Beth Taylor, Abingdon, Virginia, is a fabric artist who creates colorful quilts, cards and wall hangings. She enjoys making pieces for churches and adding visually interesting pieces to enhance her work. Her pieces are free-form fabric that is layered and sewn often with a theme of landscapes and mountains. She also enjoys words and the way they can slow people down with kind or thoughtful words.
“I have always loved color and didn’t quilt until my 50s when I learned about free-form and modern quilting. A friend who was an expert quilter asked me why I didn’t quilt after seeing the way I set a table with colored linens. When I told her I didn’t think I could follow patterns well and be precise in sewing, she suggested that I just start sewing and make up my own designs. I bought a sewing machine and began in the spring of 2014.
“I’m self-taught but I’ve been around artists throughout my life. I am a soprano and flutist, and I think having studied music affects my art. My sister is a painter, my brother works with wood, my father worked with metal, and I think I have learned to be observant in the way I was brought up, which I see as the foundation of creating art. I haven’t studied color, but I love it. Many have said it is my strength — putting colors together as it occurs to me to do so. I enjoy working with color, and I think of fabric as paint as I work. I have attended two workshops in quilting and attended a retreat with the Gees Bend Quilters of Alabama,” she says.
Taylor is inspired by what she sees in nature, by kindness and by people who are welcoming to all, and work to make the world kinder and more beautiful. She particularly enjoys the work of folk quilters/artists, especially by the work of the Gees Bend Community.
Her work is available at The NC Crafts Gallery in Carrboro, North Carolina; Blowing Rock Art and History Museum in Blowing Rock, North Carolina; Ash County Arts Council in West Jefferson, North Carolina;The Bird and the Bear in Schenectady, New York; The Collective in Atlanta, Georgia;Holston Mountain Artisans, Abingdon ,Virginia; The Arts Depot, Abingdon, Virginia, and at Appalachian Roots Trading Post, Abingdon, Virginia.
“I love the people at Holston Mountain Artisans, and I’m thrilled for them as they flourish in their new space. I think they do a great job of representing the area artisans. There is a wide variety of work, and they are welcoming and inclusive. Sometimes when I sell several items/pieces, they call me and are so excited and enthusiastic about my success — and I suspect they do this with everyone. The Holston group of people support and encourage artists who are at very different places in their journey as artists. I really enjoy this enthusiasm, inclusion and being a part of something that is encouraging artistic work in all. I think making art makes people feel better and feel connected to others and all the good in the world,” she says.
Her work has been exhibit at Fischman Gallery, Johnson City, Tennessee; The Arts Depot, Abingdon, Virginia; New York Folklore Gallery, Schenectady, New York; Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia; Cupolo Crepes and Coffee, Burnt Hills, New York; Blowing Rock Artists in Residence, Blowing Rock, North Carolina; First Presbyterian Church, Asheville, North Carolina; North Carolina Crafts Gallery, Carborro, North Carolina; Schenectady Trading Company, Schenectady, New York.
“Quilting — whether traditional or free form — is a meditative art form. Anyone can quilt, and I love teaching people to trust their sense of beauty and design and use this very accessible form of artistic expression. I cannot recommend more highly to people of all age and inclinations to take up quilting,” she says.
