A QUILTER'S DREAM COME TRUE: MUSEUM SHOWCASES MASTERPIECE COLLECTION OF QUILT ART

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Simply put, quilts are made from pieces of fabric that have been sewn together either by hand or machine.

But really good quilts, like the multitude of designs displayed at the Museum of the American Quilter's Society in Paducah, are made from a combination of factors.

Good quilts require a combination of good design, technique and soul, said Victoria Faoro, executive director of the museum.

"There needs to be some kind of feeling and a love for fabric," she said.

But the quilter's presence also needs to appear in the finished product. Quilts can tell stories about their makers or show snippets of history and life that might otherwise be forgotten.

Quilter Nancy Brown, whose design "Mount Pleasant Miners" is on display at the museum, used a family photograph as her quilting inspiration.

The quilt shows an image of gold miners in the early 1800s. The design in the quilt is flecked with pieces of gold thread. The quilt sort of embellished the truth a bit, since it has the miners striking gold when the actual people in the photograph did not.

Quilts are an art form that everyone can identify with. They represent a piece of history while holding a key to the future.

Quilt designs are constantly evolving while holding steady to traditional patterns, said Faoro, who is also a quilter.

As people rush to celebrate the new millennium, quilts are still going to be a tie to the past, she added.

As technology has improved, so have some quilting techniques. Machine quilting is popular. Appliques are making a comeback. But then new designs and techniques are being added to the traditional favorites. Weaving threads with metallic touches into the pattern stitches or using surface designs from tie-dyeing are also popular.

Quilting won't ever go out of style, Faoro said. It's something that people tend to come back to, time and time again. Maybe it's because quilts are both artistic expressions of their makers but also utilitarian creations.

When visitors come to the museum -- and there are nearly 43,000 each year -- they see the masterpiece collection and understand the work much better. "They can appreciate its artistic appeal," Faoro said. "They know that though it most likely will be hung on a wall, it could also be laid on a bed."

People are beginning to appreciate that quilts are an art form using textiles instead of paints or clay. And it's not just a woman's creation, although the majority of quilters are female.

To show just how intricate textile artwork can be, the museum has an exhibit of works by Deidre Scherer created solely with thread.

Until you study the images closely, you would never guess they were created solely from threads.

Scherer used the threads to weave together the story of an aging woman in the last year of her life. The nine-piece exhibit, "The Last Year," is just part of a collection of Scherer's retrospective works.

Displaying a retrospective collection, whether it is quilt or textile arts, helps museum visitors gain a better understanding of how the artist's work changed over time, Faoro said. It shows beginning quilters that the master artists don't always start out creating masterpiece quilts.

There are two exhibit galleries in the museum, in addition to a larger gallery where the museum's collection of quilts is housed.

The museum collection contains masterpiece quilts, usually award-winning works purchased from quilters both abroad and across the United States. The quilts are preserved with humidity and light filter controls so that 100 years from now they can still be appreciated. Flash cameras are not permitted in the museum.

The museum also hosts a quilt block challenge for schoolchildren within a 300-mile radius of Paducah. Cape Girardeau is about 75 miles away.

The challenge allows students from preschool through high school to create a quilt block using three particular pieces of fabric. The quilt design can be any form but must contain at least the three fabric pieces. Winners are selected in each age category. The submitted blocks are hung in early January and February for viewing.

An arts-in-action event is held each October for children. It is designed as an all-day event that introduces children to working artisans. Glass blowers, sculptors, painters and other artists are invited to spend the day explaining and demonstrating their craft. This year's event is planned for Oct. 9 at the museum.

IF YOU GO

The Museum of the American Quilter's Society is open year round from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. April through October. There is an admission fee.

The museum's address is 215 Jefferson St. in downtown Paducah. Call (502) 442-5448 for more information.