“Beach Cathedral Oak” will be one of Linda Beach’s pieces presented in the September exhibit at the Hammond Regional Arts Center.  Courtesy of Tara Bennett

Quilt artist Linda Beach will present her nature-inspired artwork in “Arboreal Musings” at the Hammond Regional Arts Center next month. 

The exhibition will be on display from Sept. 8-28. Beach will speak about her artwork for “Let’s Talk Art” on Sept. 13 from 5-6 p.m. 

“With Linda’s love of nature, audiences can expect challenging images using line, shape, color and patterns found in commercial fabrics to interpret what she sees,” said HRAC Media Coordinator Tara Bennett. 

Nature inspired Beach and her artwork. 

“I enjoy spending time outdoors and observing the natural world,” said Beach. “For several years, I have primarily been interested in trees, their shapes and relationship to the surrounding landscape.” 

The title “Arboreal Musings” described what attendees would see at the exhibition. 

“It is arboreal because trees are a unifying theme for all of my work on display,” said Beach. “The word ‘musings’ because, interspersed amongst my work, quotations are featured that all mention trees.”

Beach expands on the significance of quotations and metaphors in her work.

 “The quotations come from a variety of sources and are my way of trying to share with the viewer some of my inspirations and how trees have been used as metaphors in both an artistic and literary sense,” said Beach.

Beach explained how she first got into her artwork. 

“I have always enjoyed some form of making and creating fiber art,” said Beach. “I started with embroidery when I was nine or 10, then moved on to knitting and needlepoint. While I didn’t start quilting until I was an adult, my grandmother had always quilted, so I was familiar with the process. After my grandmother passed away, I was left with her quilting supplies and several unfinished quilt blocks, and I became interested in trying my hand at quilting. I started by making traditional quilts and then quickly turned to art quilting.”

Past accomplishments made Beach a good candidate to be the exhibiting artist for September. 

“Linda is an award-winning quilt artist whose work has been commissioned for many public art installations as well as juried into nationally prominent exhibitions,” said Bennett. “The depth and complexity she achieves in her quilts have led to their inclusion in several notable publications and books as well as making her a sought-after lecturer and teacher.”

Beach expressed what she found enjoyable about her craft. 

“I like the tactile nature of working with fabric and the ability to incorporate the patterns found in many fabrics into my work,” said Beach. 

The exhibition and the “Let’s Talk Art” lecture are free and open to the public.

Bennett discussed her thoughts on Beach’s artwork. 

“Her art quilts are astounding,” said Bennett. “I love the amount of details that can be found in her designs.”