Woman's Work: Making Quilts—Creating Art

Rather than providing tips on the craft of quilt-making, this shimmering jewel of a production focuses on the art and philosophy of designing and creating quilts and fiber sculpture, and features 10 members of the San Francisco-based Faultline Studio Artists group, each of whom is interviewed about her quilting history, workspace needs, fabric and tool preferences, ideas about quilting, and experiences with selling her work. Interspersed with the interviews are many clips of the artists working in their studios with several complex surface-design techniques, including hand-dying and painting fabric, embossing silk, and intricate threadwork. Produced and directed by award-winning film editor Charlotte Grossman (herself a member of the group), the PBS-aired Woman's Work also includes a nicely paced slideshow of many of the works created by these artists. For its great production values and intimate and articulate interviews—not to mention the sheer joy of seeing all that colorful fabric and blazing originality—this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Glaser)