A lobby exhibition of quilts created by quilter and fiber artist Tone Haugen-Cogburn of Maryville, will be on view from Feb. 15-19.
Born and raised in Norway, Tone Haugen-Cogburn’s Norwegian background is often evident in her quilts.
The artist says, “I find lots of inspiration from the people and places I visit. I love to travel and take plenty of pictures, some of which later will become quilts. Through art history studies, architecture has become one of my main interests. As I have learned to master new techniques during the 20 years I have quilted, I am increasingly making and designing quilts relating to the architectural theme. I like to work in a figurative format, but also want to give the viewers a chance to have their own input by giving them a somewhat abstract feeling. Most of my quilts have a story behind them, but it’s great when others read the quilt differently than I do.”
Tone has lived in the United States for 20 years now, most of that time in Maryville. She finds the U.S. to also be a wonderful place to find inspiration for quilts, both traditional and contemporary. She loves to experiment with new techniques in surface design, and has decided that “the sky is the limit, as there are so many new directions in quilting today.”
Her love for quilting began with watching her husband’s grandmother cut and hand-piece scraps of fabrics to create beautiful colorful bed quilts that were meant to keep somebody warm. Many of Tone’s early quilts were scrap quilts, using traditional block designs. Most of the quilts in this exhibition are of a more traditional character. That being said, Tone enjoys using as many fabrics as possible in a quilt and she loves to experiment with color and block combinations.
In 2008, she finished an “Experimental Quilting and Patchwork” course with a diploma from City and Guilds in England. This has given her even more tools and knowledge about traditional and contemporary quilt making and surface design.
For more information, call 339-5745 or visit www.museumcenter.org.
