The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Inspiring blossoming artists
Campau is first of featured artists
By Sue G. Collins, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2007
For the first-ever featured artist program at Saline's Two Twelve Arts Center, Margie Bovee wanted to choose an artist who lives and creates art locally who would inspire the many blossoming artists and visitors who come to the historic building on Michigan Avenue for classes and exhibits.
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Bovee, who is director of the center, wanted to fill the gallery with work by those who believe in the center's mission to provide a creative hub. She wanted to offer visual and performing artists the opportunity and work space to create, teach and contribute to the cultural life of the residents of the Saline area.
"Plus, we wanted to flood every corner of the gallery with beautiful work and color and texture," said Bovee from her office in the renovated Sears kit house that has been home to the nonprofit arts center she launched in the community last April.
Bovee turned to Kathleen Campau at last month's meeting of the newly formed Saline Arts Council and asked if she would be willing to be Two Twelve's first featured artist.
"Of course, I said yes," said Campau, who has been creating quilts since 1972 and agreed to bring her works of art to the center for an exhibition through the end of March. She currently teaches knitting, felting and freestyle quilting at Two Twelve.
"Kathy was the one who brought textiles to the art center and she continually encourages students to see color, see the possibilities and be brave enough to experiment," Bovee said.
The public is invited to meet the artist at a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. March 11 at Twelve Arts Center, 212 W. Michigan Ave., in Saline.
Campau's work is also currently featured in shows with the International Quilt Festival and the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational. Last year, she won several awards at the bi-annual Kaleidoscope of Quilts in Ohio.
She works from a studio and sewing room in her home in Saline, where she has lived with her husband, Rick of 37 years, since they moved to town in 1990.
Her studio walls are lined with shelves where hundreds of yards of fabric pieces sit, carefully folded, waiting to be chosen. This is Campau's palate and she dips into the richly colored cottons, silks, laces and velvets for inspiration, as well as to complete a vision.
A friend recently brought her material from Nigeria for her collection of African textiles.
"It's fascinating to see how people in other cultures use color differently. I love working with color – it's my favorite part of quilting," said Campau, who machine-stitches her quilts, embellishing them with hand-stitched embroidery and bead-work.
"The exhibit at Two Twelve has an African influence, inspired by a show I saw at the Smithsonian and by the beautiful hand-dyed fabrics from my collection."
The show in Saline features 50 quiltworks. All but eight were created to hang on the wall.
"Quilting does not have much to do with making blankets anymore," Campau said. "Quilts became a more respected medium probably 15 years ago. With the advancements in sewing machines and artists' accomplishments on machines, quilting has developed into an art form where the artist can produce more, faster and see results faster, and thus improve their skills more rapidly."
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