Hello, I'm Deanna Springer live at the Great Wisconsin Quilt
Show with insights to this year's event and I am joined by
TaMara Howard. Welcome, Tamara. >> Welcome. Thank you, thank
you. I'm so excited to be here. >> And you're an educator, a
teacher, a fiber artist. >> Absolutely.
the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show. But we wanted to get together
at our mutual friends Marquita Johnson's legacy quilt exhibit.
>> Absolutely. friends with Marquita, and I
thought we should talk about Marquita. We miss her dearly.
She passed away earlier this year.
been an admirer of her work, but it was such an honor when I
was able to come here to the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show and
meet her in person here. So when you announced that both of
us would be attending, I thought, oh my gosh, what a
privilege to be able to work with and really get to know
someone whose work I've admired for so long. And so I've
enjoyed my two years. Our two quilt shows here with her, and
we've just had a blast in Wisconsin together, and hanging
out in her booths and enjoying her work has just been
outstanding. >> Let's talk a little bit
about her work. She had a signature style, really bright
quilts. >> Yes. So she always hand-dyed
all of her fabrics, which is just amazing how she's able to
bring that vibrant saturation to the forefront with dyeing.
And then, you know, she her. I always teased her work, always
reminded me of my grandmother's. This is a style that I cannot
do. It's very improvizational in nature. And then she always
embellished with yo yos and beads. And so her work is
unique. Her style is just her own. It's unreplicable and just
something that I've always enjoyed spending time around.
>> So fun and so vibrant like Marquetta was.
>> And she's an award. She was is she is an award winning
textile artist from the Atlanta, Georgia area. So we were so
happy she could come to quilt show several times.
>> And she loved being here. Everyone was always so warm and
welcoming. Her being disabled, it never bothered her. It never,
you know, was a hindrance or barrier. She would.
>> Not let her. >> Know.
>> Let it hold her back. >> No. She made us feel like we
weren't doing enough with our life, right?
>> Right. She inspired both of us absolutely. To keep going
and keep creating. Yes. Let's talk about her other quilts in
the book. >> So this one here as well.
Just lovely. She loves yo yos and she can spit out 100 yo yos
in a day. It was just amazing to watch. I hadn't seen yo yos
since I was a child, but this quilt in particular is just
fully covered with all different sized yo yos. And
even while she was in her booth here at the Great Wisconsin
Quilt Show, she would be making yo yos for her next projects.
>> They're just lovely. I, I stop and see them every day.
Every day of the show. We're open Thursday, Friday and
Saturday this weekend for everyone to come in and take in
the special quilt exhibits, especially the Marquetta
Johnson Legacy exhibit. We're so thankful and grateful for
the family, for lending the quilts and sending them to us,
and honoring Marquetta in this lovely way. We truly appreciate
the family. >> Absolutely. And she gave me
this little pin cushion that she made after our first
meeting. We just had such a good time together. She wanted
to bless me with a gift and I've been using it ever since.
As you can see, there's a cowrie shell in the middle and
then some. Some African wax prints around the, the the
edging there. And she did a little small hand piecing with
an hourglass design. And so I just enjoy this. I share it
with my students all the time when I talk about my work,
because it's just something that you just don't see anymore,
right? fabrics. She had a hat that
matched those fabrics. So what a what a wonderful gift she
gave you. And you talked about sharing it with your students.
What are you teaching here this weekend?
talking about African wax print versus African batiks. The
difference in how to use them in contemporary quilting. And
you can see Marquetta is a master at that. And so it's
nice to be able to share how to use these fabrics with others,
because sometimes we're a them. But they shouldn't be
afraid. They're beautiful and they really do bring projects
to life. >> Thank you so much for
joining me tomorrow. >> I'll see you around the show.
>> Okay. and to learn more about this
year's event and next year's event, including all the great
special exhibits here, head over to quilt Show.com.
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