Featured Artist: Charlotte Hickman

Hi All, and welcome to our first featured artist profile.   I'd love to feature you and your art here, so just comment here or send me an e-mail if you're interested.

Today we have Charlotte Hickman, who was the first art quilter I met in Oklahoma.  I was privileged to get to talk to her a little bit more at the recent SAQA conference and then to see a sampling of her award-winning work at the recent MQS show in Wichita.

1. Who are you and where do you live?
Hello, my name is Charlotte Hickman and I live on the northwest side of Oklahoma City.


2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started?
Designing, sewing and knitting garments have always been a part of my life.  However, after buying a Bernina 180 embroidery machine in 1998, I have become totally addicted to the world of art quilting.  Presently I sew, free-motion embroidery and quilt on my Bernina 820 and 830 machines.

 3. How do you describe your work?
I have an interest in the many ways that fabric can be interpreted in quilt art by designing and using bold colors of nature.

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?
Both piecing and appliqueing are used in my show quilts and in the patterns I make featuring flora and fauna subjects.

5. What do you want to communicate with your work?
I want people to see and fell my love of nature's colors which are visually evident in my design work, free motion embroidery and quilting.

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?
I create art quilts, design patterns, teach many classes and workshops, and lecture at guilds.  When I am home, I am always working on my design wall and sewing on my Bernina domestic machines.  Thus the congenial ambiance of the physical arrangement in my home is suitable for my creative interest.

7. Which artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?
The generous spriti and enormous artisitic talent of fiber artists whose workshiops have inspired me include Ruth McDowell, Hollis Chatelain, Velda Newman, Jane Sassaman, Ricky Tims, and most recently Cathy Wiggins.

Thanks so much for sharing your work with us Charlotte, and I hope all of you in blogland have enjoyed seeing it!