For the first week of summer classes for adults, we are featuring one of our amazing students. Linda Frost is a local fiber artist who has been quilting for years. She recently took Tressa Jones’ Beginning Printmaking class where she made a relief printed quilt entitled “The Death of Compromise”. Her quilt is currently on display as part of an exhibition at the Leedy-Voulkos Gallery in Kansas City. We asked Linda a few questions about her piece and her artistic background:

 

-First off, what inspired the concept behind your piece “The Death of Compromise”?

“The thought behind this piece was inspired by the way all of us can create our own bubble of selected information thanks to social media and cable TV. Progress towards conflict resolution is best done with compromise and shared goals, but that seems to lost to us these days. I used a clinched fist in reds and blues to symbolize the left/right, red/blue, conservative/liberal viewpoints that are so very strongly held. Simply said, I wanted to show how we are all just shouting NO! at each other.”

-Tell us about the creation of the piece. What inspired you to combine quilting with printmaking?

“I carved the print block in the Beginning Printmaking class at the LAC and made some prints, but quilting is my main love so I took the block home and printed the image on some solid colored fabrics. A current call for art by the Studio Art Quilt Associates determined the size. The black paint I used turned out to be a bit too transparent for a clear print, so I decided to thread paint most of the fists to help highlight the shape and to add more color. The quilting around each block is done by machine in a method I like to call “angry quilting” where I set the machine on a zig zag stitch and then sew in a free motion style.”

-We’ve heard you are pretty well known in the fiber arts community here in Lawrence. Tell us a little bit about your background in the arts.

“I joined the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild about 25 years ago, just as there seemed to be an explosion of new quilting tools and exciting new lines of fabric. I became active in the guild and took a lot of classes. (I do not have a formal background in art. I have a degree from KU in Pharmacy.) From there I helped start the Kansas Art Quilters group and worked as an independent curator putting together exhibits of textile art and arranging shows around the country. My “Patchwork Jayhawk” was part of the “Jayhawks on Parade” event in 2003. In 2007 I won a Phoenix Award for my work as a volunteer in the arts. My work has been exhibited both locally and nationally in a variety of galleries and shows. My piece “Loony” is currently touring as part of the Studio Art Quilt Associates exhibit “Wildlife Fabrications”. I have had my quilts included in books by Martha Sielman and Barbara Brackman, and the Kansas City Star published two quilt books I wrote; Happy Birthday Kansas! and Robots in Space!.”

-What spurred you to take the Beginning Printmaking class here at the LAC?

“I’ve taken a variety of classes at the LAC and enjoyed them all. A friend and fellow quilter suggested we take the print class.”

-How did what you learned in the class apply to your already knowledgeable background in Fiber Arts?

“The class helped me continue to explore the interactions of shape and line, and their use in expressing emotion.”

 

Inspired to explore? There is still room in a many of our classes and it’s not too late to sign up! Check out the full list of Adult Classes here.