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Into the Wild - Creature Quilts

Quiltmakers of today look everywhere for inspiration, including their gardens.  But instead of simply wishing to re-create blooms and vines, they have looked beyond to the creatures that make the garden their home.  Frogs, mice, salamanders, birds, beetles, and butterflies have provided inspiration for the contemporary quiltmaker.  You will find such fauna in quilts in this exhibit including Dancing in the Light by Ellen Anne Eddy, Feathered Beauties by Pamela Humphries, and Organic Garden by Bonnie Keller.
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Dancing in the Light
Ellen Anne Eddy
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2010.09.01

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Feathered Beauties
Pamela Humphries
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2006.04.01

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Organic Garden
Bonnie Keller
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2007.08.01

Not far from the garden is the farm, and creatures there have also found a home in quilts.  Ms. MacDonald Had a Farm by the Hanging By a Thread Quilt Group portrays all the denizens of a farm, while Corn Crib by Adabelle Dremann brings a pig to life.  Goato and Friends by Barbara Barber is a view of the critters seen while walking a country lane.
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Ms. MacDonald Had a Farm
Hanging By a Thread Quilt Group
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2013.09.01

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Corn Crib
Adabelle Dremann
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#1997.06.13

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Goato and Friends
Barbara Barber
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#1996.02.01

The works of Tolkien inspired two quilts by Sue McCarty: Tribute to Tolkien and Adventure Awaits.  In these two quilts alone you will find more than 25 animals.  One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Laura Heine draws on the work of Dr. Seuss.  Other creatures from the realm of the imagination include elk and deer in Petroglyph by Patricia Styring and Birds of a Different Color and Migration #2 by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry.  Pat Holly’s exploration of the art and culture of India inspired her to create Paisley Paradise, a phantasmagorical rendering of over 30 peacocks.
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Tribute to Tolkien
Sue McCarty
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2013.03.01

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Adventure Awaits
Sue McCarty
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2013.06.05

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One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Laura Heine
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#1996.01.21

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Petroglyph
Patricia Styring
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2006.01.01

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Birds of a Different Color
Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2000.01.01

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Migration #2
Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#1996.01.18

Shirley P. Kelly has drawn animals her whole life.  Flowers of the Crown celebrates her love of horses, Puffins is a nod to the Nova Scotia home of her mother, and Pandas ‘Round the World was inspired by a visit to the National Zoo with her children.
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Flowers of the Crown
Shirley P. Kelly
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2007.10.01

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Puffins
Shirley P. Kelly
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#2005.01.02

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Panda 'Round the World
Shirley P. Kelly
Collection of the National Quilt Museum acc.#1997.07.14

There is more: cats, dogs, zebras, alligators and elephants.  We here at the National Quilt Museum hope you are inspired to create your own creature quilt- or just hug your pet!

Into the Wild was shown from February 26 - April 7, 2015 at the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY.

Judy Schwender
Curator of Collections, National Quilt Museum
February 18, 2015

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