The McLean Textile Gallery is a 501(c)3
charitable organization and does not
take commission from the artists.

Fiber and Quilt Textile Creations

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Kay Thompson Summit and Helen Joyce Burroughs have travelled the world together for 30 years representing American technology and products and now they are sharing a new adventure — their artwork. 

Helen is a painter and is now adding textiles in various forms to her artwork. Kay started as a traditional quilter but has pushed the medium by experimenting with her techniques.

 

Kay Thompson Summit

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"I started out many years ago as a traditional quilter doing pieced quilting. I was inspired by my mother’s love of hand needlework and the treasured inheritance of my maternal grandmother’s quilts. When I became pregnant, I took a class on quilting. I wanted to make a quilt for my daughter. Quilting is an amazing way to express feelings, memories, and all sorts of things that are very precious to our lives.

But as an artist you have to grow.

 

I graduated from traditional pieced quilts to hand needle work appliqué quilts. At first, I used other people’s patterns. Despite everything being hand appliquéd the medium became less satisfying because the pattern was not mine. So I began to look for inspiration in other places. 

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One of my very favorite techniques is making a pattern from a photograph. I will have four quilts in the exhibit that use this technique. I have used that technique for other quilts in the exhibit as well. I have a very good friend who is a painter and she gave me one of her paintings with the idea that we would experiment to see if you could create a scene using fabric that inspires the same feelings and emotion that a painting of the same scene evokes. 

In addition, I love to make storied quilts. Some of my quilts on exhibit will use multiple techniques in a single piece which makes the scene come alive and tell a story.  

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Helen Joyce Burroughs

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"I started out doing silk ribbon embroidery. I went to classes in New Mexico and in France to study silk ribbon embroidery. After a while, I decided I really wanted to do my own designs. So I took up painting and I went from oil pastel to acrylic to oil. All of these mediums I enjoyed because they each have their own advantages. Now I have come back full circle combining my silk ribbon embroidery with my acrylics. 

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I experiment with art by trying new techniques and media. The pieces in the exhibit range from silk to wool to acrylic to multi-media pieces. They also employ different techniques to achieve varying results. For example, a new dry wool technique lends itself well to landscapes because it adds more fluffiness and depth to the piece. 

 

There are 37 pieces in the upcoming exhibit. I am a meditator and the creation of these pieces serve as almost a form of meditation to me.