Janet Cooper’s World of Design
Quilting fascinates me. So does recycling items into art. But I never dreamt these two crafts could meet and form such beautiful work. Janet Cooper did dream it though and made the dream happen. The result? Some of those most intriguing quilts you have ever laid eyes on.
The quilt I decided to feature today is called, “Quilt of Favorite Objects and Fabric.” I see it as an interior decorating project; perhaps with a theme of shabby chic?
There is a marvelous French word with no exact English equivalent that describes in part what I do. Bricoleur. Used by Claude Levi-Strauss to describe the builders and maintainers of myths, “bricoleur” literally means a tinkerer or a jack of all trades. A bricolelur is the artisan who creates from what is at hand, rather than from a set list of needed components to achieve an end.
Janet Cooper
I believe this quilt attracted me because I like the idea of incorporating objects that are important to me, with a fiber art, and creating something that is meaningful. I have never been one to collect something, be it art or anything else, unless it has personal meaning to me. Therefore my collections grow just as much as everyone else’s; it is just that each piece has a story behind it that means a great deal to me.
Such it could be with a quilt like this. Cooper has many other quilts in her gallery and each one has its own inspiration and I am sure, its own story.
But that isn’t really enough for Cooper. She has a very busy right brain! She also creates Box Art. Remember when we were kids and a teacher assigned the infamous shoe box project? How I wish I had known Janet Cooper then. I would have received a better grade in art. She has taken shoe box art to a whole new level. Take a look through this gallery - my favorite is the last one - it appeals to my sense of fiber crafting, I think.
Last, and as they say, certainly not least, the Ladies collection deserves some time as well. True to form, Cooper has taken the bits or this and that in her life, and translated them into artistic creations. I see one of these as the decorative main piece in a bedroom - using one of these Ladies would create a theme and color combination that would leave these wonderful pieces of art as the focus while enhancing the rest of the room. Being a single lady now, I would enjoy that look very much.
Janet Cooper has shown us that there is no such thing as worthless items around our house. She has turned them into original and expressive crafts that speak to us on a level of emotion. In many ways, this to me is a new wave of impressionism within crafting. And although we might not be artists of this caliber, we may be able to use her talent as inspiration in creating something of our own. Just think carefully next time you throw something out - is it really trash?
Janet Cooper Quilt Design Gallery
This is one of the cutest patterns I have seen in a long time. I am going to be making one for myself and embellishing it with buttons, hearts, flowers and whatever I can think of! If you have a family member who sews, or a friend who is always parked in front of her sewing machine, consider making this as a very special gift. It is a dressmaker form pincushion. 
