2008 Artist in Residence

We’re thrilled to announce that this year’s Artist in Residence will be Quilt Artist Mary Ellen Kranz.

You may know her from her appearances on HGTV’s Simply Quilts or from her book Blending Photos with Fabric: A Beautiful New Way to Combine Photography, Printing and Quiltmaking or perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to take one of her classes in Paducha Kentucky.

Mary Ellen teaches quilters how to use the technology that is common in our homes to enhance traditional arts. She delights in introducing new fiber artists to the joys of quilting and aiding experienced stitchers to combine fresh colors, embellishments and new techniques to bring personal perspective to their art quilts. “Right now the technologies have all kind of come together. We now have printers that can print directly onto fabric that are basically home, ink-jet printers. At the same time, we have digital cameras that are allowing people to more freely take pictures. Combine that with image editing software that is getting easier and easier to use and you’ve got opportunities for quilt makers with very average equipment to do some pretty exciting things in terms of integrating photographic imagery into their quilts”

How often have you taken a beautiful digital picture and wished you could share it with the world in another format? Are you tired of simply printing you picture and hanging it on the wall? Or worse yet, taken a beautiful souvenir of a wonderful vacation and simply filed it away on the hard drive? Not any more!

In the months to come, we’ll update you on Mary Ellen’s schedule at Fiber College 2008