in the CQA Quilting News, May 7, 2010, by Pamela Marean, Cape Cod Times, February 28, 2010
“Nancy Crow makes a statement, whether you like it or not”, Joan Goldfarb
Any quilt is a feat of human dedication and creativity. Nancy Crow’s quilt shave been heralded globally as groundbreaking in the world of art.
Nancy Crow, "I am an artist and I make quilts."
The intricate stitching, the inspirational designs, the sheer hours of labor and personal energy that go into completing any quilt can make each one precious. But what distinguishes an “art quilt”? Crow herself dismisses the accolade, explaining, “You don’t say ‘art painting’ or ‘art sculpture.’ You have to apply to quilts that are art the same tough guidelines as for any art.”
Crow says her skills are grounded in the lessons of composition, value, color, shapes and lines that go into training any artist in traditional aesthetics. Although her undergraduate and graduate degrees initially launched her art career in ceramics and weaving, Crow says it is quilting that “lit a fire” under her and has kept her passionate about creating since the 1960s.
While working on her quilts, Crow sets up pieces in progress on three walls of her Ohio barn studio. She works “by the seat of my pants,” climbing ladders to lay new bits of cloth in a composition, and standing back to evaluate the results.
She has undergone hip and knee replacements to allow her to continue her work in this fashion.
While Crow’s journals betray the anxiety she feels to complete works to her own satisfaction, she also says, “I look at my time in the studio as a process of discovery. I love being inside my brain and pushing myself to think in ever more complex ways, because I know the ideas are there for the taking.”
Crow says it takes “phenomenal work and incredible dedication” to create something that approaches true art, no matter what your medium. Today, she continues to make new quilts, to travel the world curating exhibits and teaching workshops, and to occasionally lead tours to cultures she finds exceptionally interesting from a hand-crafting and textiles point of view.
Construction #84, No!, Nancy Crow
