Kelly Rae Roberts - Let Art Out, Let Love In

01/20/22 • 28 min

As a former social worker with zero art experience, Kelly Rae picked up her first paintbrush at age 30 - that's when everything started to change. Although she had been collaging and card making at home after work, it was when she started adding painting to her cards and scrapbooking that Kelly’s passion ignited.

She explains painting brought her what she was craving: healing, unburdened joy, and awakening. Kelly Rae started blogging about her process, and before long, her cards turned into paintings with collaging mixed in. In 2006, when Etsy was first starting out, she began showing her work there, and before long she got a licensing partner through Etsy. She started exhibiting wall art and was approached by a book editor to turn her blog post into a book. Her style of truth-telling and her possibility-driven approach to life, work, and art quickly spread, reaching people from around the country. She shares her journey of being “an accidental artist,” becoming a full-time artist in 2008, having her art up in 60,000 retail shops, launching her own shop, and creating a community of “possibilitarians” —people who believe in the spirit of possibility and that encourage each other to do the things they never thought they could do. (3:55-11:11)

Her inspirational style goes back to high school when she recalls her love of all things that had wings. From high school through college, she had butterflies, that turned into angels, all over her walls. Today, these winged figures are a hallmark of her work. Another source of inspiration is the conversations Kelly Rae has with her creative community, friends, and family and the sentiments sparked by them. Today, she works with Benartex to bring her artistry to fabric.

Although she’d been interested in fabric design for a long time, it wasn’t until Benartex reached out to her, and Kelly Rae Roberts is founder of KellyRaeRoberts.com and fabric designer for Benartex, the Bernina sister company. She's a creator of several E-courses, books, home decor, gifts, stationery products, and retreats that focus on the idea that when we let art out, we let love in. She began collaborating with one of their designers, and she was able to translate her ideas into fabric. The process starts with Kelly Rae creating a painting using multiple layers of vintage wallpaper and paint to create patterns and depth. She then adds texture and paints the hero image on top, an angel or other winged creature. Once done, she works with the fabric designer to create arresting patterns. It’s a fascinating process; and one that attracts a lot of interest. Her fabrics are used by all different types of quilters in all kinds of quilts, from traditional to super-modern. She loves that she now lives in Sister, Oregon, which is known for its quilting community and is home to the International Quilt Festival. The Stitching Post is a local store that carries her line; the staff has also made several quilts using her fabric. She says, “It’s been fun to be doing fabric while living in this small town that is all about quilting.” (13:44 – 25:25)

Kelly Rae’s fascinating story is a testament to the power of synchronicity, trusting in the process, paying attention to the tugs on our sleeves, what wants attention, and then following the breadcrumbs. It’s obvious that Kelly puts her heart and soul into everything she creates. After listening to the podcast, you’re going to want to connect with her. You can do so at her website, KellyRaeRoberts.com, and by sending her an email at [email protected].

If you know someone who has an outstanding story that should be shared on this podcast, drop Meg a note to [email protected] or complete the form on our website.

Be sure to subscribe to, review and rate this podcast on your favorite platform...and visit our website sewandsopodcast.com for more information about today’s and all of our Guests.

If you know someone who has an outstanding story that should be shared on this podcast, drop Meg a note to [email protected] or complete the form on our website.

Be sure to subscribe to, review and rate this podcast on your favorite platform...and visit our website sewandsopodcast.com for more information about today’s and all of our Guests.

Previous Episode

Becky Glasby - National Quilt Museum

Becky loves all aspects of quilting—from choosing the pattern to cutting the fabric, to stitching and piecing and mixing up patterns and colors. She also loves machine quilting—especially free motion quilting. Because she doesn’t have to follow a set pattern and can basically do whatever she wants, she feels that it enhances her ability to create and be artistic. She compares free motion quilting to handwriting. “Whether it's meanders or stipples, or swirls or squiggly lines, you know whatever it is you're creating it's not always going to look exactly the same from one person to the next...like handwriting, you have your own speed, your own density of the quilting.” And as Becky explains to her students, like handwriting it takes practice. (6:56 -11:02)

She speaks in-depth about the inspiration she gets from the exhibitions at the museum and the artists she’s met through her work there. She explains that it’s impossible to pick just one quilt or artist, or exhibit that stands out because there’s always something new and exciting happening. She loves meandering through the museum and talking to the guests about the quilts and exhibits. Becky is involved in a lot of different things at the museum, from the youth program to the school block challenge to the junior quilter’s club, to meeting artists and being involved in social media.

The creativity and jumping from one project to another keeps things fun and interesting. One of her favorite aspects of the job is teaching the next generation of quilters at quilt camp, which is held every June. Some are beginners, many of whom are learning about quilting and using a sewing machine for the first time. The intermediate group is using machines to do binding and learning other techniques. Because they’ve been in the program for four or five years, it’s exciting to see how their personalities evolve and how they’re reflected in their quilting. The advanced quilters get to do free quilting and put their own spin on the patterns provided. You hear the pride in Becky’s voice as she talks about being able to pass the skill in this art form onto to the next generation and watching them grow with it from year to year. (18:37-22:22)

An international destination for quilters, The Quilt Museum is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. The process of selecting artists and pieces to be exhibited in its contemporary collection is fascinating, and quite involved, as there are two side galleries with at least three rotating exhibits at any given time. As a non-profit organization, most of their more than 660 quilts are donated; about half our hand-stitched, half-machine sewn, with others using a combination of both techniques. 97% of the work exhibited is by women artists. The museum has between 40,000 to 50,000 visitors from around the globe each year; many of them are in the spring for Quilt Week. Another global attraction is the online Block of the Month Club. Started in 2018, it currently has 21,000 members globally. As Becky talks about the wealth of programs offered by the museum, its growing community of passionate quilters, and the many little-known facts about the museum, you can see that this is a woman who is 100% dedicated to celebrating contemporary quilters and their work. (37:49-44:52)

Be sure to join us for this fascinating podcast, brimming with possibilities, potential, and passion. Becky’s contact information is on the museum’s website, quiltmuseum.org. You can also connect with Becky and the museum on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

If you know someone who has an outstanding story that should be shared on this podcast, drop Meg a note to [email protected] or complete the form on our website.

Be sure to subscribe to, review and rate this podcast on your favorite platform...and visit our website sewandsopodcast.com for more information about today’s and all of our Guests.

Next Episode

Marisa Marquez - Everyone Is an Artist

After living in the United States for seven years, Marisa and her husband moved back to Spain in the late 1990s to help her parents with their sewing machine business. While working at the store, she and her sister introduced quilting to help modernize the business. Marisa also managed the store and taught sewing before returning to the United States in 2019.

It was while she was in Spain that Marisa discovered her love of free motion quilting. Although she’s been quilting for the past 22 years, Marisa didn’t create her first themed art quilt until 2014. She named her quilt Regeneration, and it was the first time she used the elements of nature and symbolism in her quilting. The thread painting figure was a phoenix, which represented the elements in nature; how they are born, live, and die—and how they don't die in vain, but rather to create new life. The quilt, which received its first award in Spain and was accepted to be exhibited at a quilt market in Houston, is currently hanging in her son’s room. Since then Marisa has made about 20 art quilts. (1:51- 11:14)

She talks in detail about her love of teaching and of free motion quilting; of choosing a theme, using thread to paint a story, and how different techniques can be used to create quilt art. She also shares how different words, colors, and themes can take on different meanings based on the region and culture they’re from. So before she begins a project, she always researches her subject or theme. This helps her to understand the different nuances of a theme, so she can present a unique perspective on the subject. She believes that owning a subject is the first step to creating a quilt. Once you do that, you can give it a fresh twist; something that is totally different.

Early on in her career, Marisa was too intimidated to exhibit her work, because she didn’t think she was good enough to be in the company of such accomplished artists. However, a conversation she had with the President of the Studio Art Quilt Association (SAQA) in 2014, gave her the courage to forge ahead. “She told me you just have to start from something, and you have to start somewhere, and this is a good place to start.” So Marisa took the leap and since then, her work has appeared in numerous exhibits around the world. She continues to challenge herself and encourages others to do the same. (17:22- 20:19)

Her advice to traditional quilters who may want to go from creating quilts for a bed to creating an art quilt that hangs on a wall is to start where they’re comfortable and then, little by little, step outside their comfort zone and try something different. She says that if you want your work to be exhibited, it must be unique. You need to add a fresh twist to what you’re creating, whether it’s a log cabin pattern or a traditional block pattern. It doesn’t matter if it turns out perfect. You just have to try to be your best, and if it’s not “the best,” it doesn’t matter because it’s your best. You learn from your failure and try again. (20:31-22:27)

As you listen to this engaging podcast, you’ll find that Marisa’s enthusiasm and passion are contagious. You may find yourself ready to take a few leaps of your own. If you’d like to reach out to Marisa to share your ideas or get a little inspiration, you can email her at [email protected] or check out her blog, MarisaMarquezQuilts.WordPress.com!

If you know someone who has an outstanding story that should be shared on this podcast, drop Meg a note to [email protected] or complete the form on our website.

Be sure to subscribe to, review and rate this podcast on your favorite platform...and visit our website sewandsopodcast.com for more information about today’s and all of our Guests.