Kent: Map quilter shares tips for navigating art

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What
Shelley Cords-Swanson exhibit
Where
Ylvisaker Fine Arts Center at Bethany Lutheran College
When
Through Sept. 28. Public gallery hours are 1-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 1-8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Reception
Begins with a gallery talk at 7 p.m. on Sept. 6 with reception following. Both are open to the public.

August 30, 2012

Kent: Map quilter shares tips for navigating art

By Tanner Kent Free Press Features Editor The Mankato Free Press Thu Aug 30, 2012, 09:17 AM CDT

MANKATO — I'll admit it:

I am a man. And I ask for directions.

There. Now you know my secret.

I suppose when they were handing out the genes for internal navigation systems, I was tardy for registration. Most likely, I got lost on the way and couldn’t find a gas station to get directions.

But my grandfather, Leonard Sanders, had the gene. He was a central Iowa farmer who could tell which direction he was facing blindfolded and in a wind storm. He just knew.

My wife has the gene. She has a sort of mental GPS that allows her to pinpoint the shortest route between any two points in Blue Earth County. Though my years in Mankato outnumber hers 2 to 1, she’s uncannily accurate. Trust me -- I’ve lost the bets.

Shelley Cords-Swason has the gene, too.

A cartographer and former Minnesota State University geography instructor, Cords-Swanson uses her map-making background to create quilt-sized pieces of fiber art.

Though her pieces very rarely depict actual places, her quilts are unmistakably map-like. Contour lines, bar scales and directional arrows appear throughout her work.

Beginning this week, Cords-Swanson will be displaying 26 map quilts -- as well as three furniture sculptures -- at the Ylvisaker Fine Arts Center on the Bethany Lutheran College Campus.

Truly, her work has to be viewed to be appreciated. But for those like me who are intimidated by all things navigational, Cords-Swanson offered a few tips for viewing her art:

- View the map quilts from a distance: Notice the colors, Cords-Swanson said, because they are chosen intentionally to catch your eye. But don’t focus on the details yet.

- Then, view the quilt close up: Now, look at the markings and contours. Notice the subtle relief patterns, she said, that develop from working with fibers. They mimic the topographical information conveyed in some maps. Notice, too, the intricate details that may appear insignificant but are crucial to the overall “feel” of the piece.

- Last, view the quilt as a whole: Develop a sense of how the various elements flow together, how the map moves from one location to another and what places your own mind envisions.

As you might imagine, Cords-Swanson has no difficulty reading maps and said she was born with an innate spatial sense. Even so Ñ and maybe she was lying to make me feel better -- she said she still asks for directions.

“I still prefer to read maps over GPS,” she laughed. “But I still ask sometimes.”

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