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Interviews

Stitching every day with Amanda Nadig

Think quilting is all about perfection and precision? Think again. This episode, we meet Amanda Nadig, a Chicago-based artist, whose quilts are stitched from stories hiding in secondhand fabric. Inspired by parenting and teaching high school art, Amanda has developed a textile practice as life happens around her. If you’ve ever felt pulled toward fabric, or want permission to find flow in the fabric of everyday life, this conversation is for you. And just a warning - if you’re not already a quilter, watch out - we may well tempt you!

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Listen or watch on your favourite platform:

Amanda Nadig - Friday Feature Artist

Host: Jo Wright

Show Notes

Think quilting is all about perfection and precision? Think again. This episode, we meet Amanda Nadig, a Chicago-based artist, whose quilts are stitched from stories hiding in secondhand fabric. Inspired by parenting and teaching high school art, Amanda has developed a textile practice as life happens around her. If you’ve ever felt pulled toward fabric, or want permission to find flow in the fabric of everyday life, this conversation is for you. And just a warning - if you’re not already a quilter, watch out - we may well tempt you!


I have too many things in my life that I put a lot of pressure on myself with. I think quilting is just the way I just really am free…
 
- Amanda Nadig

Takeaways from this episode

  • Making doesn’t have to be tidy to be meaningful.
    Amanda’s quilts are pieced together on floors, on the go, and whenever time and space allow. Amanda needs to create! What could happen if you stopped waiting for ideal conditions and just started?

  • Your art practice and life don’t have to compete.
    Amanda’s various roles - as a high school art teacher and as a parent - inform one another in her making. Her students, children, and daily routines feed her creative process rather than pulling from it. How could your everyday life become part of your art, instead of something you work around?

  • Start with what you have.
    Amanda’s work doesn’t begin in a fabric store, but in her own closet, her classroom, and in secondhand bins. For Amanda, the limitations of pre-used textiles invite play, experimentation, and surprising juxtapositions. Could working with what you already have open up something new?

 

Explore the artwork from this episode below

During the live interview, we shared some images of Amanda’s artwork. Since you’re listening to the podcast version, we’ve made these images available for you below.

Join the conversation

What inspired you this episode? Share your biggest insight or favourite moment by tagging @FibreArtsTakeTwo or using #FibreArtsPodcast

1 Punk and teaching - Amanda Nadig
2 Process and experimentation - Amanda Nadig
3 mark making with stitch 1 - Amanda Nadig
4 Life 1 -Amanda Nadig
5 Life 3 - Amanda Nadig
6 Life 4 - Amanda Nadig
7 Life 5 - Amanda Nadig
8 Life 6 - Amanda Nadig
9 Amanda Nadig Work 1
10 Amanda Nadig Work 2
11 Process and experimentation 4 Amanda Nadig
12 mark making with stitch 1 - Amanda Nadig
13 mark making with stitch 2 - Amanda Nadig
14 Process and experimentation 5 - Amanda Nadig
15 Process and experimentation 6  - Amanda Nadig
16 Process and experimentation 7 - Amanda Nadig
17 Process and experimentation 8 Amanda Nadig
18 mark making with stitch 11 Amanda Nadig
19 mark making with stitch 12 Amanda Nadig
20 mark making with stitch 13 Amanda Nadig