$200,000 Art Prize Awarded to a Quilter
This is the Second Time The Grand Prize Has Gone to This Quiltmaking Textile Artist!
ArtPrize recently announced it’s first two-time Grand Prize winner, Ann Loveless. This is the second time Ann has been awarded the Grand Prize in this annual art competition, which this year drew entries from all over the U.S. and 48 other countries.
The winning 2015 ArtPrize entry, a mixed media quilt titled “Northwood Awakening,” measures 25-feet long and 5-feet tall and portrays the emerging flora in the spring in the woods in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula in Benzie County.
This art quilt combines Ann’s quilting with her husband Steven’s photography in a mixed media textile.
The collaboration, when viewed left to right, begins as a large-scale photographic print and blends fabrics and textiles, ending in an entirely quilted textile on the right.
The following photos depict the quilt while under construction. See more photos of the quilt’s construction here.
ArtPrize is the “American Idol” of the art world. It’s the world’s largest art prize, awarding a total of $560,000 in prizes. Half of ArtPrize’s prize money, $280,000, is awarded by popular vote of viewers, who cast votes on ArtPrize’s website or through smart phone apps or text messages.
Artists over age 18 from all over the world are eligible to enter the 19-day exhibition. The approved entries are exhibited in various venues in the city of Grand Rapids, MI, making this a city-wide event. The 2015 competition was its 7th year.
Learn more about ArtPrize and the 2015 winning entry here.
2013 ArtPrize Winning Quilt
Ann’s previous winning entry was entirely quilted and made in large panels.
“Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore” is a landscape art quilt of the Lake Michigan shoreline. This large work consists of four individual panels depicting a beach scene which all connect into one large panoramic view… Ann’s collage technique incorporates traditional cotton and batik fabrics along with other fibers including linen, silk, yarns, polyester netting and angelina fiber for added texture. Techniques also include raw edge fusible applique and free-motion machine quilting.
Learn more about Ann’s Grand Prize winning quilt, “Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore”, here and here.
Photos courtesy of MLive.com, ArtPrize.org and Shizzle Design.
