San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles

Don’t let the name fool you. San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles is a fascinating Museum displaying artists work created in the world of quilting and textiles. The art created by these two media can be unimaginable in that, how do you create art from cloth.

I have never seen more creative art with a media that seemingly has limitations compared to drawing and painting. First you must understand textiles. Textiles are made from weaving, looping, knitting, spread tow, crocheting, lace, and braiding. Skills that precede the Neolithic period.

Textiles use materials such as wool, silk, cotton, flax, jute, bamboo, and animal hair from sheep, goat, and alpaca. Textiles can also be made from asbestos, glass fiber, nylon, polyester, acrylic, and rayon.

The combination of these materials along with coloring or dyes creates fashion, materials for quilting, and contemporary expressionistic art. Although I’m a big fan of early fashion, especially of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles displays fashion art pieces created from many textile media.

It surpassed my expectations to see what has been accomplished with fashion design, quilting, and especially hand-woven tapestry as you see in the picture, Gabriela Cristu Sgarbura 2007. San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, $8. Under 17 free.