Friday, March 15 – “Original Art Symbols”
Saturday, March 16 Special Workshop! 1 – 4pm – “Head, Heart & Hands, Developing Your Creative Voice”
Sunday, March 17 -“Graphic Landscape Fabric Collage
Deborah Boschert will be visiting us from the Dallas Texas area and teaching three workshops for the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild. These in-person workshops are March 16, 17, and 18, 2024. She is well known as an exceptional instructor.
Deborah’s quilting style is raw edge applique with stitching enhancements. She creates from within herself, pulling from personal symbols and thoughts.
Deborah has won many awards and ribbons at quilt shows. Her art collages have been juried into several international exhibitions including Art Quilt Elements, Quilts=Art=Quilts and SAQA Global Exhibitions. She is a quilt show judge, having had the pleasure of judging the International Quilt Festival show held in Houston in 2023.
In a recent email discussion, I asked Deborah some questions about her quilt processes and background.
Deborah began quilting in the mid-1990s. Her first quilt was a Quilt in A Day pattern from Eleanor Burns. Once she began quilting, she never looked back. She began designing her own patterns, learning new techniques, and eventually learned about raw edge fused applique from Melody Johnson. This is the primary technique Deborah uses for all the art quilt collage work she currently is doing.
I asked why Deborah wanted to share her techniques through teaching. She said she loves to connect with people through original art, fabrics and stitching. As she gained recognition, doors opened to her for teaching opportunities and sharing her processes and inspirations.
Deborah’s quilts range in size, yet most are on the smaller size, such as a 20” x 20.” Smaller quilts take about a week to complete while others may take years for them to materialize. We all understand that!
The largest piece she works with comfortably is 60” x 40.” However, in 2023 Deborah was selected to create a piece for the Dallas Arts District. The picture is of Deborah in front of the mural. You can read more about the muarl here.
I asked her how she begins her process. Does she just sit down and draw out her thoughts or does she begin with some fabric and get going? She notes her ideas in a small sketch book with a thumbnail-size drawing. Then she collects her fabric palette. Next, she pins, scrunches, and folds her fabrics on her design wall. Once the quilt top is completed, she takes the piece to her sewing machine where she quilts her own pieces. She uses a Janome 9450 sewing machine. She will share more about her techniques with us in her March workshops.
Deborah’s favorite part of the work is the design process involving fabrics selection and composition. Students taking Deborah’s class will sharpen their composition skills under the guidance of an encouraging, nurturing teacher. She’ll share ideas about fully utilizing our head, heart and hands to create original work. Lots of tips for generating ideas, developing a body of work, and exploring themes will be covered in the “Developing Your Creative Voice” class. Get inspired and leave with action items to get to work in your own studio!
On the final question, I asked about her favorite books that may have inspired her creative life. She mentioned three that came to mind. Her book choices are listed here, not in any special order.
Thank you, Deborah and the students registered for classes who have a desire to learn something new. One can always learn a new little something even if the workshop is something that you feel you know about. Learning is an effective way to keep our brains sharp.
Purchasing lecture tickets and workshops is quick and easy for both members and nonmembers at https://www.gaaqg.com/workshops/
