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"The Threshers" by Inge Mardal & Steen Hougs
Meet Inge Mardal & Steen Hougs
While walking along and admiring the quilts in each gallery at the International Quilt Festival, one might easily miss the quiet and unassuming Danish couple, Inge Mardal and Steen Hougs. These award-winning textile artists, known for quilts covering a wide range of subject matter, prefer to let their work speak for itself. What a thrill it was for us to find them in the gallery as we were photographing one of their pieces! As a result, we had a chance to talk with them about two special, related works--and the techniques used to make them.
Recently, while documenting the names of the subjects in old family photographs, Inge came upon a 1920s celluloid photo of her grandfather and a few other men from his village. The men were busy threshing, and stopped only long enough for the photo to be taken. The image was so profound to Inge that she felt the need to recreate the scene in a quilt (shown above). Her grandfather is the gentleman on the far right with the jaunty moustache .
"Men At The Seashore" by Inge Mardal and Steen Houg
Skip ahead thirty years, to three men standing at the shoreline, looking out to where Denmark meets the sea.The resulting quilt (shown above) was created from another family photo, this one taken by Inge's uncle, of her father (on the left) and two other gentlemen. The area where these men lived is very close to France. (Notice the French caps they are wearing.) It is also quite windy as you can tell by the windblown clothing. Once again, Inge and Steen found this scene, with its unusual camera angle, something that they wanted to re-create in a quilt.
Inge and Steen do not come from a formal art background; rather both have degrees in engineering. Currently they reside in Chantilly, France , where Steen works for ESA, the European equivalent of NASA in Paris. The pair began quilting by using available fabrics to express color and design, but soon became frustrated when they felt that those choices limited them in achieving their vision. As a result, they went in a different direction.
Now they begin with a length of white fabric upon which they hand paint the desired scene. Sometimes they paint the scene together; sometimes just Inge does the painting. Images come from all sources. Often, ideas are based on sketches or observations from a trip.
Once the design is painted, it is made into a traditional quilt sandwich, and then Inge spends many hours free-hand stitching, using thread much as a painter uses paint to enhance the depth and color. She explains that she doesn't use variegated thread, but prefers Superior So-Fine on the top and Superior Bottom Line in the bobbin. She likes how the So-Fine "just melts" into the painted fabric and enhances the color of the painted area. The stitching in Inge and Steen's quilts is very fine and detailed, requiring the viewer to step in for a closer look.
So...next time you happen to be wandering through the exhibits at a large quilt show, keep your eyes open. You just may spot one or more of the exhibiting artists. Stop and ask politely if they have time to share more about their work. You can glean some great information that way. Meantime, to see more of Inge and Steen's work, visit their website here.
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