East Bay Heritage Quilters
    Voices in Cloth 2006
An Extraordinary Quilt Show

Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection

Jane A Sassaman, Art quilter, designer, teacher - Chicago, IL

http://www.janesassaman.com

Jane A. Sassaman is a contemporary quilt artist, fabric designer, author and teacher whose critically acclaimed work inspires creative confidence in aspiring artists of all backgrounds. Her internationally known quilts are known for their bold designs, celebrating the energy and miraculous beauty of garden flowers and plants (and the occasional skeleton!).

Jane's quilts are shown worldwide and can be found in many private and corporate art collections. Her quilt Willow was named one of the best 100 American Quilts of the Century. She was awarded the Quilts Japan Award for her work in Quilt National 1999. She also received "The Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Artistry" at the International Quilt Festival in 1996.

Jane is also an accomplished teacher of design and quilting for guilds and conferences around the world. She travels internationally, teaching groups and individuals how to nurture creativity, sharpen powers of observation and overcome creative obstacles.

Spring 2001 saw the publication of Jane's first book, The Quilted Garden. Besides being 20 years of color reproductions of her work, it is also a window onto the artist's process: influences and inspirations, family life, methodologies and good old tricks of the trade!

The Quilted Garden is available at major booksellers, as well as our online store.

Jane spends part of her creative time designing fabric for the prestigious quilt fabric manufacturer FreeSpirit, in NYC. Her first line, The Exotic Garden, debuted in 2002 and introduced the quilting, interior design and wearable markets to Jane's extravagant vision of flora and fauna in undeniably Sassaman colors. Inspired by the likes of Arts & Craft founder William Morris, the Finnish design company Merimekko and textile artist Kaffe Fassett, Jane has unapologetically produced exuberant large-scale design motifs drenched in exciting color.

Jane is currently at work on her third line of Fabric for FreeSpirit fabric.

Jane's online store debuted in 2002 and carries an array of fabrics, quilt kits and patterns, books, and magazines all devoted to Jane's particular vision of color and design.