Nancy Crow's quilts have been considered contemporary since she began quilting more than 25 years ago. In 2007, an exhibition of 25 of her most recent quilts at the Snyderman Gallery in Philadelphia, Pa. began the tour of her latest awesome collection. It will be on display from October 2008 to January 2009 at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. If you are in the area during this time, treat yourself to viewing quilts from one of the master quilters/designers  of our time. If you can't see the exhibit in real life, looking at photos of the quilts in the book Crossroads: Constructions, Markings, and Structures by Nancy Crow (Breckling Press, 2008, 64 pages, $22.95, softcover) is the next best thing.

I really liked seeing photos of pages from Nancy's sketchbook regarding some of the quilts. She has handwritten notes in hurried style with photos of the quilts in progress. The notes show the emotional depth of her thinking, especially the ones written about the Markings series. This series, in her words, is "an exploration of Calligraphic Mark Making applied to quilt construction." Other handwritten notes include "I am incredibly angry today," or "I am now in a 'struggle,' an overwhelming struggle with PILES that overtake and obstruct my ability to walk through clogged pathways and piles covering all work surfaces and the floors …" It sounds like Nancy's studio is much like my own sewing room!

I enjoyed reading about Nancy Crow and seeing her work. Her deep thinking is reflected in her quilts. Having taken a class from her in the past, I learned a lot about how she likes to work in series. There are three different series in Crossroads and each one is based on something different.

If you would like to take a peek into the mind of a great artist and her work, look for Crossroads online or at your local book store.