While searching around the web this weekend I found this cool site for quilts. These are made from Tshirts and are so fun! What a great idea. I really love to see other people recycling materials!
The desginer is Andrea Funk. She has been quliting since she was 5 years old and making quilts for over 14 years. She has made 6 Tshirt quilts for herself. :)
What inspires you?
ANDREA: Myinspiration comes from all sorts of places. For example, the inspiration forI always have unfinished work and if I die, what would happen to it? So I decided that I had better write down directions for my mother so she could finish making the quilts I had started. My book came from the death of my husband Larry. This made me think about my own death.Well those directions turned into a book. Other days I am just inspired by wanting a change. My inspiration is always changing. I never get bored with what I am doing.
ANDREA: One day my sister arrived at my house with a bag of T-shirts and said, "Make me a quilt." I asked her, "How?" and she said that she didn't care. Well I also did not know how, so I had to figure it out. Today, I would just go out to the internet and google T-shirt Quilts. But when I made my first quilt, the internet was about a million miles wide and about 1 inch deep. There wasn't much out there. But that was good because it made me need to figure it out myself. And the solution I developed was innovative and new. The innovation came because I did not know what I was supposed to and did what I thought would work. And 15 years after later, quilters are still amazed that my T-shirt Quilt solution is still so different than the main stream. I am looking forward to my way becoming the main stream!How did you get started?
What materials do you use?
ANDREA: I have a BA in Communications, MA in Speech Communications, MA in Graphic Design and CPCU - Charter Property Causality Underwriter degree - it is equal to a MA in Insurance. Over educated for many, but I use everything now.What education did you have before you started?
I use my art in the creating of the quilts and the communications when I wrote my book and when I teach and lecture. The CPCU? That will come in handy if I ever need to go back into the work force. The insurance industry is a great place for an artist to find work - it's easy, the work week is 37.5 hours, they provide health insurance and you don't take it home with you at night. So you have plenty of free time and brain power to do art when you aren't working. And it will provide a better living than being a waitress.
ANDREA: Learn about running a business. Any art student needs to have a dual major with business. Selling art is a business. And you need to know how to run that business as well as doing art. Otherwise you will end up with unsold product and a poor living.Can you give some advice for aspiring artists?
To see some awesome quilts visit www.TooCoolTshirtQuilts.comFrom this site you can learn how to have a T-shirt quilt made out of your T-shirts and about making a quilt yourself.
Andrea's book is How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt. You can purchase this from my site or from Amazon.For more unique artists and crafters visit WWW.OSTYLEMDM.BLOGSPOT.COM
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