Aullwood 2011: Anne Theobald

Anne Theobald "Impression:  Sunset on the Lake"  15" x 20" $400

Two weeks ago, I stopped in for the third time at Aullwood to re-shoot some details which I had missed the first time around.  One of the Aullwood staff asked me what my favorite piece was.  I hate having to choose favorite pieces, so I quickly showed her pieces I really liked and why I liked them.  It was amusing as when I got to Anne Theobald's work and pointed out that in this particular case the emphasis of the work was on texture, which is what draws me to working in fiber.  I told her that all of Anne's pieces in this exhibition were worked by hand.  The staff person was stunned.  "It must have taken her AGES, " she gasped.

Anne Theobald "Impression: Sunset on the Lake"  detail

Indeed, I know it "took her ages."  Anne has made these three pieces based on a hand-sewing technique she saw at a workshop with Barbara Lee Smith several years ago.  She adapted Smith's technique to her own work resulting in these texturally rich pieces although her work looks nothing like Smith's pieces.   Take a look at Smith's website to see what I mean. She has framed and matted two of her works in order to show them off more.  Many fiber artists have taken to framing works in order to show them off to their best advantage.  In some cases, it is an attempt to have our work accepted as legitimate pieces of art, rather than a "craft."

Anne Theobald "Impression:  Lake Powell"  24"  x 24"  $350.00

Anne Theobald "Impression:  Lake Powell" detail

Anne Theobald "Impression:  Oil Spill"  15" x 20"  $400.00

While all of Anne's  pieces at the Aullwood show all utilized the same distinctive stitching, this one is the most "quilt-like."  Entitled "Impression: Lake Powell"  this work show's her impressions of the Colorado River and the Red Rocks at Lake Powell.

I love Anne's comment on her label:  "For forty years I have been exploring what can be done with fabric and threads.  Embroidery and quilt making techniques have been especially intriguing connecting me to both contemporary women and women of different cultures and other times. "  This is just one of the reasons that I have chosen fiber as my medium.

Anne has said to me that her  pieces in the show are "a departure from the more quilt-like work" she usually does. 

Anne is from Greenwood Village, Colorado and is a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) and the Front Range Contemporary Quilters in the greater Denver Area.


"Impression: Oil Spill" is one of several pieces at the Aullwood show which reference last year's Gulf Oil Spill. I love the richness of these pieces.  The unfortunate thing is that you have the impulse to run your hand over them to luxuriate in the texture.  However, the curator in me squelches that urge. :)