Ann Brauer has been using the traditions of quilt making and contemporary concepts of art to create her unique abstract landscapes for the last 29 years. Each quilt is made of commercial cotton that she cuts and carefully pieces into blocks. These blocks are then sewn together to create a statement that is larger than the quilt and also allows the viewer to ponder the individual fabrics. It is this duality that allows her to create colors that sing with complexity and simple shapes that reflect the vistas of her imagination.
Growing up on a farm in Illinois, she was surrounded by the traditional quilts that her grandmother and mother created. There she developed a lifelong passion for fiber. Eventually she taught herself to make quilts. Immediately she fell in love with the patterns that the blocks created.
Soon she began pushing the designs to convey feelings of time and place. Each quilt is a new adventure that starts with a name and concept. It can take years to go from the concept to figuring out how to achieve the overall effect while retaining the same care and attention to detail that she learned from her grandmother.
Her work is constantly evolving with each quilt becoming a distinctive statement of time and place.
Her work is in numerous public and private collections including the American Museum of Art + Design, Surdna Foundation in New York City, The Lodge at Turning Stone and the Federal District Courthouse in Springfield, MA. In 2006 she received an Award of Excellence from the American Craft Council at the Baltimore Craft Show. She has also received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artist Foundation.
All quilts are machine-pieced of cotton with cotton batting using a method I call quilt-as-you-go. All bindings are hand-finished.
Website
http://www.annbrauer.com
