Heidi Parkes quilts on exhibit at museum

The work of renowned quilter, mender and educator Heidi Parkes will be the subject of an exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg.

“Heidi Parkes: Soft Magic” will be on display from Thursday, March 6, through Sunday, June 8.

Parkes’ collaborative quilt with Zak Foster, “YES MORE PLEASE!,” won Best Hand Quilting at QuiltCon as well as Judge’s Choice from Alison Glass. In addition, Parkes was awarded second place Improv and Judge’s Choice for “So Many Small Things” and second place Handwork for “Mimi, Mimi, Mimi.”

All three of these quilts will be part of the exhibit.

Parkes is celebrated for her delicate hand stitching and innovative improvisational quilting techniques. She is well-known for her Diary Quilts, personal reflections on her daily life expressed through fabric.

The exhibit traces her artistic journey, highlighting her profound connection to textiles from the early stages of her craft to her most recent works.

For Parkes, quiltmaking embodies the transformative power of creativity. She believes it can cast a spell, influencing real life. By drawing on principles of sympathetic magic and the Law of Attraction, she combines material significance, diagrams, labor, repetition, artifacts and symbols to create powerful narratives.

Parkes approaches her craft with a lighthearted spirit, aiming to create beauty reflecting everyday life’s fleeting nature. Her quilts undergo hand-stitching at nearly every stage to achieve the softness that defines her quilts.

The exhibit will also showcase works by artists who have significantly impacted Parkes’ practice, including Anne Wilson, Diana Guerrero-Maciá, Amanda Nadig, Shawna Doering, Vanessa Freund-Baden, and collaborators Zak Foster, Luke Haynes, Joe Cunningham and Stephanie Fortin.

The catalog “Heidi Parkes: Soft Magic” is available for pre-sale.

The museum at N50 W5050 Portland Rd. is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, visit www.wiquiltmuseum.com.