Uncommon Threads: Ohio's Art Quilt Revolution

by Gayle A. Pritchard

Ohio’s long quiltmaking heritage prepared the way for the contemporary “pioneer” artists of the 1970s and 1980s, who, through individual vision and dedication, have created a new art form and added a new chapter to quilt history. Uncommon Threads: Ohio’s Art Quilt Revolution reveals for the first time the remarkable role Ohio artists, curators, institutions, and organizations have played in the evolution of today’s international art quilt movement. Against the backdrop of America’s counterculture and civil rights movements, author Gayle A. Pritchard’s compelling narrative threads its way through the emergence of the art quilt, from artists working in isolation to the explosive “big bang” of the first Quilt National and its inevitable reverberations. Pritchard provides a fascinating and personal glimpse into the private world of these unique artists through in-depth interviews, rare photographs, and abundant quilt illustrations. As Uncommon Threads demonstrates, the art quilt movement could not have occurred without Ohio’s unparalleled contribution. Quilt lovers around the world will relish discovering this tale of the uncommon energy, vision, creativity, and devotion to self-expression that truly made a quilt revolution.

130 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2006

About the author

Artist Biography
Working as a fiber artist for twenty five years, as well as a curator, lecturer, teacher and writer, Gayle Pritchard received a BA-Honors degree from the highly competitive College of Wooster, where she was the college's first double-major student. She majored in German and Psychology, with a double-minor in art and French. Pritchard was a Rotary Scholar at the Universities of Tour and Paul Valéry in France. She pursued additional post-graduate art training at the Quilt Surface Design Symposium in Columbus and in the continuing education program at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Fluent in three languages, her work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums across the US and in Denmark, Japan & Australia.

Highlight exhibitions include those at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Ohio Designer Craftsman Best of '94 (special mention award), and Visions, a traveling fiber exhibition which opened at the Museum of San Diego. International traveling exhibitions include Ohio to Nagoya and Signatures in Fabric. Commissions include The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Quilt, the Smithsonian Craft Archives and, most recently, artwork commissioned for the Peter B. Lewis building (designed by architect Frank Gehry) in Cleveland, Ohio. She is featured in the 1997 Encyclopedia of Living Artists, was named Teacher of the Year by Professional Quilter Magazine, and Cleveland Magazine's "90 Most Interesting People". She has made several television appearances, both locally and nationally, including CNN. Historian Robert Shaw published her work in The Art Quilt, a history of contemporary quilts in America. Her work was included in Crafting Personal Shrines by Carol Owen and in Quilts of the Ohio Western Reserve by Ricky Clark. She was named an "Ohio Treasure" in 2000 by the State of Ohio at the annual CityFolk festival.

Gayle has curated the biennial Artist as Quiltmaker exhibits since 1999. The exhibit is a nationally recognized venue for art quilts held at the Firelands Association gallery in Oberlin, Ohio and is one of the oldest such exhibition venues in the country. She also co-curated Threads of Freedom: The Underground Railroad Story in Quilts in Oberlin in 2001, and hosted the symposium, Pathways and Perspectives, a panel discussion about the history and future of the art quilt movement. She has taught workshops and lectured widely on various subjects related to her medium.

Reviews

[Gayle Pritchard]

I just re-read my own book in preparation for a presentation I was asked to make this coming week. I am pleased to say the narrative has stood the test of time. I am amazed, however, at how much has changed since I finished researching and writing the story. Technology has found its way into the field more deeply than I could have imagined, and changed our society in ways that are yet to be understood.

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading about art quilts and their history. This book gives background on modern quilt makers and how they found each other.
When you think you are out there quilting alone, and you find like minded sewists, it's a thrill!

[Carol Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this very interesting because I am a quilt artist--just not to the extent these ladies were. I acquired this book from Chris Porter's stash when she moved to Columbus. She was a true quilt artist--working on watercolor quilts that could be impressionist paintings. This book was important to me because it was history of the Dairy Barn in Athens, which was there when I was in school at Ohio University, but I've never had the good fortune to visit. This year is the year. Such a drive among the artists--and the power of WOMEN who join forces for something they believe it.