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Local Spirit and Dreams in Quilting ˇV About TIQE 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This exhibition is a great opportunity for me to share my working and learning experiences in quilting with others who share the same love of the art of quilting. It has been twenty-four years since I started making quilts in 1984. At that time, I didnˇ¦t even know how to sew on a button. It is my love for collecting cotton prints that sparkled my quilting life. Books on quilting inspired me and I taught myself quilting and stitching from those books. I deeply believed that practical experiences were very important in the self-teaching process. I learned as much as I could from knowledgeable books and I visited quilts on display everywhere I could in order to learn more about quilts. Much of my inspiration comes from that period of time. The knowledge and appreciation of the quilt world came from many years of practical experiences. As I look back on this journey through quilting and its philosophy I concluded that in my country, Taiwan, there is space for improvement in the learning environments of quilting. I feel worried about the lack of ˇ§local spirit and valuesˇ¨ in Taiwan. Curating exhibitions always gives me the opportunity to think and reflect. This has become my motivation and philosophy of quilt-learning. In different corners in the world, diverse ideas and perspectives are represented with the creating of art quilts. Concerns about human, environment, and globalization issues, etc. are all carried within these delicate art works. Through the use of points, lines, and dimensions, quilters can outline stories and express the meanings and values of events. Quilters of Taiwan do not always notice the importance of these concerns in our art. We Taiwan quilters should develop more connection with each other and work hand in hand to form powerful strength. The power of working together is our most treasured asset and it will make todayˇ¦s Taiwan art quilts the assets of the future. We Taiwan Ant Quilt Society (TAQS), a non-profit organization, has started a movement of curating as part of our goal to share our works and thoughts and learn more about quilting together. We focus on creating quilts with local spirit and values, and we also help, guide, and support the new quilters. To us, creating a quilt with local spirit and values means that our dreams in quilting will approach the ideal. Quilting is not about ˇ§meˇ¨ anymore, but all about ˇ§usˇ¨, and we believe that the ˇ§usˇ¨ will become the field to where we extend our learning and gain as much knowledge as possible through working together. To know more about TAQS, please visit our website at: http://www.taqs.org.tw/
Lin Hsin-Chen |
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