Terrigal Presbyterian Church
2 Willoughby Road, Terrigal, Central Coast
Exhibition of quilts, needlework and art.
Date: Saturday 7th August
Time: 10am to 4pm
Admission $5, proceeds to Samaritan’s Purse
Enquiries: Sheila Carter on 02 4384 2597
Gordon McAuslan on 02 4365 4393
Kay Haerland - textile artist and teacher
Kay Haerland loves rainforests. “It’s the beautiful lushness of them,” she says. “My husband and I both love the thought of being in a rainforest and seeing its different levels from canopy to ground vegetation. That’s what I wanted to convey with the quilt, the feeling of being able to walk right into it.”
Under the Canopy is the title of Kay’s award-winning quilt, which was bestowed the honour of ‘Best in Show’ at the recent Quilt & Craft Fair at Darling Harbour. Kay has been a quilter for many years and cites nature as one of her primary sources of inspiration. Having previously created rainforest-themed quilts in the US, she decided that it was high time for an Australian version, having lived here for seven years.
“This particular quilt had quite a long gestation period,” says Kay’s husband Bard. “All up it took her about six months to complete and that was working on it fairly solidly, sometimes for stretches of up to 12 hours at a time. But really, the idea for the quilt had been slowly growing over many years. Kay often takes a very organic approach to her work.”
Bard should know. He often does a lot of preliminary research for Kay’s projects, including the design work and checking to make sure the details are accurate. “He’s a very good critic of my work,” says Kay. “He understands where I’m coming from but he’s able to bring a fresh perspective, not being a sewer himself. With ‘Under the Canopy’ we both went through a lot of books on Australian rainforests to make sure that the details in the design were all botanically correct, right down to the orchid. People appreciate that level of detail, even if they don’t notice it consciously.”
Kay says winning ‘Best in Show’ was a complete surprise, but also an amazing experience. She encourages all quilters to take any opportunity to exhibit publicly, regardless of their level of expertise.
“The first time I was talked into exhibiting, my immediate reaction was ‘I’m not good enough’,” she recalls. “But it’s a wonderful learning experience and very inspiring for your own creativity seeing your quilt hanging there in public with other people’s quilts. It also helps you to push your own boundaries and work as well as you can. It can bring an amazing focus and heightened dedication to how you work. It doesn’t have to be about winning a prize or not. It’s about sharing your work.”
The other key piece of advice Kay offers to all quilters would be to experiment with ideas and never doubt your own ability. “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone,” she says. “Take the risk and try something new.”
Bard agrees. “There are lots of good quilters out there but they tend to do the same thing over and over again.”
“Be brave with it,” says Kay. “and you’ll be amazed to see where it can take you.”
Visit Kay’s website at www.kayhaerland.com
