Support for Kalamazoo Lively Arts is provided by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, helping to build and enrich the cultural life of Greater Kalamazoo.

So a quilt is made up of three layers.

So you have your backing, your batting, and your top.

And so a lot of people think, oh, I’m quilting, but they’re really just piecing the top together.

And what we do is quilt.

When we sandwich the three layers together, that’s actually quilting.

Quilting is always, like, a fight to get in.

Oftentimes, you’re ripping out because you... Spent a lot of time ripping things out.

Right.

It’s, like, it’s just not right, but I just love to make quilts.

I enter Almond Blossom Quilt Company, and I enter a mom and daughter team.

I’m gonna go write to you, Tammy.

How did this get started?

We opened in 2022, but previous to that?

I was a nurse, and during COVID was very difficult time.

I worked in the ICUs, and I decided I needed to kind of step away from that.

About three months after I left I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

And then that makes you do a whole lot of reflecting on your life and what you want to do, and I love quilting.

I just love fabric.

I love the colors, I love the textures.

So with all of that, we just, my husband was so supportive, so he helped us build this place, and then Sarah was in a time of transition also with her career, and... I’d been a hairstylist for 15 years.

I also was having some health issues where I, like, couldn’t work for, like, about three months, and I had been wanting to quote full time.

I had already been, like, talking to my husband, like, I really just, if I could do anything, I just want a quote full time.

I don’t want to do hair anymore.

I just want to quilt.

And so, we kind of synced up.

I couldn’t work with anybody else, like, to have a different partner would not work.

That is really a blessing.

As they say, the almond doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Right.

Why the name?

Almond.

So, actually, I came up with the name, but, um, so the almond blossom is one of the first two blossom in the springtime, and it’s after, like, a really hard winter is when they blossom, and so, we both felt like we had come through that winter season, and, uh, just with, like, your health stuff, and my health stuff, so the almet is time to blossom, and so here we are, you know, three and a half years later, a lot of people are walking through those winter seasons.

They’re coming through hard things.

It’s their therapy.

It’s their connection with family, and everyone has a story who comes in here and up their quilt and why they did it.

And so this has been a space for conversation.

This has been a space for people to open up and share and share about their dreams, their hopes, their stories, their families, so... It’s so fun.

They come, and they just stay.

Sometimes they’re here a couple hours.

It’s great.

You know, some are never quilted before, and they’re bringing us their first quilt, and we walk them through it and help them do it, and some are, like, you know, master quilters that we would aspire to be someday, and that’s great, too.

So we just really feel that we want to encourage every culture that comes in here.

So that culture that comes in here and wants to learn to quilt.

Where do I start?

We have started doing little workshops to build skills.

We have compiled a list of all the things that I wish I had known when I started quilting.

We have done everything the wrong way first.

I learned the hard way, and so I would love to set people up for success of less frustration, more enjoyment.

Like, if you have, you know, these five tools.

You can be successful in quilting.

You don’t need to have all of the things.

What are the five tools?

Um, I would say an 18 inch rules.

a really good rotary cutter, and some good blades, I would say a decent sewing machine.

You don’t need to spend $10,000 on a sewing machine, but if you could get a really good straight stitch machine, you can do a lot with that.

And then I would say, a This is a wool mat.

So the clapper and the mat work together.

So the steam is actually being dispersed between the matte and the wood, and that’s how you get that really, really crisp seam.

In quote world, there’s all different types of things.

This is an example of a technique called a disappearing nine patch.

The basic of this is that you’re doing a nine patch.

You have, you know, 3 by 3 that are all equally the size.

After you’ve sewn them together, then you’ve cut them.

And turn two of them.

It’s just a matter of how you lay out your fabrics and what color choices you use.

Take me through the structure of how this works here in your workshop.

So the at home culture will make the top, where they’re piecing all the little pieces together.

To quota on a domestic machine can be really challenging if you have something quite large.

So a lot of people will bring it to a long armor, which is us.

And so our big machines, we can stretch the quilt flat, and then the machine moves, so we can do really intricate designs.

Our blue machine is computer programmed, so it does, we call them digital pantographs.

You can even kind of see on these perfect little flowers.

The computer is telling it how to stitch all this out.

So someone programmed this pattern, and then our other machine is all free motion only.

So I kind of liken it to playing video games, but I’m the one that’s actually, like, moving the machine.

And so those would be our two main long arms.

And then we also have a 20 needle embroidery machine.

So a lot of our ladies, you know, you spent all this time on a quilt.

They need a label that says, you know, love from grandma or a date, and so we can actually embroider those labels for people to put on their quilts before they give them as a gift.

And then just our regular sewing machines.

We do binding for people, where we were actually, like, making the quilts, those kinds of things, so... So what’s really fun about this?

What’s your favorite part?

I just love to make quotes.

I love to, like, it’s a dream to be able to just pull bolts of fabric down and choose the colors that I want, and it looks how I want it to look and not feel limited.

I just love, love the ladies and anybody that comes in.

Like, I like that relationship part of it.

When they bring us a pile of T shirts, and then we turn it into a quilt, and they get the wow at the end, and they’re, like, so many of them are, you know, over maybe someone who’s passed away, and that’s their way, kind of, of mourning and going through that time of sitting down with us and telling us the story about this particular shirt, and we’re here to listen to that.

I think it really helps them with that, you know, and it is a somber thing, because you’re, you’re like, it’s raw.

They’ve just lost this person and then you’re just, you know, walking through that with them.

But I think it’ll go from that raw emotion of tears and pain to memory and joy of celebrating that person’s life.

There’s a lot of pain and hurt that people go through, and I think quilting is a way of healing some of that, you know, stitching that love together, so... Why is creating and sharing art so important?

We were made to create.

And so I think when you create, you have, like, it’s, you’re one of a kind thing.

Rather somebody else likes it or doesn’t like it, it doesn’t matter because it’s what you like.

That’s just something that’s important to me and I think it’s important to share that with young people.

They’re like, Oh, this isn’t good.

No, it doesn’t matter.

If you like it, that’s what’s important.

If blue is your favorite color, make something blue.

If you like yellow, then make yellow, you know?

Just because someone else doesn’t like yellow doesn’t mean that it’s not good.

So that’s one of the things I think is really important about sharing with others.

It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Just keep growing, keep doing what you enjoy, and if you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it, right?

Do something different.

So, yeah, we’ve learned so many things.

We really value excellence, and I mean that in a way of, like anyone, can be excellent.

Are you doing your best with what you have?

It could be your very first quilt, and you can be excellent at it.

It may not be perfect, but it can be excellent, and so I think even just, like, sharing that with new quilters or new artists.

Like, you can excel in what you’re doing.

doesn’t have to be perfect quarter inch seems.

Maybe you can grow into that, but it’s not, like, you don’t have to start there, and you’re excellent, doesn’t necessarily look like somebody else is excellent.

What’s the future of your almond blossom?

Oh, felicity.

That’s my daughter.

And she just... She loves quoting.

She is a little entrepreneur.

She’s always like, I could make this, and I could sell... So I hope to have her do the kids’ market in Kalamazoo, ’cause she makes little felt animals, and she just amazes me.

She just loves it here.

She loves what we do, and she’s right in there.

She’s learning all the things, so... Thank you, ladies, so... Thank you.

Mom and, uh, daughter, uh, shaking it up the world when it comes to the stars of quilting.

Thank you for this time.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I do abstract art, art Deco style.

And what sets me apart is I use an ancient Maya equation, A over B equals A plus B over A. That equation is pretty much, while it is, what all my works go through that equation, every single work, comes out with a unique geometric.

configuration.

For me, it’s kind of like a piano.

It really gives a lot of possibilities for expression.

And it’s just a certain set of notes.

You’re not gonna play all the notes on a piano at once.

And likewise, I feel like I have a set of notes, musical notes to work with.

This is your work in oil?

Yes, in oil pain.

Talk more about your medium and how it works.

Sure.

So I start, well, there’s really two main aspects to my work.

One is the geometry, and all the math that’s behind it.

And the other is the actual... what I call negative space on the canvas.

So all the paint colors, and all the markings, that would be your negative space that receives the geometry.

And all my works are pretty much a conversation between those two aspects.

So my work, essentially, is a celebration of this powerful equation, A over B, was A plus B over 8.

The equation’s so powerful that it really almost helps the negative space to work itself, because it’s a very excitable negative space that’s going to receive the geometry.

Now, to the untrained eye, there are a lot of circles and other.

Tell me more.

There’s a lot of stages to my work.

And one of the key aspects is that I work in a glaze form.

My pigments, this is pigment from the tube, mixed with DeMar varnish.

So I keep all my pigments.

in glaze form.

I work in one color at a time.

So when I do my reds, I stop and let the reds dry.

When I do my blues.

After that, I stop and let the blue dry, because... You don’t want to mix your colors in glaze for them.

You want them to be individual, because, chemically, the colors won’t bind, so they may fall apart.

Okay.

So we just want to get some of this glaze form, pigment out.

This is just paint thinner, and I’m just gonna thin that out some, spread it around.

I like it right now.

So, after I make these marks, it’s most likely that I’m going to subtract a lot of what’s there, and just leave the pigment.

And that weakens the value, because I’m not sure I want blue to be too strong coming off of these.

other markings.

So in order to subtract, I use Q tips.

I usually go through about 1,000 of these a month.

And these Q2... So I’ll roll over the markings to... So right now, I’m ready to go.

I just need to know.

What bottle sizes I need to correspond with what’s already there?

Make my first prints imprints on the paper.

So let’s see what happens.

Yeah, that’s quite a strong value.

Still very strong.

So I’m gonna thin this out a little bit more.

Yeah, that’s a little weaker.

I can see the lighter blue coming through.

And then once you... Subtract using the Q tip.

There’s the mark.

Boom, I like that one.

Nice.

Now, like I say, I’m gonna pull these back a little, weaken their value.

Isn’t that nice, toned down?

I like that tone down blue right there.

So we’re gonna do the same thing with all the markings.

And have you already thought about your ultimate end goal here?

When I do the negative space, I’m not thinking of what geometry is going to come onto the space yet.

This is more chaos.

It’s more random.

It’s more visceral.

Which is okay.

Yeah, that’s necessary.

I think that’s a necessary.

part of my work, because you have just about disorder, then when I bring the geometry on, you’re looking at order and disorder together.

Again, that conversation between the geometry and the negative space.

One of the things I find inspiring is that in the year 683 in the city of Palenque, the new king that was crowned, his name was Kan Balam, commissioned 3 elaborate temples to be built, and in one of those temples, Temple of the Cross, his mathematicians and architects used the equation A over B equals A plus B over A, in order to obtain the shapes and proportions of the temple.

And I’m just inspired by the fact that I’m using the same equation, uh, and geometric, uh, considerations as Kan Balam 683.

So I like to work in bunches of... works rather than just one at a time, mainly because oil paint takes time to dry.

And if you’re gonna just work on one work, you’re gonna be sitting around a lot waiting for your oil paint to dry.

See, I couldn’t put this markings on until this piece is dry.

So the last markings I made were red over the umber.

And I don’t mind some mistakes and messiness, because it just says that it’s done by a human, done by hand.

Very nice.

And how has Kalamazoo embraced this?

I have to say, Kalamazoo, we moved from Chicago to Kalamazoo for the art scene.

In particular, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, is a real engine for a lot of the art scene here in Kalamazoo.

Of all this math and design and wonderful ultimate production, what’s most satisfying for you?

I really like to see a work come into completion.

Because there’s harmony.

That relationship between the geometry and the negative space come out to my satisfaction.

It’s probably the most intrinsically rewarding part of my process.

What’s the dream?

I’m living my dream very much.

to do print making all the time and sell my work at art fairs is.

the best life that I could imagine having.

Describe what you do when you’re, uh, you know, your elevator pitch, rising up the elevator.

Someone asks you, what do you do for a living?

I make woodcut reduction prints.

Which means I’m carving away from the same block and printing in between each layer.

I’m doing Colorful.

Prints that are mostly inspired by flora and fauna and enjoy doing layering techniques.

where I’m using multiple blocks as like a background and then reducing other blocks along with that.

I give a really Intricate depth to the piece.

My goal is to keep making art.

It’s a compulsion to keep making prints, and I’m mostly selling them so that I can afford to keep making more.

to the little Jordan.

Was this a passion, way back when?

Did you always know that art would become you?

Yeah, I’ve been making art since I was really little, um, and knew that I wanted to be an artist probably since I was four or five.

taken art classes my whole life.

Um, didn’t necessarily know that this specifically is what I would be doing, but have definitely been making and wanting to try new forms of art since I was really little.

Take me through the idea to the end product.

Yeah, I’m typically, um, sketching sometimes while I’m at work.

This isn’t work?

Well, it is work.

have another part-time job.

Uh, sketching when I’m out and about or, um, at my other job and Usually in black and white, I’ll have the main idea.

Um, I’ll try to scale up the drawing to the size of the print that I’m gonna do it on, um, and then I use... procreate on an iPad to play with the colors that I want to use for it, just to have a better idea.

gives me a lot of freedom to change the colors really quickly to decide what I want to do.

And then, I will transfer the larger drawing onto the block and begin carving from there.

Tell me about this lovely work, perhaps, that brought a challenge to you or is one of your favorite.

I like the color purple person, 1st of all.

Yeah, this was a full reduction print, so this was all carved from a single block.

Seven layers, which is the most layers that I’ve ever done.

It started with... this really light purple background.

That was printed over the whole thing.

Went with the lighter pink, um, to the.

More vibrant pink, um, and then kept building up colors.

I was really excited about this.

Prince, I liked that the pink and the purple have kind of competing values, and there’s some unexpected.

color combinations and the ways that they.

Sit against one another, especially in a stripe pattern.

And this one was also particularly fun because every layer, the colors changed so much.

Early on, when I added the, I had like the light purple layer and the light pink layer, when I added this brighter pink layer, it made both of these layers look extremely gray.

At several points during the process, I thought that it wasn’t going to work out.

That the colors were not going to turn out the way that I thought they would, and it just made the print look so drastically different every time I added a new color.

You say you’re deeply inspired by the natural world.

What’s that mean?

I love plants.

I’ve been really excited about, um, plants generally, both knowing them, identifying them, um, and also just drawing them.

I really love.

That I can make flowers or trees look as they actually look in the real world, but it’s fun to abstract them and... I really love when you look at big meadows or... Plants that are vining and overlaying the ways that they kind of intertwine and play with one another and really obscure the image and the individual plant that you’re looking at.

What’s your favorite part of creating your work?

Uh, carving is my favorite part.

Um, it’s definitely the most challenging.

Time spent carving is very meticulous and you just kind of get in a zone with it, and that’s definitely my favorite part.

I really love seeing how the print comes out when you ink it up.

There’s definitely an unexpected part to that, but I’m always itching to get to the next carving.

Part of the next layer Put a little of your professor to be hat on.

What’s happening?

I’m teaching a workshop.

It’s a nature colligraph workshop at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts at the Kirk Newman Arts School.

This fall, and then in the winter, I’m scheduled to be, uh, teaching.

Pastel landscape classes, which is another art form in my wheelhouse.

But I’m excited to be teaching.

It’ll be my 1st print classes that I’m teaching.

I’ve taught jewelry classes before, but I’m excited to be able to teach print making.

What do you expect from your students?

Curiosity.

It’s exciting to learn about new things and... I love learning what other people think about and have questions about, especially in a class setting, or where they’re learning something new.

Will you see a lot of growth with your students over time?

Yeah, I think for, um, the 1st one, it’ll be a 2 day workshop.

But I think printmaking specifically has kind of a big.

Surprise factor to it.

I think you can explain the process of what you’re doing before you run the print through the press, and then the results is always kind of a surprise.

And that’s always really fun to see, and I think it makes the growth curve happen a lot faster when you’re involved in that process and get to see what you’ve done and then the end result fairly quickly.

Can you make mistakes and fix them?

You can certainly make mistakes.

I do all the time.

I learn, right?

One of my favorite things about working with wood specifically, to make woodcuts, is that it does not always let you carve the line that you want to carve.

It has a lot of resistance and grain and... really change the line or the drawing that you’re trying to work with and kind of puts its own hand in it.

So mistakes or changes that are unpredictable happen all of the time.

Some of them you can fix, some of them you cannot.

Um, it’s usually pretty hard to fill wood.

to try to correct a mistake, you usually have to change the image or the carving.

to go with it, but I’ve certainly had ones that were.

damage beyond being able to fix.

Unlike anything in this world of art, Does practice make perfect?

Yeah, I think perfect is a little bit overrated sometimes, but... Yeah, practice uh, definitely makes for more exciting work.

How is Kalamazoo, as far as a place for you, to show art, to... presented exhibits.

How loving is Kalamazoo?

Kalamazoo is so loving.

I have never lived in a place that felt so easy to get connected to.

the art community and get involved in shows and activities that were happening here.

When I moved here in 2021, I met somebody who was involved with the Starlight Collective downtown and helped get me involved with local markets and shows.

I had never done that before, and it was so... easy and inviting, um, to be able to get involved with those things.

I met a lot of artists really quickly.

And I’ve never, I’ve lived in quite a few different places, and I’ve never lived in a place that was so welcoming.

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Support for Kalamazoo Lively Arts is provided by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, helping to build and enrich the cultural life of Greater Kalamazoo.