primitivequiltsandprojects.com^39
Dawn Shuck
Debbie Wick
Donna McKinney Jill Shaulis
From a very early age I have been
intrigued by color and took every
art class available. I always enjoyed
experimenting with color and was
always amazed at the impact color
has on a project or design. So along
with my desire to always be creating
something and my love of color it
was a natural progression toward
the quilting world.As quilters we all know that color
selection can make or break a quilt
so I really enjoy studying the colors
in other quilters projects. I do lean
toward the more traditional or
primitive colors but do appreciate
brighter and bolder colored quilts
as well. Since I have been dyeing
wool for my designs it has been a
wonderful creative adventure into
color and I love using different
textiles in quilting. I am fortunate to
be involved in a lot of quilt shows
around the country and the quilts
that are submitted to be in the
show are true works of art and their
creators are definitely true artists.I visited the Folk Art Museum
in Williamsburg, Virginia,
last fall and when I left my
head was whirling with all
the beautiful art I saw! From
the inspiration of my trip, I
designed this simple floral
appliqué design! I even
called it "Williamsburg"!I had a stained glass studio for
18 years and then owned a
primitive furniture/gift shop for
12 years. We proudly opened
a quilt shop two years ago
with my son & his wife. My
creativity with stained glass and
decorating primitive homes has
greatly influenced my desire to
create wool and quilts with a
primitive flare. I love to create
an unusual look!I think 'art' has been a part of my life
for as long as I can remember. I won
an all elementary school coloring
contest while just in 3rd grade! In
junior high I asked my parents if I
could paint my bedroom, little did
they know until I was done, my plan
was to paint Disney characters on
the walls. I had an amazing high
school art teacher, Rodney Nelson.
I learned so much from him and he
opened up so many opportunities
for me to paint/draw throughout
the walls of the school. I struggled
deciding if I would go to college to
teach art or phys. ed. (phys. ed. won
at that time). I continued my love
of art by painting a jungle scene on
my first son's bedroom wall. So after
teaching phys. ed. for several years
it just makes sense that my sights
would change to owning a quilt
shop to combine my love of sewing
and art. From there came pattern
and fabric designing. I truly feel like
I'm living my dream!Jennie Lamb
I come from a long line of
seamstresses. I remember my
mom and my aunt sewing
Christmas presents. Finishing
them up on Christmas Eve and
laughing the whole time about
how late they were. I think from
that early memory I equated giving
handmade gifts with love. I knew
even then that it would have been
easier to just buy a gift but they
worked until the last minute to give
something handmade, something
heartfelt. I always wanted to make
gifts for others. I was surrounded
by creativity. Painting, sewing,
and crafting. Quilting became my
creative outlet and led to designing.
I love to give quilts to others. I feel
like it is giving a hug to someone I
care about.Gail Pan
My Mum was a dressmaker and I
always had a constant source of
fabric in the house. I remember she
would do alterations and I would
use the cut offs to make dolls
clothes and such. I was then given a
small cross stitch kit for my birthday;
I think I might have been about
9 years old and I was hooked on
threads after that.