Award-winning quilts and accessories created in the mountains of North Carolina Phone 828-682-7331
See Barbara's traditional quilts at New Morning Gallery, Asheville, North Carolina in the Biltmore Village opposite the entrance to the Biltmore Estate. You can see her photographic quilts at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville at The Grovepark Inn.
New Morning Gallery is located in historic Biltmore Village, across from the entrance to Biltmore Estate. The Grovewood Gallery, also voted top craft gallery in the US in 2003 by readers of Niche magazine, is located behind the historic Grove Park Inn. These galleries help make Asheville one of the top arts destinations in the United States. |
 Barbara Webster
My quilts are historical documents. They can contain photographs, historical documents and even paintings. In addition to being a pictorial historical record of a time and place, they also contain metaphorical symbolism. The symbolic layers combined with the photographs create a powerful visual document that also happens to be art. Because the art is presented in the non-threatening guise of the warm and familiar quilt, people are able to readily respond to it. I make art in the hope of inspiring awe and love for nature, the source of our existence. People will protect what they love. With my digital camera I try to capture what I see and what moves me and incorporate those images in my quilts. I want to show how beautiful and precious life is in all its manifestations, and how, if you look closely, there are always surprises. I want to encourage people away from the TV and into the woods and fields where something real is going on. I try to use traditional quilt blocks when I can to honor the heritage of my community and the tradition of quilting. But I love taking this wonderful tradition and applying 21st century technology to it, thereby bringing the tradition into modern times. In the past, the quiltmaker captured the history of her time by her choice of fabrics. Today those quilts can be dated by the color or print of fabric used. I feel I am capturing the history and times of my life in my quilts, only in my quilts it is the photographs that capture the history. To some extent the printing technology is dated, and as it continues to evolve I am sure it will become a way of dating a quilt as well. It is a sad fact that much of the imagery I use in my quilts will not be around in another 50 years. Our environment is rapidly changing due to global warming, overpopulation, and lack of understanding we are all connected. We have become the only creatures on the planet to foul our own nest. We are also the only creatures who take more than we need to survive. Even the snake in my frog pond does not eat all the tadpoles. In our fouling and taking we have endangered all life on the planet, including our own. We cannot live without the beauty of nature. Recent research has shown that people heal faster and feel better when they are surrounded by nature or pictures of nature. ADD and ADHD children even calm down (American Journal of Public Health, September, 2004 research by Frances Kuo, University of Illinois). Clearly we need nature to remain whole and peaceful. I hope that my quilts will inspire people to reconnect and to protect and honor all life from the understanding we are all one. Click here to see a resume.
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