September Meeting (Zoom) with Kestrel Michaud - Kestrel's Creations

Kestrel's Creations

This presentation features a deep dive into my creative history and artistic process. My award-winning quilts are the culmination of a lifetime of artistic growth, and the first half of this presentation explains how I got to where I am today. It's a biographical look at my artistic life, from when I started drawing and won my first art show as a 9-year-old kid, through discovering fabric in High School, re-discovering fabric in art college, and finally transitioning to quilting in my late 20s. I'll share artwork I made in every phase of my life, although the focus is on the fabric.

The second half of "Kestrel's Creations" is about my process. I've used the same fundamental creative process for every fabric picture or quilt I've ever made, although my workflow underwent a major overhaul as I transitioned from analog to digital. Using behind-the-scenes photos and videos from the makings of multiple quilts, I'll take you step-by-step through the process of my design in its entirety, from initial sketch to free-motion quilting.

Learn more about Kestrel at https://kestrelmichaud.com

Kestrel Michaud, Board Member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), is a classically-trained and award-winning fine artist, graphic designer, and illustrator. She graduated with honors in 2010 from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in Illustration. Her quilted illustrations are made from thousands of pieces of fabric fused and stitched into large, quilted wall hangings, often featuring scenes from an imaginary steampunk world.

Kestrel and her art quilts have been featured on The Quilt Show and Quilting Arts TV on PBS. Her quilts have exhibited in six countries and have won grand prizes at the largest quilt shows in the world. In addition to creating and competitively exhibiting her quilts, Kestrel maintains an active Patreon where she teaches aspiring artists how to design and create their own imaginative realism designs. She also gives presentations and teaches in-person workshops to quilt guilds and at shows across the United States.