• Get In Touch
  • 0 items - $0.00
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

mandalei quilts

Quilts & Longarm Services

  • Home
  • Longarm Services
  • Techniques & Tutorials
  • Teaching & Speaking
  • Shop
  • Blog

February 10, 2015 By Mandy 11 Comments

Modern Quilts, Traditional Shows: My Interview with Scott Murkin part 1

Over the last few years, modern quilts have been seen in categories at MQX, AQS, Road to California, and have a dedicated show, QuiltCon. With its second show kicking off in a week, and an announcement that it will become a yearly event at different locations, it seemed to me as though modern quilts were finding their place.  Recently, though, AQS decided to do away with the “Modern” category for many of its shows, and I thought it would be interesting to find out what this means for modern quilts and quilters.  Can a modern quilt compete outside of its own category? I asked Scott Murkin, a certified Quilt Show Judge for NQA if he would be willing to do an interview, and he said yes!

Scott was so generous with his time to do this, and I am deeply grateful.  He thinks deeply about quilts and quilt history, and uses that as a springboard for considering where quilting is going. This first part of the interview covers Scott’s background as a quilter, what it means to be a judge, and how judging works in a “traditional” show.  Part 2 specifically covers modern quilts and their place in traditional shows.  I hope you’ll join me for both interviews!  I love good conversations, so please leave comments for Scott and for myself, and Scott can also be reached through email: smurkin at  triad dot rr dot com.

[Mandy] I would love to have an introduction about you and your interests and work.

[Scott] I grew up in a family of quilters and crafters in Illinois. My grandmother, great aunt and aunt made quilts and many other handicrafts. When I was in high school I would help my grandma cut out quilt patterns as progressive arthritis made this challenging for her. In 1994 my grandma passed away, my wife was expecting our second child and our daughter was getting ready to move into her first twin bed. Neither my mother nor my wife sewed, so I felt emotionally compelled to make a quilt for my daughter. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was just familiar enough to fake my way through that first quilt, although it took much longer than I expected.

Working on that first piece started a generative process of further ideas to explore and it wasn’t long before I was obsessed with designing and making patchwork quilts. I have now made more than 450 quilts ranging from those no larger than a postcard to queen-sized bed quilts. I have tried nearly every technique and style at one time or another. My design work for magazines is primarily updated traditional, geometric patterns with strong secondary designs. I have done a tremendous amount of work with free-formed curved piecing. I am proficient in both hand and machine quilting and my ongoing passion is the interaction of the quilting stitch with the quilt top and how to determine which quilting motifs will best bring a design to life. The change in texture from a quilt top to a quilt is pure magic to me and the magic hasn’t worn off after more than 20 years of observing it in action.

Why and how do you become a judge?

While there are different pathways, most of my judging colleagues started off either exhibiting or teaching (or both) and got drawn into the world of judging when someone somewhere admired their work enough to ask them to judge a show. Many shows will only hire judges from their roster of teachers to conserve on travel expenses. When I was first asked, I jumped at the chance and then freaked a little wondering if I knew enough to do a good job. I gathered all the resources I could locate to prepare for that first show and have continued to learn over fifteen years of experience and continuing education.

The National Quilting Association (NQA) offers both a judging seminar and a judging certification program. The judging course has traditionally been offered at the annual show, but this is actively being broadened so that it will be available more widely. The certification program is a way for active judges to show their proficiency and have that acknowledged officially. Certification is not necessary to judge, but it is a way to show that this skill has been mastered. The Northern California Quilt Council sponsors the West Coast Quilt Judging Academy which offers a certificate for successful completion. The Canadian Quilters’ Association offers both workshops and a certification program as well.

Judging is very physically and mentally demanding. It has been intriguing to learn that many of my judging colleagues have backgrounds in education or healthcare, fields where they are accustomed to processing large volumes of information very quickly and making a strong assessment based on that information. Judging is fairly objective and a person has to be able to honestly turn off personal preferences. Judging has nothing to do with what the judge “likes”— unless, of course, the judge happens to “like” well-designed, well-made quilts.

What factors are involved in judging a quilt?

Judging is a balance between workmanship and design.

Workmanship focuses primarily on the structural integrity of the quilt. Secure seams, straight lines (where intended), smooth curves (where intended), well-secured quilting stitches that hold the layers together securely without any excess fullness, straight edges (where intended), square corners and secure edge finishes are all part of this equation. While textiles are subject to the wear and tear of everyday use and cleaning, a well-made quilt should last a long time under general usage conditions. Workmanship that undermines the longevity of a quilt will be noted during the judging process.

Traditionally, workmanship could come across more as one-upmanship with award going to whoever could make the most perfect points and the tiniest stitches. Many of the judging principles that seem arbitrary at first can be traced back to something that historically affected the durability of a quilt. When battings were carded from raw wool or cotton, having stitches super close together kept the batting from shifting, for example. As quilting continues to grow, we have to decide which standards of workmanship really affect the final outcome and which are merely holdovers from another time. A good general principle is that if you are going to violate a standard of workmanship, do it egregiously enough that it is obvious to the judges that it was intentional. If you don’t care if points match, cut off many or most of them, not just a couple. If you don’t think your design needs to be squared up, make the shape wonky enough that it’s clear that this was a design decision rather than a flaw in workmanship. And in the end, it’s your quilt and you get to decide the workmanship standards for each piece. But that doesn’t obligate the judges to cut you any slack in a competition.

Design seems more subjective, and perhaps it is to a degree, but there are objective standards of design that apply to all visual media that can be used to eliminate as much subjectivity as humanly possible. The elements of design (line, shape, texture, color, value) and the principles of design (balance, scale, proportion, rhythm, unity, variety, harmony) are assessed in each piece, with most of the design weight being a balance between unity and variety. Too much unity and the viewer is bored, but too much variety and the visuals become chaotic, often appearing if two or more designs were crammed into the same piece inadvertently. While any artist may decide to emphasize certain design elements or principles over others, or even ‘break’ the design rule, the judge’s role is to determine whether those decisions successfully contributed to the design statement.

It’s common for workmanship and design to be weighted fairly evenly in many shows, but this is extremely variable and continues to evolve. “Traditional” quilt shows historically focused on technical expertise and the workmanship tended to be weighted a little more heavily, often because the judges found these areas easier to discuss. Shows that are meant to highlight a specific skill such as appliqué or machine quilting may still weight more heavily toward technical expertise. A show that focuses exclusively on art quilts or studio quilts may advise the judges to weight design significantly more heavily and consider workmanship only to determine between two very closely ranked pieces. If show sponsors don’t give specific direction (which is still common), I tend to weight design about 60% and workmanship about 40%. A perfectly stitched quilt with poor design benefits no one, whereas a quilt of stunning design may be able to overcome some technical difficulties to a degree. Obviously good design and good workmanship combine the best of both worlds.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Please make sure to check out Part 2!

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • More
  • Email
  • Pocket
  • Print
«
»

Filed Under: AQS, Books and Inspiration, Construction, Events, History, Origins Tagged With: AQS, juried quilt show, mandalei, Mandy Leins, modern quilt, modern quilts, quilt, quilt shows, quilting, Scott Murking

Comments

  1. Bill Volckening says

    February 10, 2015 at 7:56 pm

    Really enjoyed part one of the interview. Scott was one of the judges in the only judged show I ever entered, and the experience was very positive in large part due to his approach to judging. My quilt was one of the ones that overcame technical difficulties because of its design. The comments were great, very productive, fair and honest.

    Reply
  2. Christa says

    February 12, 2015 at 7:41 pm

    This is fabulous! I am glad you are doing these interviews. So sad to hear that AQS is discontinuing their modern categories. However, I’ve been bugging the Mancuso show folks to add a modern category and they are listening!!

    Reply
    • caron says

      February 13, 2015 at 1:56 pm

      As someone who has volunteered with quilt shows in the past, it occurred to me that one reason the Modern category may not always be included could be that what seems like a simple category of “modern,” may necessitate even more categories under that umbrella.

      Most shows have categories based on size, and then types of finishing processes – large quilt/machine quilted, medium quilt/hand quilted etc. Adding another umbrella of modern to the size and process categories may require more ribbons, prize money and judging time. These are things groups may need to limit not out of a dislike of modern quilting, but limited assets.

      I have been quilting far outside of the traditional box for 20 years. I have raised many an eyebrow, and still received many ribbons while entering modern or art quilts in traditional shows. As Scott noted technically well made quilt will hold it’s place in any category.

      Reply
      • Mandy says

        February 24, 2015 at 8:14 am

        Caron, thank you for adding this! That’s a really great point to think about.

        Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Modern Quilts, Traditional Shows: My Interview with Scott Murkin, Part 2 - mandalei quilts & longarm services says:
    February 11, 2015 at 8:31 am

    […] is Part 2 of my interview with Scott Murkin.  In Part 1, Scott talkled about his own background as a quilter and AQS judge, and the judging process for […]

    Reply
  2. A patchwork of posts | Teri Lucas - TerifiCreations Blog says:
    February 12, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    […] Today I’m starting with links to Mandy Leins interview of quilter and quilt show judge Scott Murkin. While the focus is Modern Quilting, Scott’s answers apply across the board Interview part 1 […]

    Reply
  3. Modern Quilts, Traditional Shows | nelamodernquiltguild says:
    February 12, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    […] Interview, Part 1 […]

    Reply
  4. QuiltCon 2016, some thoughts on entering - mandalei quilts says:
    December 17, 2015 at 2:39 pm

    […] to more traditional shows, but I highly recommend reading the interview I did with Scott Murkin (part 1 and part 2) a few months ago about this very topic.  Scott will be the judge for QuiltCon 2016, […]

    Reply
  5. TREASURE TROVE of …. HOW TO ENTER A QUILT SHOW BLOGS | Nonnie's Quilting Dreams says:
    December 18, 2015 at 12:29 pm

    […] INTERVEIW WITH SCOTT MURKIN part 1 […]

    Reply
  6. Some Thoughts on Judging the Modern Quilt - The Off-Kilter Quilt says:
    February 24, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    […] some mix thereof, workmanship and design should be the primary measures of a quilt’s superiority. In a 2015 interview Murkin, a NAQ certified judge, did a marvelous job of outlining what excellent workmanship consists […]

    Reply
  7. QuiltCon 2016 Best In Show: My Brother's Jeans • WeAllSew • BERNINA USA’s blog, WeAllSew, offers fun project ideas, patterns, video tutorials and sewing tips for sewers and crafters of all ages and skill levels. says:
    June 9, 2016 at 9:40 am

    […] Director of Marketing & Programming for MQG. Good stuff! Lastly, fellow BERNINA Ambassador Mandy Leins interviewed  Scott Murkin about judging modern quilts last year.  It’s so fascinating to hear what they all have to […]

    Reply

Spark a conversation! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The types of things I write about

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Shop with us!

  • Star Line PDF Quilt Pattern $12.00
  • Midwinter Mandala Banner PDF pattern $6.00
  • Mini Wool Bundles: Hot Pink $22.00
  • Mini Wool Bundles: Orange $22.00
  • Mini Wool Bundles: Leaf Green $22.00

Checkout

Look for my book coming in Fall of 2015!

Copyright © 2023 · mandalei quilts

This blog is my own, and I write all its content. Links to Amazon and Craftsy may contain an affiliate code, since I am part of their affiliate programs. While I am a Bernina Ambassador, the machine I use is one that I have purchased prior to becoming an ambassador and is my property, not Bernina's; I am an ambassador because I love my machine. I do have free things that are sent to me from time to time, and if I use them I will always fully disclose that. All opinions are mine, and I will give them honestly. I am not paid by the people who send me things to write reviews.