About the Artist: Vivian Milholen
Biography:
Vivian is a textile artist currently living in Northern Virginia. While traveling with her Air Force family across the country and the world, she took quilting classes whenever the opportunity arose. She was intrigued with all the possible designs that could be made cutting up fabric and sewing it back together. She studied accounting in college but soon discovered she wanted to pursue the world of art quilting. In Ohio, she took surface design classes for several years and taught classes in quilt design.
A class in photography enabled her to capture the love of nature that has always inspired her. Vivian likes to combine both photography and quilting skills to document some of nature's unexpected treasures. Her work has been exhibited in national and local venues, including Inova Fair Oaks Cancer Center, the University of Michigan, the National Institutes of Health in DC, Healing Quilt Initiative at Auburn University and Zanesville Museum of Art, Zanesville, Ohio.
Vivian is a Studio Artist at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA where she was chosen for the Director’s Collection in 2014. She presently serves on the executive committee for the Sacred Threads Exhibition held in the DC area.
Artist Statement:
My designs are inspired by nature. Whether it’s the burst of a brilliant sunset or the new leaves of a spring day, each piece depicts a memory of my explorations. Using my camera and sketchbook, I capture the blankets of color I see emerging from the brown foliage or the trees reaching to the sky.
I use a collage technique, cutting organic shapes from fabric to recreate these woodland scenes. I often use paint and ink to enhance the design. After the design is finished, I stitch the layers together with various colors of thread to create the quilted texture of the composition.
Biography:
Vivian is a textile artist currently living in Northern Virginia. While traveling with her Air Force family across the country and the world, she took quilting classes whenever the opportunity arose. She was intrigued with all the possible designs that could be made cutting up fabric and sewing it back together. She studied accounting in college but soon discovered she wanted to pursue the world of art quilting. In Ohio, she took surface design classes for several years and taught classes in quilt design.
A class in photography enabled her to capture the love of nature that has always inspired her. Vivian likes to combine both photography and quilting skills to document some of nature's unexpected treasures. Her work has been exhibited in national and local venues, including Inova Fair Oaks Cancer Center, the University of Michigan, the National Institutes of Health in DC, Healing Quilt Initiative at Auburn University and Zanesville Museum of Art, Zanesville, Ohio.
Vivian is a Studio Artist at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA where she was chosen for the Director’s Collection in 2014. She presently serves on the executive committee for the Sacred Threads Exhibition held in the DC area.
Artist Statement:
My designs are inspired by nature. Whether it’s the burst of a brilliant sunset or the new leaves of a spring day, each piece depicts a memory of my explorations. Using my camera and sketchbook, I capture the blankets of color I see emerging from the brown foliage or the trees reaching to the sky.
I use a collage technique, cutting organic shapes from fabric to recreate these woodland scenes. I often use paint and ink to enhance the design. After the design is finished, I stitch the layers together with various colors of thread to create the quilted texture of the composition.