A sampling of quilts made by artists Denise Kaminski, Sue Winn, and Linda Holmes will be on display through March 24 at the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center, 402 W. Main St.
“We are delighted to feature the work of these very talented artists at Whitewater’s Cultural Arts Center.
Quilt-making is a venerable art, and dates back thousands of years,” said Kathy Haven, co-chair of the show. “While the techniques used in quilt-making have changed over the years, the beauty and significance of the quilts will continue to impress viewers.”
Show hours are noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit www.whitewaterarts.org.
Meet the artists
Denise Kaminski:
Kaminski is a self-taught quilter who began her first quilt in 1992.
With the help of a library book that described the use of templates, she made a “fish” quilt that year as a wedding gift for her brother-in-law.
She learned to sew at a young age when a mini class was offered during the sixth grade. Some of her first projects were clothing items for her nieces and nephews and for herself, following the example of her mother who sewed for the family.
Kaminski said she prefers machine piecing over handwork, and because she also does her own machine quilting, she usually limits her quilts to twin or smaller sizes for ease of handling.
Kaminski said she likes the speed and accuracy of machine piecing and said she would likely never finish a large project that required only handwork.
Kaminski said she enjoys fabric lines that are bright and colorful, and she especially admires the designs of Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler.
Kaminski lives in Whitewater with her husband Kevin. She is a financial specialist at the UW Credit union, and in her free time, enjoys lunch dates with their daughter, Emily.
Sue Winn:
Like many of today’s quilters, Winn first began sewing at an early age for the purpose of garment making.
Her mother was a talented seamstress who made a lot of Winn’s clothing, as well as draperies and slipcovers for the family. Later, Winn took Home Economics in high school and learned more about garment construction.
She said she enjoyed making clothing for her children when they were small and became interested in quilt making in 1980 when she made her first quilt – a brown and blue Bear Paw pattern for her son, Matt, who was 4 at the time.
At around that time, Kari’s Sew Unique, located in downtown Whitewater, was selling calico fabrics and offering classes in quilt making. Winn remembers that when she was recruited to teach a class to beginners it seemed a daunting challenge as the approach was: “see one, sew one, and teach one.”
She continues to trade valuable hints and tricks with other quilters as a member of the local Stonemill Quilters Guild in Whitewater.
Winn has enjoyed creating and gifting quilts to all of her extended family members and today makes quilts primarily for donations.
She lives just outside of Whitewater with her husband Jeff. They moved to Whitewater in 1974 where their children, Matt and Molly grew up.
Linda Holmes:
Holmes has been sewing for most of her life and began with hand embroidery and appliqué. For some it is a lost art, however, people still take it up to this day with embroidery designs being used for sewing materials.
At about age 20, she began sewing with three layers, the number in a traditional quilt.
While Holmes has made bed-sized quilts, she has come to favor mid-sized or smaller finished projects, finding them more manageable for the hand sewing she prefers. Because she has not used a sewing machine for many years, every stage of her quilts-piecing, quilting the layers, and embellishing, has been done by hand. Holmes said this approach provides more control with length of stitches, curves and corners.
Holmes considers quilting an affordable hobby, due in large part to the fact that hand piecing and quilting slows the process so that one quilt takes a long time to complete. Most of her quilts take a year to finish, with the first eight to nine months the most enjoyable for her.
Holmes is an Associate Professor of Accounting at UW-Whitewater and has lived in this area since 2000. She is looking forward to retirement this summer.
