Art Quilters Showcase Their Work at the Coastal Discovery Museum

Art Quilters of the Lowcountry Showcase Their Work at the Coastal Discovery Museum

In Hilton Head, South Carolina, a unique exhibition of contemporary quilts by the Art Quilters of the Lowcountry is set to open on July 18 at the Coastal Discovery Museum. This group of five innovative artists meet every four to six weeks to learn and teach workshops, showcase their work, and plan for future exhibitions.

The Art of Quilting

Quilting may often conjure images of traditional log cabin or star designs and heirloom bedspreads, but the Art Quilters of the Lowcountry are pushing those boundaries. Incorporating modern techniques and a multitude of mediums, their quilts are as much works of art as they are crafts.

Longtime member Jody Wigton, for instance, employs techniques such as open weaving, where holes are cut into the work and then filled with yarn and fabric. Wigton will be showcasing 18 of her quilts at the exhibition, all of them mounted on stretcher frames to emphasize their status as art pieces.

Bringing Techniques to Life

The group’s demonstrations hold just as much intrigue as their final pieces. Wigton will share her open weaving process, while Ron Hodge, another member of the Art Quilters of the Lowcountry, and a former stained-glass artist, will demonstrate how he incorporates beading into his work.

Peg Weschke, a founding member of the group, employs a painterly style and will demonstrate painting on fabric. Another member, Donna Stankiewicz, often “paints” a quilt from a photograph she has taken and stitches over it in a process known as ‘thread painting’. She, as well as Weschke, also uses Derwent pencils and Inktense blocks, pastel-like mediums that, when dampened, dissolve their pigment and make the colours vibrant.

Welcome Addition

The newest member of the group, Ro Morrissey, recently relocated from New England where she was part of several artist organizations. Morrissey will demonstrate seascape stripes, which she often employs through linear, horizontal piecing in her quilts, a style particularly fitting for the landscapes of the Lowcountry.

A New Way to See Quilts

The exhibition, aptly named ‘Imagine’, encourages community members to see quilts as not just pieces of fabric, but as works of art. “People don’t realize how much can be done with fabric. They are often incredulous that the quilts are not paintings. Whether they are quilters or not, they are truly amazed.” Wigton shares.

Imagine has been curated and hung by Elizabeth Greenberg, the director of exhibitions at the Coastal Discovery Museum, who was pleased to highlight this unique art form in a larger venue. The exhibition will be open to the public until October 6.

The Coastal Discovery Museum, located on the grounds of Hilton Head’s historic Honey Horn, is open seven days a week and admission is free. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate with a mission to provide experiences that inspire caring for the Lowcountry through exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and events that encompass local history, cultural heritage, art, and the environment.