Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

The challenge was issued: use reproduction fabrics in a contemporary way for a quilt. After giving the idea some time to percolate, I decided to use artistic principles to help guide the challenge. Then of course I had a difficult time deciding which artistic principal to use first! So, this will be the first in a non-sequential series of articles using different artistic principles with reproduction fabrics to create a contemporary take. I hope these artistic principles will inspire you on your next quilt, whatever fabric you choose to use. Deconstruction (also known as deconstructivism) came to the forefront in a 1982 architecture competition, with credit given to the entry by Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman. In 1988 the Museum of Modern Art New York exhibition of “Deconstructivist Architecture” solidified the movement against postmodernism ideal of...

Originally printed for furniture or wall hangings, Chintz panels were also designed as seat covers or seat backs. Approximately 40 different panels are known, with more to be discovered. The majority of the surviving chintz panels known were printed in England, but panels were also printed in India and France. These printed panels came to be known as center medallions and were quickly adopted by quilters as the perfect center of the quilt. Approximately 200 antique quilts used these different medallions with a variety of frames and piecing. But the panels eventually became more than just the centerpiece, with some quilts using as many as 10 or more panels. One well known panel called the Fruit Basket Medallion or Basket of Fruit has been documented in approximately 40 British and American quilts. It was a favorite...