'llUpiration "by Gül Laparte

HiltburgWUSSOW

HtbUrg Wussowwas born in northernGermany, in a city close tothe Dutch border.Cherished by her parentsand protected by a brother8 years older, she findsherself very lonely whenhe leaves their home tostudy medicine. She triesto overcome his departurewith manual occupations,knitting, crochet, weaving,etc. This is how she disco-vers that the creative pro-cess makes her happy.She also learns how toplaythe piano and likes thepossibility of transformingfeelings into samethingwonderful wh ich bringbalance to her life.

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She studies languages inHeidelberg, Paris andMadrid. She loves thecontact with other cultu-res.After getting married, shebuys her first sewingmachine and uses it tomake garments for all herfamily. She also makesdecorative items for herhome, tablecloths, pillowsthat she embellishes withlace and applique, withoutknowing that she soonwould discover patch-work. For their 25th wed-ding anniversary, her hus-band gives her the top ofthe line sewing machineon the market at the time.During the same period,she meets her first patch- .work instructor. She wantsto learn and constantlyseeks new teachers whowill help her broaden herknowledge.

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Germany

When she follows herhusband to Sofia,Bulgaria, a lot of her pac-king boxes are full withpatchwork stuff. Duringher 7-year stay in Sofia,Hiltburg travels a lot. Shelikes the Byzantine side ofthe orthodox culture andthe wild beauty of thelandscape. She tries totransfer her feelings andim press ions into herquits, wh ich becomemore and more influen-ced by her environment.

Once a year, in March,she participates to thePatchwork and quiltingsymposium in Irsee,Bavaria. It gives her greatpleasure to take classesfrom different famousteachers who are thereand she feels every yearthat her work is evolvingand allows her a morepersonal expression.

Photo1"Balschkol'O-MIII/(tllere"

(Balscl1kol'o - MOllaslery), /996.

DOlle l/Sillg Ihe bargello leclll/iqlle

alld qlli/ted by halid (II/d /l/achille.

The s/l/all picillres I!f Ihe /I//I/wslel)'

are paillied Oll ,silk alld appliqlled.Silk alld CO//OII.

Photo 2"Ber/ill 2000",

especiallydesiglled.for IlIe exhibit"Fireworks 2000",orgallized

byMadeira IlIreads.Free-/l/otioll/l/acllille e/l/broidel)' Ollsilk.

Tlle Reicllsstagi.lllle ollly piecillgdOlleill tlle qllill (/9 s/l/all pieces).

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"I/lJpiration"HiltburgWUSSOW

Hiltburg remembers her first quilt, a hand quilted Ohiostar. Very soon she feels "trapped" by the geometry oftraditional patchwork and the almost impossibility ofsewing an irregular curve. She likes paper-piecing,because she can use it to assemble more complicatedshapes. She learns all kinds of quilting. She can quilt byhand as weil as by machine, according to the look shewants for her quilt. She also learns how to manipulatefabrics, how to change their textures with paint anddyes, by changing their colors, making them shiny,embroidering them, etc. "All the techniques are goodas long as I manage to use them in my pieces to repre-se nt what I feei" Hiltburg says. Because she spends allher free time quilting, her friends call her" Quiltburg" .

As a member of the IWC (International Women's Club-Sofia), Hiltburg had organized the visit of a silk factoryin the area. In the bus on the way back, while she wasleafing through the German Guild quilting magazine,her only contact with other quilters at that time, her lifechanges all of the sudden: she hears a French ladyexclaim: "vous faites du patchwork? Mais c'est formi-dable!" (You do patchwork? But that is wonderful!")For 2 years, they work togetherand create an internationalpatchwork group. They evenorganize an exhibit at theFrench Cultural Center.Patchwork is unknown inBulgaria and between 350 and400 visitors came to the Centerevery day for this first contact.The group does not exist anymore, all the members hav,ingreturned to their home cou"n-tries or having been transfer-red. But Hiltburg is certain thatall of them have kept on"spreading the virus" aroundthem.

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In 1997, Hiltburg had an extremely successful soloexhibit in Plovdiv. She did some demos there that real-Iy interested the school children, university groups.Bulgarian radio, newspapers and television all talkedabout the exhibit with very warm words.

Since 2001, Hiltburg is back in Germany. She findsmore and more stimulus to work, but unfortunatelyless time than when she lived in Bulgaria. Lookingback, she appreciates more the years spent there andher solitary work.

Photo3"l!arbre"(Tlietree),2001.

The boffll/ll part is made I!{ pieces sewlI

together, the tree alld tlie bllslies are fllsed,

embmidered alld qllilted.

Photo4"Maria Oralls", 1998.

This is all il/terpretatioll of afresco ill a

ßyzal/tille e/llIrch, ill tlie middle of Lake

Oclll'id ill Macetlol/ia. Dyetl COffOIl,pleatetl

al/d pail/tetl gallze,free-motiollmachille

embmidery.

PhotoS'"Diptye/llm",1999.

01/ tlie I~{t, St. George, Oll tlle riglit,

St. Dell/etel: II/spiretl by ml o/d stolle portal

decorated lI'itli tlie 2 .willts. ill a 1I0rtliem

BlIlgaria I/IO/wstel)'. Tlie artist tried

to repmdllce fI/e look of stolle

lI'ith the traplll/to teclilliqlle.

Photo6"I'atriarche tle COllstal/tillople"

(Col/stalltil/ople patriarcli), 2000.

II/terpretatiol/ ofa RlIssial/ icollfmmtlie ISthcel/tm)', II'hich remil/tls of EI Greco pailltillgs

by its elegmlce alltl the allsterity of its

c/wractel: The sqllare Oll the b(Jttllllll~{t was

first drawlI Oll black, tliell coreredlI'ith a copper.colored gallze, redrall'lI,

embmitlered alld qlliIted.

It does not prevent her fram meetingwith her quilting friends since shelives in Frankfurt. She regularly meetsnew people who delight her.Because of her international back-ground and her knowledge of severallanguages, the German guild askedher to be its international representa-tive. This is how she discovered thatwithin 10 years patchwork evolvedfram a simple hobby to an artisticoccupation.

Hiltburg has a weakness for abstractquilts. She finds that' internationalexhibits and contests promotecontacts between quilters from allover the world. She likes to remindpeople that we cannot forget the useof modern technology, particularlythe use of computers to transferembroidery designs on the fabric viahigh-technology sewing machines.Hiltburg is curious and impatient tosee wh at the next patchwork andquilting trends will be in Eurape andeverywhere else in the world.

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When Euroquilt askedHiltburg Wussow tomake an "inspiration"quilt, she feit thatshe needed to analyzeherself to understandbetter how she works.

"My inspirations comefrom my surroundings.I feel the need to drawand transfer on fabriceverything that touchesme physically orpsychologically.None of my quilts ismade with a decorative

goal, but they mostlyhelp me balance myselfand keep my soul andspirit in harmony".

"Blessing Hands"is kind of a good byeto my life in theBalkans.

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Photo 1 8"Blessing Hands". 8

This quilt has some the of same characteristics as 8icons. It is an adaptation of traditional characters. The 8Orthodox church forbids the figurative representation 8of God, hence the various symbols used instead. 8Beyond the benediction, the hands represent sublima- 8tion and wisdom. The 3 curved rays that cross in the 8center represent the Trinity. All these symbols protect 8the globe. 8

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Photo 2The circle represents the continents that will beprotected by the hand symbolizing the Sky, that is Godthe father. Hiltburg had the idea of putting 2 squaresone on top of the other after admiring a 17th centuryRussian icon. "The flaming thorn bush". She liked thisgeometrie play. It is here geometrie patchwork with adifferent effect.

Photo 3Drawings of the hands on paper.

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Hiltburg WUSSOW

Photo 4The hands are transferred on fabric and fused on thebackground.

Photos 5 and 6Embellishment work done with thread and gold paintto achieve the look of light. Gold cannot be categorizedas a color since it is a metal that shines and producesan abstract light. Almost all the icon backgrounds aregilded since the Orthodox church likens this splendorto the existence of God in this world.