Introducing ONE of our New Judges…Pam Geisel aka ForQuiltsSake!

After our bittersweet goodbye to Rose Mary Huber Pauls last week, I put out a SOS call for new judge volunteers. Pam Geisel, aka For Quilts Sake stepped up immediately. Once I read her credentials and discussed things with Diane I knew she would be a perfect fit! Checkers and Pickup Sticks Here’s a little about her and her quilting experience: I grew up in a suburb of southwestern Ohio where there was a corn fields across the street. My husband and I currently live in a small, artsy town in southwestern Ohio with a different corn field at the end of our street. I make and sell quilts and quilt-related art on-line and at art shows and festivals. I also co-ordinate an arts and (fine) craft show as a fund-raiser for the local nature preserve. Threaded Feather I made my first quilt 10 years ago. I didn’t know how to sew but I love fabric and quilts so I took a class and learned how to piece and quilt by hand. I enjoyed the results but thought the process of hand piecing and quilting took too long, so I taught myself how to use a sewing machine. It wasn’t long before I was making my own designs and I just can’t stop making more quilts. I think I have enough ideas to last 10 years or more and they still keep coming. Watercolor Swirl There’s so much that I love about quilting: the warmth and tactile nature of the fabrics, the way certain colors (and tones) react when next to a different color, and how secondary patterns are created (specifically in more traditional designs). Cyan and Chocolate Floral Journal Cover My professional background is in graphic design, so I am able to take the principles that I’d learned and apply them to designing a quilt: color theory, balance, composition and more. I also taught graphic design for 10 years and along with teaching the basics of design, I also had to grade and critique my students work: ranking them by assigning letter grades, providing positive feedback and offering constructive criticism. Falling/Floating To see more of her work and keep up with Pam’s Going-Ons Here are her ‘links’: website: www.ForQuiltsSake.com Blog: www.ForQuiltsSake.blogspot.com Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/ForQuiltsSake Twitter: www.twitter.com/ForQuiltsSake Flickr (photos): www.flickr.com/photos/ForQuiltsSake Etsy site: forquiltssake.etsy.com Thanks again to Pam for volunteering to help out with the judging for the challenges this season. As I stated in the title Pam is just ONE of our new judges – yup, we’ll have THREE permanent judges and then I will be supplementing with guest judges when I find people. I think the more opinions the better and it really helps give everyone participating some valuable feedback with a variety of tastes and opinions. I’ll be announcing the third judge later this week and this weeks Guest Judge soon!