Joe Cunningham
The ART of IMPROV
This week we welcome artist Joe Cunningham. Joe has been making quilts professionally since 1979. His unique style has evolved over the years, but his expert use of improvisation is evident, always. His love of the techniques and traditions of quilt making he owes to his early mentors who sparked his interest in quilts and their rich history. His interest and study of quilt making lead him to research men and their role in the history of quilts and their making. In 2010 his book on the subject, ‘Men and the Art of Quiltmaking, the first book on this subject, was released.
I discovered Joe and his work many years ago after reading ‘Quilting with Style’, which he co-wrote with Gwen Marston. This book is full inspiration and some specific, useful and time saving tips that I refer to often. Joe has written 11 books on quilts and their making as well as authoring numerous articles and essays on the subject. He has also appeared on many television programs as well, my favorite being the Peabody Award winning PBS series ‘Craft in America’, where his easy down to earth nature and love of quilts and their history shines as he sits and sews with the talents of the Gee’s Bend quilters, highlighting their beautiful quilts and their generations of quilters. It is not to be missed.
Joe’s quilts are exhibited in the permanent collections of museums around the country as well as housed in numerous private collections of collectors worldwide. Joe is so generous and inspiring with his knowledge and expertise, giving talks and teaching workshops nationwide. I am so pleased to share his work with you and learn more about how improvisation plays a big role in his process.
You Are Here Joe Cunningham
What does working improvisationally mean to you? How would you define the ‘Art of Improv’?
For me, all of life is improvised. I am a terrible planner. I rarely use recipes. When I was a professional guitar player, I improvised all night, every night. When we go on vacation, my wife and I like to find hotels in there morning for that evening’s stay. When I make a quilt, I do not start out with a drawing or photo, only with an idea. So I would not define The Art of Improv. To me improvising is only one part of my means to an end: a finished quilt. Even when I use patterns, they are for part of a larger piece that is improvised. I don’t see improvisation as an art, only as a tool.
Have you always worked improvisationally?
Yes, it is in my DNA, apparently.
Do you work improvisationally, consciously, intentionally? If so, how do you begin? If not, how do you find yourself getting there?
It is not so much a conscious thing, it is only the way I go about things. The way I start is tossing a bunch of fabrics on the floor, any that go together in a way that seems comfortable, I throw out. When I have a combination of fabrics I have never seen before, I cut them into pieces and start sewing them together in a way that I think in that moment will serve my idea. As I work it becomes clear that I need to emphasize certain things and deemphasize others. Throughout the process I remain open to the possibility of changing the entire focus, or layout.
Porky 115 Joe Cunningham
How often do you work with improvisation?
Always. All day every day.
Please share a bit about your process. Do you have methods to getting started? Do you have tricks to getting unstuck? Do you have motivators to finishing up?
I always start with an idea. It could be a single word, or it could be my complicated feelings about an issue. Whatever. An idea, not an image. The way I work is to start on a project and see it through from beginning to end, clean up my studio and start on another. If I feel stuck, I just keep working on it. Feeling stuck, to me, is a frequent feeling, a feeling that what I am doing is not good enough, not artistic enough, not technically accomplished enough. We all have those feelings from time to time, and I have learned to simply ignore them. I stay with my idea and never give up on it. My motivation to continue is that I do not want to sit there in my studio doing nothing. And I cannot start another piece until the current one is done and photographed.
Where do you find inspiration? How do you use it?
I find inspiration in everything I have ever seen, or heard, or read or experienced. I have noticed that a lot of my quilts seem to be about environmental issues. Some of them are about quilts from the past. Whatever it is that inspires me, I use it as a theme for the quilt, and I do not worry about what the quilt looks like, if it illustrates my theme or not. I am not an illustrator, I am an artist. I do not seek some idea of “balance” or “beauty” in my practice. I try to remember that I am not in the business of production, nor am I in the business of making something pleasing to others. I am in the business of trying to make something true and real.
Winter Twister Joe Cunningham
What advice would you give to someone interested in trying to work improvisationally. Can you share some good advice that you received that helped you become more comfortable this way?
If someone wants to work improvisationally, I would advise them to let go of all preconceived ideas of what the finished product should look like. For me, creating a new work using improvisation means letting go of trying to do anything other than being in the moment and treating each seam as the most important one I have ever sewn. I have to take the work seriously while letting it lead me into unknown territory. I once read a quote from Larry Rivers: “If it looks like art, it must look like someone else’s art.”
How would you finish the sentence, ‘What if, . . .?’
What if I stopped trying to be impressive? What if I stopped trying to make something beautiful? What if I stopped trying to make something pleasing to others?
What are you reading, listening to, watching, or any other inspirational obsessions you would like to share?
Currently re-reading “Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock and Roll Group”. Just finished "Wolf Hall". Also currently reading “Your Duck is My Duck.” Listening to Dr Dog, “Fate.” Listening to Fred Frith, “Eye to Ear.”
Thank you Joe for sharing with us how you use improvisation to create your art and live your life. I loved learning how you never let an idea go and work from start to finish on a piece. I think this could help a lot of us in a lot of ways. I find it so hard to not move onto a new thing when I feel stuck, I need to give this a try.
It is heartening to me to know that you too feel the vulnerabilities that we all feel as we create and share our art. I find your ‘what if’ response to be one of the biggest steps to making art that is real and true, yet it is not an easy thing to do. We are all striving to trust ourselves enough, it takes courage and confidence, every single day. I am learning here that no matter how long you have been making your art that this struggle does not go away. I appreciate your remedy to just ignore it. I also appreciate, as I know we all do, your contribution to this ongoing discussion on improvisation and art making. Again thank you!