Hi I’m Pat Sloan the Aurifil Designer of the Month coordinator. I’m so pleased to have a chance to interview Pat Bravo, the designer of “Rock and Romance”, the fabric line the DOM Team used to create the monthly block. Pat and her husband Walter own Art Gallery Fabrics. That is where Pat and her staff create beautiful fabrics for all of us to use!
EACH MONTH we will pick one random winner that has made a block from our designers and that random person receives a FULL BOX of my Aurifil thread as the prize! Winners are all contacted via Flickr email and posted at our Flickr page in the winner topics.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/2013aurifildom/
Let’s get to know Pat!
When was your FIRST quilt sighting?
Quilting was almost nonexistent in my native country Argentina. Just a few here and there called patchwork, following the british traditional name. It was in 1989, when I moved to the US that I fell in love with quilting! I saw the first quilt at Jo-Anns and I was hooked!
Do you still have your first project you ever made?
Yes, I still remember how proud I was to finish my first quilt. It was really simple, but being self taught, for me it was like achieving a milestone! I bought these very patriotic fabrics as I was really thankful to be living in this blessed country.
When you go to a quilt show, what types of quilts are you drawn to?
I am a big admirer of fine craftsmanship, so for me art quilts and hand appliqué are the one type of quilting I love to see the most. Modern quilting came to give a breath of fresh air; it is simple in construction but it can be stunning too. I’ve made art quilts for a few years, and here is one piece I’ve created in 2002, “Solitude”.
We all have parts of the process we ‘prefer’ more than others. What part of quilt making do you ‘Prefer’ most…. least?
Piecing for me is the most enjoyable; it’s like going to spa or hearing a lullaby when child, so relaxing and comforting! I can completely forget whatever is around me while piecing a top on the machine. The least part I like is “safe pinning” the 3 layers before quilting the quilt. I am too excited thinking about the quilting design, so putting the safe pins seem to take forever!
Did you have a career prior to making art, and what was it?
I went to college and studied law for 3 years, but that wasn’t for me. My only career prior to this one was to build a beautiful family and nourish it with love and care. In those years at home, I’ve never stopped making art and creating. I have sewn and knit since I am 9, so you can say that is in my veins. My fabric designing business started by hand painting fabrics for my art quilts.
These 2 photos are some examples of the pieces I’ve painted. Fabric painting is so much fun!
When you want to ‘recharge your batteries’ what do you do, where do you do this?
I’m a history junkie, so some years ago I would be reading history books to relax. Now I don’t have that much time, so watching history documentaries or period drama shows on tv give me a good relaxing massage to my brain. A long weekend on a beach doing nothing with my husband helps me unwind a great deal.
Do you have a tip or trick to make your quilt making easier?
There is a tip that I always follow when I try a magazine pattern or even when I write the patterns myself: before cutting all the final fabrics, I always test the blocks sewing them with old scraps to verify that the cutting directions are correct. It saved me from mistakes or typos that are some times written on instructions! I’ve never blogged about it —perhaps now is the right moment, right?
Do you have a process you go through to get your ideas started?
I would say it’s a combination of magazine clippings, sketch book, photos of my travels and lots of internet to get me inspired. For me, a fabric collection is a soulful process; so a concept (a theme) and a name are key for me to start putting my design ideas together in my mind. Color stories follow after that.
The last part will be the design of the prints reflecting that concept and color palette.
What are your 3 favorite colors of Aurifil thread?
Wow! That’s so difficult to answer! It’s impossible not to adore all Aurifil colors. The ones I love the most are the ones I picked for my 3 Aurifil Thread boxes: “Bold Beauty”, “Eye Candy” and “Quilting Heart”.
They match perfectly fine all my collections.
Do you travel to teach?
I’ve recently started to teach outside my state of Florida. I am focused on giving classes and lectures on Fabric Design. Before that, I was teaching some quilting classes locally at Miami quilt shops.
What does your studio look like?
A true reflexion of my always happy state of mind!
It’s my creative nest, I spend tons of hours there and forget everything else…
If you could train with, or work with, or follow one person for a day.. who would it be and why?
I don’t have to think for a second on this one; Kaffe Fasset, of course!! It would be an honor to spend some time with this master of color 🙂
Anything else you’d like to share?
It was very exciting and moving when I found out that my collection “Rock ’n Romance was chosen to to be the inspiration for the 2013 Aurifil Block of the Month program! I am truly grateful to the designers and felt amazed by their creativity using the fabrics to make such beautiful blocks -:) THESE LADIES ROCK!!
I love to say that “To be creative is to let little pieces of your heart go and place them into each project you make”
A few on the light side…
• The Book you are currently reading Instagram Power, by Jason Miles
• Your Favorite Movie The Patriot
• The Song Stuck in your head I will survive
• Do you like to Dance? Yes!
• The Color you have always LOVED….. PINNNKK!!!!
Visit Art Gallery at http://www.liveartgalleryfabrics.com/
Free patterns at Art Gallery http://www.liveartgalleryfabrics.com/freeQuiltingPatterns.html
Art Gallery Blog at http://artgalleryfabrics.typepad.com/
Pat’s blog http://patbravodesign.blogspot.com/
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Thank you, I really enjoyed learning more about Pat. I love her fabric collections.
I LOVE her and her stuff! She is awesome. Definitely in my top #3 designers 🙂