The Art of Quilting

Elizabeth: Helen Karr discovered quilting as the young woman living in the tumultuous time, she took the quilting as a platform to express her deep passion for art as well as to communicate her feelings about the world in general. Some of her themes include deep love and reference for the earth, Female emancipation and other universally spiritual themes. Although some of her exquisite works take years to complete, Helen explains that every stitch is sacred and the journey is just as important as the destination. Helen invited me to the Unitarian church in Summit New Jersey where she had beautifully displayed her collection of fabulous quilts. Hi Helen. Helen: Hi welcome, Elizabeth. Elizabeth: Thank you so much for having, this is such a beautiful space. Helen: Thanks. Elizabeth: And look at all your quilts, it’s like they’re wall paper. So Helen tells me how you got started with quilting? Helen: In the 1970’s I walked into a book store and just browse into a book called The Engagement Quilt Calendar. Picking up the book it just connected naturally, because I saw these extraordinary images that women who were unschooled in the arts had produced. Elizabeth: So you were attracted to quilting in the feminine sense but then also when a more practical sense of the art of it, did you combine those 2 elements? Helen: Of course, I mean and the thing that I experienced as I do the quilting, I think back, you could go back in to peliolitic times and the very first women started sawing with bone and leather and fur and today we’re sensually doing the same thing. Elizabeth: So you feel sort of connection to the ancestors from with the. Helen: I do feel a very strong connection. Elizabeth: Isn't that lovely? Now what is your process and technique? Helen: There’s a stage where you first get a notion an idea, a subject. And that stage is filled with a lot of excitement and energy. At that point once I have the sense of the composition, the next thing will be some study of the distribution of color. And then the most exciting part for me all together, I have a pinning wall and I start cutting out fabrics. But after that we get to the construction stage and the construction stage is just the opposite because there’s only one way to get from one end to the other. Elizabeth: Very deliberate. Helen: And its one stitch at a time. Elizabeth: There you go one stitch at a time. Well I can't wait to actually work with you today and delve deeper into your process of quilting. Helen: Well thank you. Elizabeth: Alright. Helen had beautifully displayed some of her spectacular quilts as wall tapestry. I asked her about a few beautiful pieces. Now Helen we’re standing in front of this really large quilt with lots of 3 dimensional activities going on, tell me about it. Helen: This piece is called Mary, Mary. I had wanted to do something opposing the idea of wildness and tameness. My theme is they center on things to do with women. Elizabeth: And the 2 women there's one here and then one that goes across as you see the hands touch here. Helen explains that the first stage to beginning a quilt is to map out the whole design on paper. Next each square is numbered and fabrics will be chosen later corresponding to each number. After this the fabric strips will be sewn together. Here Helen demonstrates a popular pattern called the Log Cabin using a technique called Piecing. You’ve already gone through when you’ve chosen the right fabrics, the right colors. I guess what we’ve need to do now is maybe to pick our thread? Helen: Yes and I’ve always. Elizabeth: Do you use the same thread? Helen: No you would typically want to choose a thread that matches what you’re sewing together. Elizabeth: So each one might have different color. Helen: Exactly. Elizabeth: After the fabrics corresponding to each square are pinned together, the next step is to choose the appropriate thread and actually stitch the pieces together. Helen: So you are now doing number five on the map. Elizabeth: Okay let's stay right here, number five one of my lucky numbers. Helen: And that’s this piece. Elizabeth: Nice piecely. Pastel so I guess I’d like to go with something. Helen: I think I might go for the peach since it’s the only one that goes through all the. Elizabeth: Although you don’t see the thread after all. Helen: If you do it right. Elizabeth: There in lies the challenge. Here Helen teaches me the running stitch. The running stitch is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric, typically more thread is visible on the top of the sawing than on the underside. Alright so now it’s my turn and I guess I'm doing the running stitch. Helen: Yes. Elizabeth: Right which is the, now I just want to start right where I was. Helen: Yes back up that second stitch. Elizabeth: Which means I don’t pull it through until the end, essentially. Helen: Check the back and make sure you’re going through the line. Elizabeth: Okay, I just it’s astonishing to think that you start like this and come up with something like that on the wall. Helen: I know its madness. Elizabeth: It really it seems like it would take 3 years. Am I at the corner? Helen: Yup. Elizabeth: Alright. I'm going to pull it through. Helen: Yes. Elizabeth: So how do I do? Helen: You did fine. Elizabeth: Helen is also a talented painter, she has created an extraordinary series featuring her mother. I couldn’t wait to find out more. Alright Helen now luckily for us there are actually couples of paintings here, can you tells me a little bit of series of 2 here? Helen: I hadn't painted in about 20 years and quite honestly as much as I love the quilting it takes so long. I thought I better return to some painting and this are images of my mother. They came from a photograph that my dad took in Germany right after World War 2. Elizabeth: I love the combination of the photo and then sort of the imperial ethereal behind her, almost like she’s a wood nymph. Helen: Well that was the odd thing about the picture, she looked like she was stuck in the ground. Elizabeth: Like a tree. Helen: Like a tree. Elizabeth: Well there you go, now you’re going to continue with this series? Helen: I’m thinking there might be more in the series, yes. Elizabeth: I’m lucky to have seen not only your quilting but some of your painting. Helen: Thank you. Elizabeth: Helen Karr is a perfectionist, she lives by the Unitarian principle that all is sacred. As she pieces together in sutures and incredible strips of fabric, every stitch she painstakingly crafts is a journey towards integrating that profound principle.