The Manitou Creative Quilters held a special evening Nov. 26 when Anna Hergert, a professional fibre artist came to the Neilburg Seniors' Centre to speak to the local quilters.
Hergert was born and educated in Germany and was exposed to fibre art at an early age. She says, "Handwork was a regular part of the weekly school curriculum and my passion for art and textiles became a lifelong pursuit."
She was originally an early childhood education graduate and she recalls that her path rarely took her too far away from creating and sharing new skills in the fibre arts field. Later, she taught handwork at the Calgary Waldorf School, operated The Fibre Hut for 10 years in Calgary's northwest and taught spinning and knitting classes.
These were only a few of the stepping stones that eventually led Anna to obtaining diplomas in art, design, contemporary embroidery as well as patchwork and quilting from London City and Guilds.
Anna says, "This lifelong focus on the arts makes me a passionate and committed artist, teacher, lecturer and writer."
In 2001 she committed to establishing herself as a full-time professional artist. Since 2003, Anna's work has travelled further and visited more exotic countries than she has. Korea in 2007 and 2009 and Quilt National '09 are just a couple of the interesting places where her work has been showcased. Commissions can be found in Canadian, American and European homes and public spaces.
In 2007, Anna and her husband packed up their household and moved from the big city to rural Saskatchewan where they now make their home just north of Moose Jaw at Buffalo Pound Lake. When she is not traveling to lecture or teach, Hergert creates art in her dream studio overlooking the breathtaking scenery that serves as constant source of inspiration.
While in Neilburg, Hergert gave a presentation titled Choosing Creativity. It is a lecture that is near and dear to her artist's heart. Staying motivated, overcoming creative blocks, fanning the fire of desire and fighting self-doubt are important topics any serious quilter has encountered. How do you stay focused and excited about your work? Hergert shared tricks and proven techniques to keep the artist within alive and full of enthusiasm. She showed photographs of landscapes and then displayed the quilts that were inspired by those same scenic views. She also suggested exploring creative acts in other areas of life, such as flower arranging or baking a delicious meal. She believes that if you begin trying to be a little creative, this energy will start to "flow"out into other areas of your everyday life.
As well as a digital slide presentation, Hergert brought a "trunk show" of various art quilts she has produced over several years. These were embellished with everything from saran wrap (to make a realistic looking wine glass) to packing material she melted with a heat gun before stitching on to a quilt.
Members of the local quilting club were also encouraged to bring along a prepared "quilt sandwich" so they could practice some needlework embellishments they may wish to use on their own future projects.
The following day Hergert gave another interesting presentation in Unity.
