“I like to tell people I make the biggest diamonds in the world. The adventure started 22 years ago when I discovered an image of a gorgeous gem. With only a basic understanding of quiltmaking, I was unsure how to transform that image into a quilt. I spent the next few years searching for the right techniques and, seven years later, I made my first gem.  My latest series, entitled “Bourbon Diamonds” celebrates Kentucky’s favorite spirit. As a certified Executive Bourbon Steward, I am pleased to offer bourbon tastings in addition to classes. My current series is based on the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. My work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and national competitions, and has been featured in Quilting Arts Magazine and on Quilting Arts TV. My gems are also included in private and corporate collections, including Maker’s Mark Distillery.”

“Because everything else about the process is so precise and premeditated, I love the time I spend painting (fabric) because it’s wild and gestural.” MJ uses Dye-Na-Flow, “… it can be used just like a watercolor paint, it doesn’t change the "hand" of the fabric and it is permanent once heat set.”

MJKinman.com
facebook.com/mjkinmantextileartist
instagram.com/mjkinman709

Click here to view a feature on MJ Kinman’s work in Schmetz Needle’s January 2019 issue of “Inspired to Sew.”

Jacquard products used: Dye-Na-Flow

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