The Ware Center, 42 North Prince Street, Lancaster, PA will be showcasing the works of PA’s foremost and internationally recognized and awarded quilter and textile artist, Donna Albert. On First Friday, April 6th from 6 PM to 8 PM meet the artist. Ms. Albert’s work will continue until April 29th.
Ms. Albert has titled her exhibit “The Seeds of Inspiration”, which grew out of the often asked question, “Where does your inspiration come from?” She responds, “Each piece I create represents a part of my life – inspired by the world around me, life experiences, current events, poetry. An artist looks at something ordinary and sees the extraordinary in it.”
The work of Donna Albert intertwines her Lancaster County heritage with her formal training in Textile. Albert was raised in the village of Reinholds where she was taught to sew by her grandmother. She now lives in Paradise.
She studied textile design at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through the medium of fabric, she focuses on the marriage of color, line and texture to create a visual interpretation of a thought, an emotion or a memory.
Donna has exhibited internationally. Her hand-appliqued quilt Who Can Doubt There Is a God?, depicting America’s wer gardens, is in the permanent collection of the American Museum of Folk Art in New York City.
The textiles she creates span a vast spectrum: from Quilt commissions for Southwest General Hospital in Chicago to Takashimaya Co., Ltd., in Japan, from designing Kitchen Apparel and Accessories for national publications to creating costumes for the Annenburg Theater at the University of Pennsylvania and the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Some of the costumes she has designed will be displayed, too.)
Donna Albert has been featured in numerous books and magazines. She has appeared on HGTV’s “Simply Quilts”, on The Discovery Channel’s “Home Matters” show, in an Australian series for PBS and on National Public Radio.
She authored the book No-Sew Special Effects – Quilts, Crafts, Clothing, Home Decor. She also writes articles on textile techniques; teaches workshops and classes; and presents inspirational and educational lectures – to quilters and fine artists, costume designers and retirement home residents.
Her goal of inspiring and encouraging creativity has led her to participate in a blossoming program in Costa Rica, where she has taught techniques from her book. Donna was invited as a guest artist by the Cultural Center of Costa Rica and North America to exhibit in “Febrero Mes del Quilt”, the inaugural exhibition of quilts in San Jose, Costa Rica. She has since returned to teach and to exhibit her Inspirations from Costa Rica” series in the Second Quilt Exhibition at the Cultural Center.
Inspirations from Costa Rica: Patterns Tryiptych is in the permanent collection of the Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Takashimaya Co., Ltd., Japan, commissioned Donna to design and create five signature quilts of Lancaster County as part of the “American Quilt Collection” Exhibition. This world exhibition, viewed by thousands of visitors, was co-sponsored by Takashimaya Co., Ltd. and The American Museum of Folk Art, New York
Some of the current work of Donna Albert combines vivid color, simplified shapes, and text with diverse materials and techniques. Her Postcards from Paradise series, inspired by the landscapes that surround her studio, reflect the aesthetics of a farm field, the simplicity of a bird on a branch, the beauty of fireflies skittering at dusk. Live by the Truth and Nine Eleven, represent an allegorical series of art quilts based on the theme of light versus dark, while La Poesia Violetta (The Purple Poem) explores the relationship between art and text, images and words. Regardless of the content or the technique, Donna’s work continues to express her ideas, her emotions and her vision as she continues to explore the medium of fabric.
The exhibit is free and open to the public.
