Quilts as Art

The very idea that quilts can be art is what I base all of my quilting, lecturing and teaching on. Why then, is it so very hard for me to hang my own 'art' on my own walls? I have sold various pieces to others, people I respect as having excellent taste, to hang on their walls. I lecture on the validity of quilts as art every time I speak to a group. I have even commissioned a piece to be hung in a prestigious executive boardroom, where they spent more to frame and protect it than they payed for the piece! Why then, pray tell, do I feel nervous about hanging it in my own home?
I don't feel nervous about hanging this quilt in my breakfast nook. Cherry Cherry made it. One day we negotiated a trade, I feel like I got the better end of the bargain. I love this quilt! I don't know if she ever named it, but having adopted it, I have. Java Java by Cherry Cherry.

This little quilt isn't hard to hang either. It was done by a student in fabric painting class. I love the way she painted it. I always offer in all of my workshops to trade mine for theirs if they don't like their results. In this case I asked her to trade! I liked her results better than my own! I gave her a finished and signed piece from the class and she gave me hers. I finished it and framed it. I love the piece, and I love the memory. Thanks Fay!
SO... I asked a friend to come over and help me hang all my art, to help me decorate. Her house is just beautiful, something from a magazine. Every time I walk into her home I am taken aback again at how pretty it is. She takes a great deal of pride in her home and works hard to keep it gorgeous. In non-gushy terms, I value her opinion.
These 2 paintings are from the same photo of a boat just down the creek from us. There is a third painting at Cherry's house.
Here it is!
I like sailboats. They're pretty. I didn't like the way the ferns looked when I painted them, so I cut them up and framed them in a collage. Not my favorite painting, but the size and frame are nice.
One of my first paintings. Acrylic on paper. Coconut palm from Grandpa's house in the Keys.
So after we went through the sailboats and other art, I took a deep breath and said I would like to hang a quilt on the immense wall above the stair landing. I pulled out the larger ones to ask her to recommend which one. She said, "ALL of THEM! The whole staircase is your gallery!" My heart started a staccato beat and I had to be convinced, BUT...I did it!
Looking down from the top landing, I can't get the quilts without that hanging light. It will be replaced with some track lighting, I think.

Gerald actually agreed to hanging the gator, as long as no one mentions U of F. This bird takes the best photos!

Then as you head down the stairs, these two will greet you. I figure if you've been upstairs for any reason, you're a good enough friend to see the Beach Ladies.

It is quite nice. I like seeing the Road 9 quilt as you come in the front door, just enough that it draws you to take a more complete look.

After a few days at the Lakehouse, I may be able to sew more! YEA!