Guest Speaker: Sujata Shah
Lecture: The Root Connection, My Journey as a Quilter
Sujata Shah is an award-winning quilter, designer and the author of Cultural Fusion Quilts. She finds inspiration in the rich handmade tradition of her home country, India; the quilts of Gee’s Bend; Indian and American utilitarian quilts, and African textiles.
Drawn to the imperfections and irregularities of handmade crafts, Sujata believes each quilt has the personality of the maker. Using imperfections as design elements has led her to abstract interpretations of traditional quilt blocks. She finds hand stitching therapeutic and nourishing to the soul, ultimately helping her write personal stories in stitches.
Sujata will be sharing her Journey as a Quilter with us.
While growing up in India, rich colors, hand-woven textiles, and hand-crafts were part of Sujata’s daily life. She learned to appreciate the irregularities and imperfections of handmade crafts. Her instinctive ability to work with colors and textures combined with an education in graphic design has helped her develop a unique style as a quilt designer.
Inspired by the utilitarian quilts and handmade crafts from around the world, she developed an abstract form of traditional quilt blocks and subsequently published the book, Cultural Fusion Quilts.
This presentation includes a slide show of her travels in India as well as her journey as a quilter. The slide show is followed by a trunk show of original quilts. She will share how she connects the dots between memories of the past and today’s creative process.