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THOMASTON UPSON ARTS COUNCIL PRESENTS: |
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Leigh Anne Haygood
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Leigh Anne Haygood lives in Upson County and is a member of TUAC-VA (Thomaston-Upson Arts Council—Visual Artists), Palette Pals, the Southern Crescent Alliance of Visual Artists, Cherokee Rose Quilt Guild, National Quilting Association, American Quilting Society, and Dear Jane Society. She previously served as Director of TUAC-VA. She is the owner of Patchwork Parrot Quilt Shack. Leigh Anne has four passions: God, her husband, her art, and her birds. When did you first discover that you were an artist? I grew up with a charcoal pencil in my hand and watching my daddy paint. I learned to do needlework when I was about 9 years old. My mom taught me to do crewel embroidery and cross-stitch. In college, I realized fabric and fiber were my medium. In the early 80s, I owned one of the first quilt shops in Mississippi. After moving to Georgia in 1985, I began teaching and exhibiting my quilt art. I have enjoyed being involved in the quilt world through exhibitions, teaching, and writing. I’ve been working with fabric and fiber for about 30 years and teaching for 25 years. Several years ago, I started designing my own patterns for my beginner and intermediate classes. This past year, I’ve begun publishing them for sale. Gosh, time flies when you are having fun!
I love incorporating several types of art into my fiber art, such as beading, embroidery, and painting. Art dolls allow me to express myself in three dimensions, and I get to use quilting, painting, beading, and basic sewing skills. Through the years, I’ve done floor cloths, art dolls, and quilts, both traditional and non-traditional. Folk-art painting has come through my studio several times as well. Three years ago, I decided I needed to know how to knit, so I got on the Internet, bought a book, and taught myself. Recently, I’ve begun knitting socks. I’m still working with fiber but it’s totally different than quilting. Gardening gives me lots of inspiration in my artwork. The colors God has provided us are simply amazing. I just love seeing all the shades of color He mixes up! I also enjoy cooking and baking. For the last two summers I’ve baked peach bread for Dickey’s peach stand in Culloden. When my children were younger, I made their birthday cakes with a theme. I came back to cake decorating when my son got married a few months ago. I made the wedding cake and the groom’s cake. I’ve participated in two rounds of the PostMarkArt postcard swaps. Fifty quilt artists made postcard-size quilts to send through the mail to each other. The postcards were limited only by our imaginations. The postcards could be painted, dyed, beaded, appliquéd, or pieced. The only restrictions were that each card had to be 4 inches by 6 inches and have three layers and finished edges. We sent our cards all over the world. Some were lost, but most made it through the mail system without a hitch. It was so fun to see what each artist was doing with her cards. Some of mine were done as preliminary sketches for larger quilts; some were done as a series, such as holiday postcards. I’m thrilled that I have not one but two quilts in the Women of Biblical Proportion Traveling Exhibit. Forty-seven quilt artists from across the nation came together to explore another group of engaging and powerful women: the women of the Bible. Each artist selected one or more characters to portray in quilt form, using her unique style and vision. Collectively, this exhibit tells the stories of both ancient and modern women. These award-winning artists are well established in the quilt art community. Among them are authors, published designers, speakers, and teachers. Their styles range from realism to abstract. In quilt making, they are firmly grounded in the tradition, while breaking many rules. I am so honored that I was chosen to participate. Ruth Harris, our curator, recently called to tell me that Women of Biblical Proportion will be coming to Georgia in 2006! I can hardly wait to see the show, for other artists who have seen all the quilts together have said that the spirit in the exhibit is just awesome! What is it about these various types of art that you enjoy so much? I just enjoy creativity. When one medium won’t work, another one will. Has there been a time in your life when you felt a turning point in terms of the type of art you create? Oh, yes! Over the last 30 years, I’ve seen lots of changes in the quilting world especially. We have gone from the revival of traditional quilting in the 70s, the rotary cutter revolution in the 80s, and appliqué revival in the 90s to the new millennium quilters who love it all! Sewing machines have come a long way in the 30 years I’ve been quilting. In 1977 "real" quilters might piece their quilt top on the sewing machine, but real quilters did not machine quilt. It was hand-quilting or nothing. Now, we even have raw-edge appliqué to speed things along. Is there a specific place where you feel particularly inspired creatively?  I
tend to find my creative inspiration in everyday life. My flower garden,
Bible studies, sights along the road when we are traveling, my pets—even
car shows—provide inspiration, too. And as I walk down to my studio every
day with my dogs and at least one cat, my birds greet me from their
aviary. What an inspiring way to start the day, talking to the birds and
manipulating my fabrics and fibers into art quilts or fiber sculptures!
I started raising birds years ago. They are so intelligent and just a full array of color! Even though parrots and fiber art seem to be extreme opposites, both have such diversity. The personalities in the different breeds of parrots range from shy and quiet to loud and boisterous, and their colors range from the stark whiteness of an Umbrella Cockatoo to the majestic reds and greens of the Greenwing Macaw. Likewise, there is no limit to the color I can experience as I manipulate fabric and fiber. Hand-dyeing fabrics sets me free to work with any shade of color I can mix. Even the name of my business, Patchwork Parrot, expresses the link I feel between my art and my birds. Has there been any one moment in your artistic career that really stands out for you? Actually, two moments stand out for me. The first one was after my divorce. My daddy asked me what I was going to do for a real job. He told me, "You can’t make a living in the arts, girl." So, I decided to go to nursing school. (The medical profession does not miss me, I promise.) The second one was at my first real art show & sale. My daddy asked me then if I was a real artist now. What are your artistic goals? While I love teaching and helping quilters purchase their supplies, I love creating and designing most of all. I hope to continue to create and design until I’m finished on this old earth, then I hope I get to quilt angel wings…someone has to do it. Can you give others any insightful tips on pursuing their artistic goals? Find the art medium that gives you passion, and then just do it. Don’t listen to the art police, the quilt police, or the critics. If they were so great, they would be creating, not criticizing others’ artwork. Interview and photos by Johnnie Ann Gaskill.
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Please contact the TUAC office for more information about this artist. |
What type(s) of art do you enjoy?