Interview with Jayne Gaskins

Karen Musgrave (KM): This is Karen Musgrave and I'm conducting a Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview with Jayne Gaskins. Jayne is in Fernandina Beach, Florida and I'm in Naperville, Illinois so we are conducting this interview over the telephone. Today's date is January 30, 2009. It is now 9:09 in the morning. Jayne, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to do this interview with me.

Jayne Gaskins (JG): I'm glad to.

KM: Please tell me about your quilt "The Intersection of Main Street and Wall Street."

JG: This was produced for the quilters for Obama exhibit ["President Obama: A Celebration in Art Quilts at the The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center (King Street Gallery) in Silver Spring, Maryland, February 9 through March 5, 2009. ] that is going to be held at the Cafritz Gallery in Washington, D.C. Susan Walen organized the exhibit and did a magnificent job. My hat is really off to her. It is fiber art inspired by Barack Obama. I am a very big supporter [of Barack Obama.], in fact my son was on his paid campaign staff. I felt the country desperately needed a change and my major focus was the economic disaster that we are facing right now. I was particularly inspired by his statement about bringing Wall Street and Main Street together - to make the high rollers of Wall Street receptive to what is going on with the average worker on Main Street. We're talking about unity - unifying the country economically. So, in the background, I have his campaign logo with the rays coming out of it. In the foreground, you see a street sign as you would find in any downtown area at the intersection of Wall Street and Main Street. This is a bit different from what most of the other people have done in the exhibit. Most of them have done portraits, but I really wanted to go deeper than that.

KM: Is this quilt typical of your style?

JG: Yes, it is very typical of the style that I'm leaning towards right now. You don't see much of it this on this particular piece, but I also use thread-painting and trapunto. This was an appliqu. There is uniqueness to the texture of quilted fabric that you can't get with any other medium. You can get texture with a pallet knife and paint but it is not the same thing. You can get a wonderful depth and texture with fiber that you can't get with anything else. Also I like combining photography with fiber art. I design a lot of my work with PhotoShop. For example, where you see the Main Street and Wall Street [signs.] that was done in PhotoShop, printed onto a silk fabric, and then appliqud.

KM: This is 27 inches by 20 inches. Is that like a typical size for you?

JG: Yeah, that's a typical size. What is atypical about this is that they wanted something that would hang and almost all of my work is on stretcher strips.

KM: You are doing more like a painting.

JG: Exactly, all of my work is like that.

KM: Is that a challenge for you to do it this way?

JG: Not really. I did have to call a friend to ask, 'Tell me again how you put those sleeves on the back.' [laughs.] Also, to make it hang right, I put a metal bar in the bottom.

KM: What are your plans for this quilt when it comes back?

JG: I probably will give it to my son who was on Obama's campaign staff. He is back in college now. He took a semester off for the campaign and after this he is going to law school in [Washington.] D.C. He was very taken with the quilt so I'll probably give it to my son, Christopher.

KM: Tell me about your interest in quiltmaking.

JG: I don't consider myself a quilter, which is why I feel like I'm coming in the side door here. I picked up quilting techniques because I'm fascinated with what you can do with them, but I've never made a traditional quilt in my life and I probably never will. To explain how I arrived at where I am, I'll have to go backwards a little bit here. My undergraduate major was graphic design and many years ago in a lifetime far, far away I was an art director with an advertising agency and eventually a creative director. Then I discovered corporate greed, got an MBA, and switched over to the account executive side. I did a lot of marketing strategy and later spent many years with the Centers for Disease Control doing social marketing. Now that I'm retired I've come full circle and I'm back into art. I've always had a love of fiber art, always. It's what I've always done for relaxation, but I never thought about it as anything other than just a wonderful escape. I would be on an airplane and other people would be reading their professional journals or a good book and I would pull out my crochet hook. [laughs.] My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet when I was five years old and I've sewn all my life. I even weave. I've got a loom. So when I retired I thought, 'Well, I want to do more of this but I really didn't know which direction I want to go.' I spent a little while playing around [with fabric] and I thought, 'Let's see what happens with fiber collage.' Then things sort of built from there. I began talking to some other fiber artists and things just evolved. I was walking through a quilt expo and I saw trapunto and it was love at first sight. I thought, 'Wow! You can take a photograph and then [use this technique] to pull out different areas for depth.' I use a lot of graphic design software and PhotoShop for designing, plotting, composition, and light and colors mixtures. Once you print it off on fabric, you can always change it around again on the design board.

KM: How did you hear about the Obama quilt exhibition?

JG: I belong to SAQA [Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc.] and Susan Walen sent out an email.

KM: You belong to SAQA which is the Studio Art Quilt Associates.

JG: Right. And I also belong to the Surface Design Association. I live in Fernandina Beach, Florida, which is just outside of Jacksonville, and we have formed a group of fiber artists called The Fiber Artists Network. Fiber art is very new to this area. In the northeast and the west fiber art is quite well known, but it is just beginning to raise its head here. We are doing our best to educate the public and draw more people into it. I also belong to the Hand Weavers Guild of America. I belong to a lot of fiber art organizations. [laughs.] I'm a joiner.

KM: Why is it important to belong to these organizations?

JG: I have learned so very, very much from the other artists. When people talk about something I get on Google and find out 'What is that?' Then through these connections I discover some great artists and some great techniques. I discover what can be done.

KM: Whose works are you drawn to and why?

JG: First and foremost, would be Wen Redmond. She uses a lot of photography in her work and she is best known right now for her holographic fiber art. I've tried her technique and I am really fascinated with it. But I also like her work that is not holographic - what she does with photography is just gorgeous. The other person who comes to mind is Carol Watkins. She uses both photography and thread-painting in her work, and she makes some very strong statements. I feel that, if you have something to say it comes out and if you don't have something to say, well, that can come out pretty loudly also. I like Sandy Donabed's work and also Diane Kelsey. She is a photographer and a quilter. And then Regina Benson's abstract work is magnificent. The fiber art movement is relatively new, but I think it is coming into its own and I want to see it more respected in the fine art community. This is one of the reasons I put my work on stretcher bars. The fine arts community is more likely to accept it. You put it on stretcher bars, put a frame around it, and its art. You hang it from a dowel, call it a quilt, and they consider it craft. It's nonsense, but you play the game.

KM: How do you describe yourself? Do you describe yourself as an artist, as a fiber artist?

JG: I would say a fiber artist. Definitely as a fiber artist.

KM: Now do you exhibit your work?

JG: Yes. In fact I've got an exhibit up right now at a bank. I'm exhibiting with three other artists - two are waercolorists and one is an oil painter. Mine is the only fiber art which kind of blows people's minds. We have an art association here [that sponsors juried exhibits.] and I'm frantically trying to finish a piece for that right now. This past year I also submitted a piece in "Convergence," [the Hand Weavers Guild of America's bi-annual conference.] and won an Honorable Mention.

KM: Congratulations.

JG: Thanks. I've also won number of awards in the local art association exhibits.

KM: Describe your studio.

JG: At the moment, it's the messiest room in the house. [laughs.] One of the bedrooms in my house is my studio. Let's see, I've got a bookcase that is full of fiber art and computer books and magazines. (I'm a book junky.) My computer and my sewing machine are here, and I've got a whole wall full of shelves and baskets and also display board. It stays a disaster.

KM: Do you work on one thing at a time or do you work on multiple things at a time?

JG: I work on one thing at a time. I'm hyper focused. I don't multi-task well. The one thing I will do is switch back and forth from working on the computer to working on the sewing machine or the loom. I do the newsletter for the art association and that's all graphic design. I do that to take a break from sewing. One thing I have noticed is that I can only do fiber art during the day because of light. I've got three Ott-lites and they are nice, but they don't produce the same color you get with daylight.

KM: What are your favorite techniques and materials?

JG: My favorite techniques are thread-painting and trapunto, and my favorite design tool is my computer. I love what you can do with PhotoShop to manipulate design and composition. You can find out 'What if this was a little bit larger?' or 'Gee, what if we went darker over here?' Some people might say I'm cheating to use my camera and I probably am. But so what? A lot of artists go out with a sketchbook, but I take my camera and then go back and manipulate like crazy.

KM: I don't remember in my lifetime a president inspiring so much art. Why do you think Barack Obama inspired so much art?

JG: I think he inspired far more than art. We've got a number of factors going on here. Number one being, of course, we say he's the first black president. Actually, he's the first bi-racial president. We're also coming off of eight years of a disastrous administration where people are desperate for somebody, something to believe in. This generation has not had it. I remember when we landed a man on the moon. We had something to rally around; we had something to be proud of and believe in. We desperately need a leader. We need something to believe in and be proud of again and I think he represents that. My greatest concern is that we have put so much faith in him and have so many expectations that I'm not sure that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ could satisfy everybody. But I do think he is up to it. God knows I hope he is.

KM: Are you planning to go to the exhibit, to the opening of the exhibit?

JG: Yes I am, yes most definitely. I have friends in [Washington.] D.C. I want to visit and I really want to see this. Also it will be a chance to meet some people whose works I have been lusting over online. It will be a chance to actually talk to some of these people and ask, 'How did you do that?' [laughs.].

KM: Whose work are you lusting over?

JG: Joy-Lily's work for one, and Wen Redmond's work will be there but Wen won't be there unfortunately. There are others who have done fabric collages that look very digitalized and result in some beautiful portraits. I would like to see the actual pieces.

KM: What advice would you offer someone starting out?

JG: Are you saying starting out as a fiber artist?

KM: Sure.

JG: I think one of the most important things would be an understanding of composition and design. One thing I have noticed in going through quilting art exhibits is that the techniques are magnificent, but many lack basic composition and design. I would say get the basics down and then go wild. Break all the rules. But first learn the rules and then break them.

KM: What rules do you break?

JG: [laughs.] In terms of technique, I do thread-painting and I do a lot of things you are told not to do in all the books. I don't use a hoop. I don't drop the-- [pause.]

KM: Feed dogs.

JG: The feed dogs. I feel that I get better traction when I don't. I put my tension on zero. All the books tell you not to do that but it works for me.

KM: What kind of sewing machine do you have?

JG: A bought a Bernina and it is a wonderful machine. Bernina makes a great machine but quite frankly I don't think you need to spend that amount of money. You can do this with a cheaper machine. All you really need, at least for what I do, is something that will produce a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch. You can get that on much cheaper ones, although for the heavy volume I use, I probably do need something with a strong motor.

KM: Do you quilt the pieces that you put on a stretcher board?

JG: Oh yes, they are definitely quilted [before they go on the stretcher bars.]. [They have basically three basic levels. The most pronounced is done in trapunto, which is stuffed with Poly-fill. The next level is the midrange which is lightly quilted, and the area behind that it is either heavily quilted or completely unquilted to make it flat.]

KM: What kind of batting do you use?

JG: It really depends on the effect I'm after. Right now I'm just using felt - a very heavy felt.

KM: Is it natural or manmade?

JG: Either. I'm not particular [laughs.] I go for the thickness of it. If it will give me the effect I want.

KM: What does your family think of your art making?

JG: Very supportive. My son, Christopher, the one who campaigned for Obama is very excited about the piece I made for the Obama quilt exhibit. Gregory, my younger son, is in the Rochester Institute of Technology where he is majoring in film. He and I are very much on the same page with [anything having to do with the arts]. Both of my sons are very supportive.

KM: How do you want to be remembered?

JG: I have to think about that. [laughs.] I guess I would like to be remembered as being very creative. Somebody who takes an idea and stretches it to the limit.

KM: What do you want people to go away with after looking at "The Intersection of Main Street and Wall Street"?

JG: I hope they will go away with the thought that President Obama's plan to require corporate America and our government to finally address the needs of the working people embodies much that is desperately needed - that he is bringing us together economically and that he is going to hopefully alleviate this awful economic disaster we are in.

KM: What do you think makes a great quilt?

JG: Are you talking about an art quilt or one that goes on the bed?

KM: Let's stick to art quilts for now.

JG: I would say composition and design. And it should make a statement.

KM: What about a bed quilt?

JG: Again, composition and design but a different kind of composition because there you are looking at patterns. With the piece of art that hangs on the wall (the fine art) you have to be concerned with flow, balance, and where the eye travels. It is a different kind of composition.

KM: What do you think is the biggest challenge confronting fiber artists today?

JG: I think that there is a tendency to link them with craft. I certainly don't want to put down anybody who does traditional quilts, but there is a tendency to link them [all fiber artists.] with. People think of old ladies sitting around the quilting bee with the children playing in the background, and that fiber art is not really fine art. I don't know where the line divides craft and art. I think it is a very nebulous line and I'm not sure if it is even important. It is difficult in many circles to get fiber art respected as fine art, which is why again, I play the game. I put my work on stretcher bars with a frame around it and they say, 'It's art.' It is more easily accepted than if I were to hang it on a dowel, which his ridiculous because it is the same piece.

KM: What are your plans for more art?

JG: I am blissfully retired so I'm just taking it one day at a time and seeing where it leads me.

KM: In what ways do you think quilts have special meaning for women's history?

JG: [It's evolutionary. Originally quilts were utilitarian but, as many more options for warmth emerged, women began using quilting techniques to produce art. It's a perfect example of art coming from man's leisure.] Fiber art definitely has its roots in "women's work" and I think for too many centuries we have been ignored. Some gorgeous work has been done by women throughout the ages. I went through the Hoftberg Winter Palace in Austria and saw Marie Antoinette's embroidery. Many people do not know she was a profound artist with embroidery - both she and her mother. That is one of the few names you ever even see, and then only because she was so famous getting her head chopped off. You see wonderful fiber art of the past, but the artist is always anonymous. I think finally we are getting some respect for work we have been doing for centuries - work that has been relegated as women's craft.

KM: Is there anything else you would like to share before we conclude? Anything we haven't touched upon?

JG: Nothing I can think of.

KM: Why do you think there are so many people who chose to do Obama's face for the exhibit?

JG: I'm not really sure.

KM: You said you were surprised.

JG: No I said I think they would be surprised at my work.

KM: Okay, right you didn't.

JG: I think they are focusing on him as a whole, and many are focusing on the racial issue, which is certainly profound. [KM hums.] At least I hope I didn't say that, I didn't mean to. [laughs.]

KM: I don't think it was negative.

JG: No, I didn't mean that as something negative at all. I think they are looking at him as the whole person and trying to capture the whole essence of their enthusiasm and hope in the one portraiture while I'm focusing on one major issue. There are certainly more issues - his position on the wars for example. But I'm focusing on what I see is the premier issue facing our country and they are taking a more global approach.

KM: I want to thank you for.

JG: And thank you so much.

KM: For taking time out of our day to do this interview with me. We are going to conclude at 9:45.