This week on the Quiltart list, there is a lot of interest in a challenge someone issued for members to try their hand at finding and using unconventional material (from hardware stores) in art quilts, by some specified time, and to photograph and publish the results online as a group – well I think that’s the gist of it since I haven’t  ‘done challenges’ these past couple of decades; and yet writing that I realise it is not strictly speaking true.  Everything I design and make is a challenge, of my own generation, really, requiring thought, possibly experimentation (samples) and commitment to achieve its completion.

There was a time nearly 2 decades back when I belonged to an experimental group in which the monthly challenges we took part in enabled each of us to grow, with more oganised experimentation, and through critique learn a lot more than what we achieved in our own individual works.  So this materials challenge will open a lot of eyes – the gee whizz factor being one result:” Who on earth would have thought to use tap washers/slices of garden hose/spray on weed killer/ etc in an art quilt?  Fancy that ….”  Participants will learn the positive and negative qualities of the materials they experiment with. 

But the treasure hunt for unusual materials and their use will not grant any of the works more artisitc merit unless the use of good design principles and the ability of the artist to connect with the viewer in some meaningful way is also pondered and employed. 

IMHO the art quilt world today is obsessively focused on techniques and materials, to the detriment of good design, and this challenge typifies the current imbalance in much of the work in this genre.

Dangling door handles from the lower edge, applying insect screen mesh or embellishing with tap washers may be technically interesting but does not necessarily produce something that is ‘art’.