Joan Schulze facts for kids

Joan Schulze (born October 13, 1936) is an American artist, speaker, and poet. She is famous for her modern quilts, fiber art, and collages. Joan Schulze has been called a "pioneer of the art quilt movement." This means she was one of the first and most important artists to make quilts into a respected art form. Her art can be found in galleries and private collections all over the world. These include the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the Oakland Museum of California.

Early Life and Learning

Joan Schulze was born in Chicago, Illinois. She was the second of six children. In high school, Joan learned to sew in a home economics class. She made her own clothes. After graduating from Lindblom Technical High School in 1954, she went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned a degree in education in 1958.

Joan was naturally talented in art. However, she chose to become a teacher because it seemed more practical. After college, she started working as an elementary school teacher. In 1959, she married James Schulze. They had four children between 1962 and 1969.

Becoming an Artist

Starting Her Art Journey

In 1966, Joan Schulze moved from Texas to California. This move helped her focus on her art. California's beautiful landscapes, so different from Chicago, inspired her. She also met many other artists there, which motivated her.

She improved her sewing and embroidery skills by taking workshops. She joined groups like the Peninsula Stitchery Guild. She even became president of the Bay Area Arts and Crafts Guild in the mid-1970s. By 1970, Joan decided to become a full-time artist. She started showing and selling her work, and also teaching.

Joan made her first quilt in 1974. She was asked to teach a class on quilt-making. She already knew how to sew, but she made this quilt to prepare for the class. Joan calls herself an "autodidact," which means she mostly taught herself. She didn't have much formal art training. She learned by trying new things and trusting her instincts.

Three experiences really helped her art grow:

• Short workshops with the Peninsula Stitchery Guild.
• A year-long photography course at DeAnza College.
• A week-long quilt workshop with Constance Howard (artist) in San Francisco in 1974.

After meeting Constance Howard, they became close friends and mentors. Howard encouraged Joan to push her art further. She told her, "'Do more, Joan. Do more!'" This support helped Joan's career take off.

How Her Art Changed

Throughout her career, Joan Schulze has tried many art forms. These include collage, fiber art, quilt making, and different ways of printmaking. She believes that both the message of her art and the materials she uses are equally important. She says, "The themes are what drive the choices I make in construction and materials. Experiments keep my work fresh and interesting to me."

While she is best known for her modern quilts, Joan loves to use collage. Peter Frank (art critic) says her use of collage shows how modern life can feel disconnected. Yet, her art finds a way to bring it all together. Joan has loved collage since she was a child. She would cut pictures from catalogs and add them to her "grab bag" of scraps. She still collects all sorts of interesting bits and pieces, called ephemera, to use in her art. She likes to create with what she has at the moment. This way of working is like a jazz musician improvising. Joan loves music, especially jazz and blues. People even call her "the Artist Who Dances."

Over time, Joan has added new techniques to her art:

• Dyeing fabric (1967–1987)
• Using photography and photocopy processes (since 1970)
• Painting, Xerox transfer, and glue transfer (since 1980)
• Using digital technology (1990 to present)

Photography is very important in her work. Her photos inspire her, but she also transfers them onto fabric or paper. This makes the photos part of the artwork itself.

Joan uses film cameras, point-and-shoot cameras, and phone cameras. But she calls the photocopier her "favorite and most important camera." Since the mid-1990s, she has made unique line drawings. She photocopies stitched organza fabric and prints these images onto silk. She calls these "toner drawings." For her quilts, she layers the silk over batting and backing. Then she adds stitched lines to give her pieces depth.

Art Themes and Ideas

Joan Schulze's "Haiku Series" (1999–2001) are like "visual poems." They use both fabric and paper. After making many large quilts, this series of smaller works helped her refocus. It reminded her of "the power of limited means and focused attention."

Her art often shows her global view, shaped by her travels. For example, her "Bowl Series" (2016–2017) shows the feelings a place leaves on her, not just the place itself. In 2016, she taught at Shenzhen University in China. The museum director gave her an old tea bowl from the Tang dynasty. Joan made this series to honor the bowl and its culture.

One of her newest series, "Brain Tangles," is about losing her husband. As his health declined, Joan photographed a small pot of bulbs that never bloomed. After he passed away, she saw a connection between his fading life and the dying bulbs.

Sharing Her Knowledge

Joan Schulze believes it's important to share her skills in quilt-making. She has given speeches at international conferences. She has also been a visiting artist, artist-in-residence, and judge for art shows.

She started teaching and lecturing in 1970. She stopped teaching in 2013 after more than 40 years. Joan has taught classes and workshops in many countries, including the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. She has taught about collage, fiber art techniques, quiltmaking, alternative printing, and fan design.

Awards and Recognition

In 2017, Joan Schulze received the "Distinguished Woman Artist Award" from the Fresno Art Museum. She was the first quilt artist to win this award.

She has also won many other awards:

• Silver Award from the California State Fair Fine Art Exhibitions.
• "Best of Show Award" from the Rochester Institute of Technology for "The Art Quilt."
• Innovation Award at Quilt National ‘95.
• Gold Award from the Bay Area Art Conservation Guild Annual.
• Gold Award at World Quilt '98 in the Tokyo International Forum.
• Publishing and Exhibition Prize from the Skylark Fine Art Gallery in 2009.

Her art has also been bought for collections by the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles and the City of Palo Alto, California.

Selected Artworks

Selected Quilts (1979—2018)

Exhibitions

Joan Schulze's work has been shown in many art exhibitions around the world.

Solo and Featured Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

Collections

Joan Schulze's art is part of many important collections.

Museums

Corporate Collections