The Art Quilt Experience - Part I - Jonathan Holstein

What a thrill it was to again see Jonathan Holstein do a lecture on quilts and quilting!! I can't emphasize enough that if you ever have an opportunity to see and hear this iconic individual, jump at it!! I had gone to a lecture previously but it was a rather large audience. This was a more intimate setting and he was so open and sharing of his experience and background. He is truly the person who brought quilting as art to the attention of naysayers!!

As he lives in the area where the talk was given, he was able to bring several quilts from his own collection. This is one of the Amish quilts he was showing us. Early in his collecting career, he discovered the beauty of these quilts.

This was another quilt from his collection which was very striking. It was made of felted wools. For some reason, it looks so much richer in wool.

Here he is showing another of his Amish quilts. I believe this one was from the Ohio area where they were freer in their use of color.

Here he is showing one of the tops from Anna Williams. For anyone having taken a Nancy Crow class, you will know that Anna was the inspiration for the movement toward improvisational quilting. Jonathan shared two of the tops he had of Anna's.

This was a quilt that Jonathan had just come upon and was truly excited about. It was from Italy, well documented and was a beautiful wholecloth and made as a wedding quilt. He described it as a missing link in quilt history.