Currently in the BeaDazzle Gallery

In Our BeaDazzle Lounge Gallery: Maxine Burkholder

9/12 to 10/16

About the artist:

My grandmom sewed, my mom sewed, and they taught me to use a sewing machine when I was eight.  I started drawing and painting as soon as I could hold a pencil and brush. Lots of art lessons followed and in college, I took every art course that would squeeze into my chemistry major.

I began making my own clothes in high school and later made clothes for all my family.  Leftover fabric from the kid’s clothes became patchwork quilts with no discernible pattern. When my daughter was in high school, she asked for a “real” quilt — one where she picked the fabric and the pattern and it was not made from scraps. That became my first planned quilt.  (She picked 13 fabrics and we designed what became a queen-sized Log Cabin lay-out.)

Serious quilting began when I realized two things:

*One:  I could combine my love of painting, drawing, and sewing into one mixed media art form.

*Two:  Not all quilts have to go on beds.

I love fabric and being able to play with colors and textures and — you can paint on the fabrics!   Art Quilting basically lets you do anything you want with any fiber, technique, and embellishment.  My work has been exhibited at local and national shows as well as the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

My other art endeavors include water media painting, print making, and I am currently working as a silversmith fabricating jewelry in silver and gold.

More info at:  MaxineBurkholderDesigns.com

About her art:

A quilt is defined as having 3 layers held together by stitching.  The top and bottom layers are fabric. The center layer is filling/batting.  Historically, they were primarily made for bed coverings and used whatever fabric the maker could find or afford to buy.  Usually a lighter weight  cotton or silk was used in creating the design because it was easier to sew by hand.  With the invention of the sewing machine, the creative process became easier and more flexible.

In today’s world of “Art Quilting” anything goes in the choice of fabrics, threads, shapes, and embellishments. They do not have to go on beds or be sewn by hand.  The fabric now becomes part of our palette for creating art to hang or use as desired. The design is in control of the maker.

My quilts here are a sampling of wall hangings from the past 20 years of experimentation.