The Arts Center at Orange, Virginia, was a beautiful space to show The WICKED Cherrywood quilts. April 2015
(Image by Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics) Details DMCA
Meryl Ann Butler: Thanks for visiting with us, Karla. Can you share with us how the idea for this project/exhibit came about?
Karla Overland: I saw WICKED on Broadway when I was attending the Quilt Alliance "Quilters Take Manhattan" event in 2013. I had always wanted to offer a fabric challenge, and the combination of strong colors, memorable graphics, amazing costumes and the uplifting storyline of WICKED seemed to be the perfect fit! It also helped to have a connection to a quilter who worked in the costume department! And lime green just happens to be my favorite color.
MAB: Yes, I always laugh when veteran quilter Virginia Robertson calls lime green a "neutral" color! She says it goes with everything, and in her quilts, it sure does! What was the most exciting part of the WICKED Challenge for you?
KO: Some of the quilts were displayed at the Gershwin Theater for a few months. This was a thrill in and of itself, but when I watched the video clip "Broadway Backstage"-a NYC news broadcast that touches on all the new musicals - I was over the moon. The show gave the quilts a full minute of coverage! And the guest host for the show was Tony Danza! It was at that moment that I realized how big this had grown.
MAB: That's exciting! What's going on with this project currently?
KO: Although the traveling exhibit could have easily been booked into 2016, all WICKED things must come to an end! After over 17 public appearances in national venues all over the country, the quilts have been returned to their owners. However, many of the artists have chosen to donate their quilts for an online auction for Broadway Cares to raise funds for AIDS.
MAB: But people can still "see" the exhibit via your book, right?
KO: Yes! The entire 114-quilt exhibit is captured in a beautiful keepsake book. Each quilt is accompanied by an artist statement and detail shots so readers can be inspired by all the creativity that went into these little quilts. The WICKED book is the first in a series of collector books. Better get the first one!
MAB: I understand you had a successful crowd funding project and a relocation during the same time that the quilts were going from one exhibition to another! Wow, what a busy time for you! Can you tell us a little bit about your fundraiser?
KO: We needed to relocate our business for several reasons- we were operating out of an older building with three levels. The stairs were killing us, we were very inefficient, and we were running out of space. After countless hours of searching, planning, getting construction quotes, financial planning, and securing a loan, we decided to give crowd-funding a try. People crowd-fund for many reasons, and we felt that our loyal customers would genuinely like to see our company not only survive, but thrive. It was a family affair: my sister wrote a script for a short video to explain our plight, and my son shot the footage and did all the editing. After a month, we had received $14,000 in donations! We are indebted to all the contributors and they were each given a thank-you gift for becoming a part of this amazing journey.
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