Stargazer Studio

Mrs. Richters and I have met to discuss the Stargazer Story Quilt project at a number of locations–several times in the Art Room at the school, of course…one important brainstorming session at The Pizza Kitchen on Northshore…and then there was our Saturday morning meeting at the local quilt store, Gina’s Bernina, just before Christmas. Now that was an exciting morning–we selected the fabric, a wide range of batiks, to be used in the quilt! (You can see a few of our selections from that day in the blog header, and the little pinwheel quilt block square picture to the right.)

Today I visited Mrs. Richter’s art studio for the first time, to see the space in which she’ll be bringing our project into creation. Her studio is a colorful, cheerful, inspiring space, built right next to her home. It has a wood floor that is stained a warm, sunny orange! There is a huge “island” worksurface in the center…and lots of stations set up around the perimeter–a counter with cabinets, a paper cutter, a light box, sewing machines, a design wall, and everywhere, everywhere delightful visuals: textile art from around the world, magazine clippings, fabrics, fibers (yarns), and more. Plenty of windows bring in natural light. It was easy for me to envision our quilt coming together in this room.

Mrs. Richters had several layout and design samples (some cloth, others paper–see the photos above!) all ready to show me, and lots of questions which we needed to address. We did a lot today, from choosing the basic design for our focal image (a Lotts leopard, illustrated as a fictional constellation) to planning the border, which will feature the traditional pinwheel block, in recognition of our school’s participation in Pinwheels for Peace. The border layout took on some complicated twists, and we made use of her design wall to try out some options using squares of paper around a pieced cloth sample she had constructed. Her computer is in the shop, so I used my laptop to show her the Stargazer Studio blog! Now that she has seen it, I am ready to announce our blog to the world….

The time has come to introduce a wonderful project that I have been dreaming of for over a year.

It is being made possible though an ABC grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, who is providing funds for an artist to work with our school to create what I have entitled the Stargazer Story Quilt.

I don’t want to reveal all the beautiful details of our plan in this first post, but I can tell you that this quilt will be a unique expression of our school spirit.

I teach art to students in grades 3-5 at A.L. Lotts Elementary School, and each of my students will have the opportunity to make a tangible contribution to this quilt. It will not be a traditional block or patchwork quilt, though it will feature some patchwork blocks (see the mini square to the right). This quilt will be what is known as an Art Quilt.

I will be sharing our progress over the next few months, and beyond, as we hope the finished quilt will have the opportunity to travel to a variety of venues, to be viewed by as wide an audience as possible. This blog is a way to further increase our audience.

As the quilt comes into existence, thanks to the skilled hands, creative mind, and collaborative spirit of local artist Suzi Richters, my students will be learning about various aspects of quilts–the structure and variety of quilts, the rich history of quiltmaking, the community of quilters, and more.

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please check back over the next few months to see our progress as we discuss the development and chronicle the creation of the Stargazer Story Quilt!

Amy Broady, new to blogging

Art Teacher, Grades 3-5

A.L. Lotts Elementary School

Knoxville, TN