Interview with Coulter Fussell, February 26, 2021

Partial Transcript: My name is Emma Parker, and I'm interviewing Coulter Fussell.

Segment Synopsis: Fussell talks about the decorative quilt, called "X" and sometimes "Misprint," that hangs in her living room. She describes it as a prime example of the type of found material collage quilts she often makes. The quilt features several different textiles including curtains, a crazy quilt from the 1880's, a World War I Navy jacket, a quilt back, and a painting studio dropcloth. All the materials featured are donations from her community.

Keywords: Crazy quilts; Fabric - Multiple scrap; Found Material; Quilt purpose - Art or personal expression; Quilt purpose - Artistic expression

Subjects: Quiltmakers--United States

Partial Transcript: So do people just know that you're on the lookout for those materials?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell does not search out the found materials used in her quilt work. She relishes taking materials from people who no longer have uses for them and are able to share the story connected to the material. Fussell thinks of herself as the last step before these items become garbage.

Keywords: Fabric - Multiple scrap; Fabric stash

Partial Transcript: How long have you been making quilts, and how did you get started?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell has been making quilts for seven years. She made her first quilt in early adulthood. Fussell's mother is a quilter, and she recalls on the weekends talking to her mom between bursts of sound from her sewing machine.

Keywords: Fabric - Multiple scrap; Learning quiltmaking; Painting; Quilt memory

Partial Transcript: Do you think that seeing your mom work with textiles was a major part of why that was, or do you feel like it was just in your psyche somehow from seeing it elsewhere?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell's family has a strong appreciation for craft traditions, and they don't consider them any different than traditional forms of art.

Keywords: Family; Mothers

Subjects: Art and craft debate; Craft and art

Partial Transcript: That's so interesting, I don't think a lot of people grow up with that opinion.

Segment Synopsis: Fussell talks about the shift from painting to textile art and challenging her viewpoint on what kinds of art an artist is allowed to make. Fussell addresses the difficulty of selling textile art to consumers. Although a more accomplished quilter than painter, it took years for Fussell to sell a quilt for the same price as her paintings that she created as a student.

Keywords: Art quiltmaking; Art quilts; Quilt Purpose - Artistic expression; Quilt Purpose - Personal income; Quilt purpose - Art or personal expression; Selling quilts

Subjects: Art quilts; Craft and art

Partial Transcript: I've worked really really hard at nonart related jobs for many years to like be able to be at the point now where I have a studio.

Segment Synopsis: Fussell travels two blocks to her studio and starts her work day around 9:00 AM. She quilts around six hours in the studio, until her kids get home, and often packs a quilt to take home with her to work on at night.

Keywords: Professional artists; Professional quiltmakers; Studio quilt artists; Work or Studio space

Partial Transcript: Do you work primarily alone? Do you do collaborative work, or do you find that mostly it's you in your studio and that's it?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell quilts on her own, but the process of making her quilts is what she considers a collaboration, because the submission of fabric facilitates her work. Using social media, Fussell has connected to individuals and sent quilt squares to others, so they could all be connected by the original quilt.

Keywords: Collaboration; Ink drawing; Online quilt communities; Social quiltmaking activities

Subjects: Social media in art

Partial Transcript: What is your sort of physical process?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell often works in series and finds it takes creating six to eight pieces before the concept feels realized. Fussell approaches each new quilt with no documented plan. She starts with an idea of what materials she'd like to use and two contrasting light and dark fabrics. She then spends two to three days cutting fabric and trying to compose the quilt in a way that bridges those contrasting materials.

Keywords: Design process; Quilt Series; quiltmaking process

Partial Transcript: You mentioned your studio, and that you go, and that it's outside of your house. Would you describe a little bit about it, and where it is, and what you like about it?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell lives in Water Valley, Mississippi, which is a town of 3,500 people. Fussell's community often donates materials to her at her studio. In turn, Fussell provides those who come to her studio looking for materials with what they need free of charge. Fussell describes her studio as disorganized with walls full of fabrics in an assortment of sizes, so she can see all of what she has.

Keywords: Fabric stash; Mississippi; Water Valley; Work or Studio space

Partial Transcript: What's your favorite part of quiltmaking, and do you have a least favorite part?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell likes that quilts are made for human sized bodies. The size of quilts is also a frustration, as her quilts are too large to travel with and work on comfortably. Initially, Fussell says that binding was her least favorite part of the quilting process, but now she sees it as the conclusion to a large project and has embraced her own techniques for binding.

Keywords: Binding; Quilt Purpose - Bedcovering; Quilt Purpose - Utilitarian; Quilt size; Scale; Techniques

Partial Transcript: The quilt she started off the interview talking about, I don't know if she told you this or not, it was "Fox in the Simmon Tree."

Segment Synopsis: Fussell recalls making "Possum up a Simmon Tree" with her mother, Cathy Fussell, and how her mother showed her how to create quilts that would be successful structurally, while allowing her the freedom to work without precision. The interviewer, Parker, shares that Cathy Fussell says in her own QSOS interview that making "Possum up a Simmon Tree" was a turning point for her. Cathy Fussell considers "Possum up a Simmon Tree" to be her first art quilt.

Keywords: Art quilts; Cathy Fussell; Family; Knowledge transfer; Learning quiltmaking; Mothers; Quilt memory

Subjects: Art quilts; Quiltmakers--United States

Partial Transcript: Do you feel like your quilts reflect your community or your region, or Mississippi, or the South?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell's quilts are made from materials that once belonged to her neighbors, so in that way her pieces are inherently connected to her community in Mississippi. Fussell does get material mailed to her from other people and places. She doesn't believe her quilting style is impacted by her region, but instead is a personal exercise in storytelling and a form of abstract expressionism.

Keywords: Mississippi; Quilt Purpose - Artistic expression; Regional Influence; Scrap quilts

Subjects: Abstract expressionism

Partial Transcript: What do you think makes a great quilt?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell describes quilting as a long-lasting and strong craft. She believes a great quilt is one that is able to live up to that legacy and that is presented with sincerity.

Keywords: Aesthetics; Quilt Purpose - Utilitarian

Partial Transcript: Are there artist or quilt makers -- not or, but and-- whose work really appeals to you or has served as an inspiration for you?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell lists several painters and quilters that inspire her, and she speaks on working with her contemporaries at Piecework Collective.

Keywords: Piecework Collective; Roger Brown; Rosie Lee Tompkins

Subjects: Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006; Howard, Mike; Thomas, Alma

Partial Transcript: Why is quiltmaking important to your life?

Segment Synopsis: Fussell talks about the creative outlet she found in quiltmaking and expresses gratitude that so many others like her are able to express themselves with quilting.

Keywords: Female quiltmakers; Quilt Purpose - Artistic expression; Quilt purpose - Art or personal expression

Subjects: Quiltmakers