Many artists can only dream of turning their creativity into successful careers, but quilter extraordinaire Kestrel Michaud has made it happen. Michaud, who transitioned from being a graphic designer to becoming a full-time quilter and workshop facilitator, is grateful that she is among that select group of artists who have realized her goal without having to wait for retirement to do so.
“I am incredibly thankful and blessed to have found a way to turn my passion into a career,” Michaud says. “Fabric is a unique and magical artistic medium, and I fell in love with it long ago.”
She reveals that her passion for quilting began to develop in 2004, when she was a junior in high school. By graduation, her pastime had yielded more than 30 fabric compositions in a multitude of diverse designs, garnering numerous awards in regional, national and international competitions along the way.
After graduating, Michaud attended the prestigious Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. Although she earned her BFA in illustration, worried that her preferred medium might not lead to a career, her senior thesis consisted of six gallery-sized fabric artworks.
She worked as a graphic designer for fashionable companies such as Kenneth Cole and prominent organizations such as NASA and found that while the work was rewarding, it also reinforced that working with fabric was her true love.
Since dedicating herself fully to the art of quilting, Michaud has won innumerable prizes. Locally, she received the Best of Show Award at the 44th annual Best of the Best Juried Fine Art Exhibition at the A.E. Backus Museum for “Date Night,” a colorful, fused applique quilt that depicted an intricate platter of sushi and sashimi.
Her pieces have traveled nationally and around the world to as far away as Australia; her artistic viewpoint woven into every piece.
“My philosophy as an artist is to bring the stories in my imagination to life through fabric. I want viewers to feel transported to the fictional world I have created when they are looking at my art quilts.”
Animals, domestic and wild alike, are frequent visitors to the artist’s fictional world, as are an imaginary steampunk world of characters. The quilter shares her home with three canine companions who serve as inspiration for some of her projects, becoming recurring themes in Michaud’s oeuvre.
Roosters, great egrets, and families of loons also find a nook inside the precise stitchwork of Michaud’s quilts; their imagery unsurprising when one reflects on the Old French origin of the artist’s first name – Kestrel, a small falcon.
There’s nothing small about the artist’s online store, where hundreds of quilt-themed items and patterns are offered, including DIY kits for at-home use. Aspiring quilters can also learn directly from Michaud through boutique workshops focused on various techniques.
One six-hour workshop guides students to create quilts of their own beloved pets, but nothing is off limits in Michaud’s creative realm, and she encourages others to tap into their limitless imaginations as well.
She presents a voyage of design discovery utilizing the backbone of a quilting formula she has developed over the years called fused, raw-edge appliqué.
Her own process begins with digital designs drawn on an iPad. Later, she employs a Cricut cutting machine for the physical fabric, combing through color swatches to find the perfect fit. From there, imagination takes over and Michaud’s projects can become anything she fancies.
“I’m a trained illustrator and my work is very focused on storytelling and worldbuilding through imaginative realism design. I love being able to share my whimsical stories and ideas without any words at all.”
Part of the overall delight is being able to express herself through the tactile nature of the medium.
“I love having my fingers physically in my work. Touching the fabric, working with it, and pushing my quilt under a sewing needle. It’s a visceral experience,” she explains.
“There’s something about the texture of the material itself, combined with the brilliantly saturated colors and batik or printed patterns that elevate my compositions in ways impossible for traditional mediums.”
Michaud has also moved beyond traditional ways of thinking as she considers Artificial Intelligence as a way explore how that emerging technology could impact quilting.
At the annual Seaside Peacemakers Quilt Show in Melbourne this February, her work was showcased with 80 feet of hanging space featuring works from her early fabric prototypes dating back to when she first became immersed in quilting, to her latest and most technologically innovative designs.
When she’s not participating in an art show, or hosting a workshop, you might find Michaud at the local fabric shop in search of materials for her next project.
“I always check my stash first, but inevitably I will find myself at the fabric store. Or more than one fabric store,” she shares with a smile.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
