Evelyn Gingrich has made 70-odd quilts in the last four decades. But none of them was for sale.
While two of her quilts made money at an auction, Gingrich clarified, “That's never the purpose. That's never my intent in making them. I make them because it's something that gives me joy.”
Some quilts take months to craft, but despite the toil, Gingrich never puts a price on them. Instead, “they have been either gifted to charities or to friends and family,” said the New West-based artist.
Gifting handmade quilts to those in need
Gingrich’s quilts have reached several women's shelters, new immigrants and victims of accident, among others, through local religious organizations and the Burnaby-based non-profit Pacific Spirit Quilters’ Guild.
There are just a handful of her quilts that she kept for herself — 14 of them (including one that was made 12 years ago) are currently on display as part of the exhibition Comforting Colours at Massey Theatre's Plaskett Gallery.
Sometimes, she admits, it’s hard to let go of quilts that required hours of effort and attention. “It happened just fairly recently — I was making one that had so many mistakes in the pattern that it was an experience I'd never had before.”
By the time Gingrich was done with it, she found herself deeply attached to it. But since she had already committed the piece to a friend, she had to let it go.
There have also been times when Gingrich has abandoned a few quilts midway. “There are some that just went to the back of the closet; there are still some in the back of the closet.”
These quilts may be fetched again and worked on at some point. But Gingrich is in no hurry.
“I'm a process quilter, I do it because I enjoy the process. I'm not a production quilter, I don't make quilts to produce things,” she said.
“I've never gone into the business side of things. Some people have encouraged me to set up a website, but I haven't done that because I'm afraid it'll take the joy out of doing it [making quilts].”
Making quilts that blend modern and traditional patterns
Gingrich first learned the art from her grandmother when she was eight years old.
Both her mother and grandmother were quilters. They were from a farming community, and made quilts from scraps for “strictly practical reasons.”
“But still, the artistry was there,” she said.
“They would roll over in their graves if they saw me buying expensive cloth (Gingrich uses 100% cotton fabrics) and cutting it up — it’s not something they would ever have conceived of doing.”
She learned the traditional block patterns from her grandmother; but over the years, Gingrich developed her own style — a mix of modern (“more geometric-looking with bold and clean lines, larger pieces and often in solid colours”) and traditional (“smaller prints, often made up of a whole series of blocks that together form a pattern.”)
After four years of quilting sessions with her gran, she joined a quilting class at the age of 12. “And that was the beginning of me doing it for my own reasons.”
Quilting as a therapy
Forty years have passed since, but Gingrich never stopped quilting — even through her work in library management and children's literacy, or her travels to different countries.
In the past, her husband's work had them living in different cities (sometimes a couple of years at a time) — Santiago, Chile; Lima, Peru; outside of San Francisco in the United States, and in Eastern Canada.
“Going into a new country with a new language; not knowing a single person in the new place, feeling a little bit lost and trying to get yourself settled in ... through all that, quilting was a very comforting thing for me to do,” she recalled.
“It was something familiar, something productive that I could do; and something that gave me a lot of joy and satisfaction. ... That's where it really became therapy for me.”
And still continues to be.
Gingrich’s quilts are on display at Plaskett Gallery at Massey Theatre, 735 Eighth Ave., till Aug. 31. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, between 1 and 4 p.m. Those interested in knowing more about the quilts can contact Gingrich at [email protected], or check out the gallery website.
