Quilts - Home Decor

Tips for Buying Art

YOU MEAN 72% OF US BUY FROM BIG BOX ART RETAILERS?

excerpt from: Tips To Buying Art at Metro Arts Expo, by Michael Morain, Des Moines Register, 11-1-09, with specific reference to quilt art purchases:

Des Moines Arts Festival director Stephen King was speaking to a community group a few years ago when he shared a surprising statistic: 72 percent of the artwork in American homes comes from big-box retailers. "I got an audible gasp," he said.

"OK, so maybe you happen to like the Batman posters and stretched-fabric wall hangings you found on the sale rack. The art police can't rip them down". Here are several things to keep in mind in your search for new artwork:

- Consider functional pieces

King quotes Ignatius Widiapradja, Art and Design department, Drake University "If it's seriously made by a serious artist, the value tends to stay. If you buy a good quilt for $500 or even $1,000, you won't regret it for three generations".

- Avoid cute stuff. "Never buy art because it looks fun or cute. It's easy to get caught up in the moment, but it usually doesn't last very long."

- Don't use art as an investment ... unless you're loaded."Unless you are spending a lot of money, never buy art as an investment," Widiapradja said. "That would be the worst thing to do."

So how much is a lot? Widiapradja said that most pieces under $2,000 won't appreciate much in value, and even pricier works won't re-sell for much more unless the artist is well known.

- If you're interested in a particular piece, ask the artist for a photo of it or a link to the artist's Web site so you can think about it for awhile. Sometimes deliberation will help you avoid the bad impulse buy.

"You don't want to plunk down $5,000 and later on say, 'What was I thinking?' " Widiapradja said.

But if you're still thinking about the piece after a few days, go ahead and give the artist a call.

- Shop solo or with a trusted sidekick.Larger festivals can be overwhelming, especially if you don't have all day to browse. You may prefer to shop with a trusted friend, someone who knows their taste and can lend some back-up willpower.

- to buy or not. Picture the empty wall.

If you have a particular corner of the house in mind, know the dimensions of the available space. Keep an eye out for surprises, too. You'll find a place for it if you like it.

- Give art only to people you know well.

It's a good idea to avoid giving people big splashy paintings or a sculpture for their front yard unless you're familiar with their taste. Smaller items, such as jewelry, are a better bet - and keep the receipt, just in case." If you like it, really really like it, then buy it.

You can find good artwork for a few hundred dollars, and often much less. For the price of a fancy dinner or tickets to a show, you could own a painting or sculpture that you'll enjoy for much longer than a night on the town.

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Suggestions for displaying quilts and quilt art

There are 3 things to consider when hanging quilts:

Light sources

Method of hanging

Possibility that people may touch and soil the fabric.

Light Sources:

The primary consideration in displaying fabric art on walls, whether in your home or workplace is how much direct and indirect light the quilt will absorb. LIght damages fibers over time.

Ideally, quilt art should be hung where no natural light directly lands on it at any time during the day. If indirect (sideways) daylight will be on the quilt, choose a location where the light is from the north. The ideal location is a place that receives only reflected light, that is, no direct, or indirect light at all.

Indoor light sources can be controlled as well. Many people want to "highlight" their art, especially during the evening. phantomlighting.com will teach you everything you need to know about correct artificial lighting of your artwork.

It's easy to forget to turn off a light, so use a timer. When going on vacation, you can "close the quilt" by pinning the bottom of the quilt to the top edge. You can cover the quilt with a bed sheet, or you can take the quilt down if you plan to be away for an extended period of time.

If you display quilts in the workplace, the same concepts apply. Use a timer to turn off the light at night and on weekends.

Hanging art quilts

A hanging sleeve is always sewn into the top edge of ART quilts. The sleeve usually measures about 1 1/2 inches narrower than the quilt. Quilts may be hung with a visible decorator rod and decorative brackets or you can "float" the quilt. In either case, you have the choice of how far away from the wall the quilt actually hangs. Decorative rod ends and brackets could distract attention from the quilt itself. Metal rods are preferred over wooden dowels that may warp over time and which also may have resins that could damage the fibers.

Floating merely means the method of suspension is hidden behind the quilt. The hanging rod is cut slightly longer than the hanging sleeve and the rod is held up at either end by a nail or hook attached securely to the wall. No hardware is visible so the quilt seems to float.

To locate where the nails or brackets should be positioned, measure down from the ceiling an equal amount for both sides.

A second sleeve is sometimes sewn into the bottom edge of the quilt. This sleeve holds a weighting rod. Changes in humidity can sometimes cause the side edges of a suspended quilt to ripple slightly. Having a weighting rod at the bottom reduces this possibility. Instead of a round metal rod, use a "flat and thin" metal strip so there is no round bulge at the bottom edge. Both the round metal hanging rods and flat thin metal weighting strips are available at home improvement stores. If a rod needs to be cut shorter, be sure to sand off rough metal edges that would gradually cut into the woven threads of the fabric.

Something to consider

In busy public locations such as a doctor's office, consider that curious hands may want to touch the quilt. People bring food into public areas, and accidents do happen. You could locate the quilt behind the receptionist's desk for example.

If over time, your quilt art gets dusty, you can shake off most of the dust. Then locate a piece of plastic window screen about 20 inches by 20 inches. Lay this over the quilt and gently vacuum the dust section by section through the protective mesh of the screen.