quilts Vol. 2.

Close up, A Scorching Sun by Reiko Naganuma

Reiko enjoys weaving fabrics with different textures using various raw materials. She has embellished this work with small pieces of handwoven textiles which encase sticks and twigs to remind us of the trees in the background.

Cobblestones by Candy Grisham (Washington, Missouri)

This modern minimalist design by Candy Grisham was one of 32 quilts chosen from the first AQS Modern Quilt Challenge.  These quilts were exhibited at AQS QuiltWeek events across the country in 2014.

Close up, Cobblestones by Candy Grisham

We admire all the beautiful shades of gold, maize, and apricot batik, interspersed with slender wedges of gray. The circular pebbles quilting pattern provides a nice contrast to the angular, contemporary squares and trapezoids.

Mark the X, 40 x 53", by Carol Esch and Lois Walter (Pittstown, New Jersey)

Carol was inspired by these fabrics.  She pieced these blocks on telephone book paper, creating a modern-looking string quilt.

Close up, Mark the X by Carol Esch and Lois Walter

The polka-dot sashing provides a vivid contemporary contrast to the rich, purples, golds, greens, and oranges, while the bright turquoise blue serves as a focal point for the quilt.  There are lots of fun fabrics in these blocks.

In Vino Veritas, 39 x 41", by Beth Markel (Rochester Hills, Michigan)

This line study with visual texture was inspired by photographs Beth Markel took of a friend's concord grape vines (hence the rich purple hues) on a beautiful autumn day.

Close up, In Vino Veritas by Beth Markel

This quilt is a fascinating arrangement of quadrilateral shapes in mostly solid fabrics. It's also a study in scale, as Beth has grouped small scraps together, within larger, more massive rectangles.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2015 Arizona Quilters Guild show (Raindrops Over The Rainbow) and the 2014 AQS Quilt Week in Phoenix (In Vino Veritas, Cobblestones, A Scorching Sun, and Gee's Ocean).