Lincoln Modern Quilt Guild: July 2016

July Program: Dr. Hillestad on Creativity

Dr. Robert Hillestad gave a delightful talk Tuesday night! He is a design educator and studio textiles artist whose work has been shown in more than 150 exhibitions in the US and abroad and is represented in numerous private, corporate and museum collections. When he retired after 31 years of teaching at UNL, the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery was named in his honor.

His love of textiles began in his mother's sewing room. As a child, he would sort fabrics from her scrap bag into different colors and textures. The creative process had begun!

His inspiration comes from many places. Art, architecture and fabrics speak to him, as well as collections of things. He uses many different techniques to create his works, from knitting and crochet to painting sewing and dyeing. It was a special treat to have his assistants walk the pieces around the room so they could be seen up close!

Here's a quick list of his advice to us on how to be creative.

Find mentors
Interact with people and community.
Failure is part of the process. Never discard a project because work evolves over time.
If you are out of ideas, change up the mode, go shopping or change projects.
Do not wait to create that idea in your head, someone else will beat you to it!
Do something creative every day!

Thank you for the inspiring talk, Dr. Hillestad! If you are interested, Dr. Hillestad has compiled a Creativity Reading List, which can be found in the meeting minutes tab above. Click on July to find the list!

Presentation of quilt to Allie Siebert from the Yellow Barne from the retreat committee.
Thank you to Allie for hosting our first LMQG retreat!