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CULTIVATING CREATIVITY
ArtPlay, the education and outreach initiative of UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, endeavors to educate, inspire, and nurture creative growth and self-expression in people of all ages by providing innovative arts education programming in a collaborative and holistic environment.
WHAT’S NEW
Registration Begins Soon. Get to know our Teaching Artist Lillis Taylor
What inspired you to start quilting?
In 2009 I attended a performing arts workshop in Poland and proposed that the attendees, all of whom were from various parts of the world, participate in a quilting bee. I had never been to a quilting bee and had never sewn a quilt. I just wanted to see what kind of community could be built over the course of several mornings. So for me, it was the potential for community-building that inspired me to begin quilting. Sewing is an artform that can be personal and introspective or very social. The bee in Poland yielded six quilt squares and I sewed them together. Once I returned to Birmingham, I continued the project begun in Poland and my second quilt contained the work of 39 individuals. Since then I have completed six group quilts and six personal quilts. The artform continues to inspire me because it caters to my dual personality as a Gemini. I am able to delve deep into the creative world by myself and yet I can share my love of quilting with my students at ArtPlay, Woodlawn and among my many mentors in the Birmingham Quilter’s Guild.
Tell us about your new book arts class:
As an Industrial Design student in Seattle, I was constantly going outside of my department in search of alternative skill-sets. Senior year I took a graduate-level elective course in creative writing called, “The Book as Art”. I remember that I was obsessed with the class because we were looking at how the book was physically composed and the grad students didn’t care what it looked like as long as the words inside had meaning. I found this fascinating. One of the greatest perks of the course was direct access to the Book Arts Librarian at the University of Washington, Sandra Kroupa. She became a mentor of mine and introduced me to a future mentor, Carl Montford, a man with ten to fifteen letter presses in his basement. Visual art and writing are two of our most powerful and universal modes of expression. My upcoming book workshop will give participants a taste of how to create a vessel for their words that unifies both modes. It is a great primer for anyone who thinks a book can be a work of art.
What artists inspire you?
My timeless favorites are Van Gogh and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The former for his dedication and use of color, the latter for being the original Industrial Designer: he designed everything from buildings and textiles to furniture and jewelry. I love the visceral lines of Egon Schiele and the poetic activism of Banksy. I am haunted by the inner worlds of Joseph Cornell and Henry Darger. I would love to live in a dream constructed by Calder and peopled by Chagall. But I am most inspired by the art that happens every day by thousands of men and women whose names I’ll never know. Artists such as the Huíchol Indians from western central Mexico who intricately bead large objects and Siddis in India who make large patchwork quilts. Honestly, I’m inspired by the internet – there is no better pool of inspirational images and stories. Although, I just found a flickr gallery of the world’s most beautiful libraries and it looks like I’ve got a lot of traveling to do.
Give me a favorite story about working at ArtPlay
One of my very favorite days since moving back to Birmingham occurred at ArtPlay last November. It was during Common Threads and our quilting class was able to host the Common Threads artists for dinner. Each sewing class I teach comes up with a name for themselves and this inaugural quilting class named themselves the Piecemakers. So each Piecemaker brought something for the dinner and we all sat down to an excellent meal. The Piecemakers got to show off their “Local Fabric” hand-sewn quilt top, which now lives at ArtPlay and we all had a chance to interact with the mud cloth makers from Mali and the quilters from Gee’s Bend. We had homemade chicken and shrimp gumbo and homemade banana pudding. I think Birmingham is quite cosmopolitan to have a community arts center that not only offers classes in tandem with cultural events such as Common Threads, but also acts as a home where class participants and visiting artists can meet under one roof and break bread.
Where can people find your designs?
Currently, I have a sewing space set up in Molly Green Boutique in Homewood. Many Tré Lilli garments can be found there as well as a new line that I’m doing in collaboration with Molly Green owner, Brittany Hartwell. The line is called Belle Époque and features sashes inspired by Birmingham. We have a Vulcan sash, You Are Beautiful, and flowers from the Botanical Gardens. I go to the store a few times a week to sew and it is great fun to interact with customers who are interested in seeing what I’m up to. I also have an online store through Etsy and many of my garments both old and new are on my website, www.trelilli.com.
What is your latest creative project?
On May 19th, my father and I, along with photographer Steve Rostand, are presenting “Paris, Mais Oui”, a show inspired by Paris. My father will present the illustrated story of Tré Lilli – with a healthy portion of magic reality thrown in to spice up the truth a bit. We are currently working out the details of the story and the imagery that he comes up with will be the beginning of a new collection of scarves, dresses, and tops. This project excites me because Tré Lilli just had its two year anniversary this month and “Paris, Mais Oui” will be a wonderful way to celebrate.
click here to register for one of Lillis’ Classes.
Alys Stephens Center’s ArtPlay Blog!
ArtPlay’s new blog will feature information and media from all of our programs and classes! Check out the link below and check often!