gap between art and function. I call it sculpture, but I think there is a lot more to it than a re-branding of language. The common gap between art and architecture is scale. I am making 50 quilts and will hang them in a way that the viewer will have to navigate between and around them rather than just view them from afar. So I am, in a sense, creating art objects that will then become a form of architecture. L: That sounds very exciting indeed (details of this exhibition are at the end of the article). Following on from that, your work is taking off and is being widely exhibited around the world. Can you talk about one of your favourite exhibitions? LH: I had the honour to be in my home town for the opening of Man-Made at the Asheville Art Museum. To be invited back to Asheville, where I went to high school, to see my work on the walls and to have my family there to take pictures with me was such a beautiful catharsis. L: How do your family feel about your chosen art form? LH: It was wonderful to show them what I have been up to when they came to the Asheville exhibition. While they have been supportive, I know that they were a little unsure about what it means to spend all day sewing squares together and not even for a bed.
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Above: [On My Bed #1] Tradition, Luke Haynes, quilt, 87” x 87”, 2005 Facing page: [Man Stuff #2] Screwdriver, Luke Haynes, quilt, 98” x 52”, 2008
Maybe they are still unsure what my actual job is, but at least now they know more about what it is that I make/do. L: I understand that you have taken up teaching patchwork. How are you finding that experience? LH: I find the transition from learning to teaching akin to that of child to adult. Really there
is no change, just one day you announce it and then people expect you to be more responsible. L: So what is your approach to teaching? LH: Recently, I had the immense pleasure of teaching in Lithuania. I knew I had eighteen students of various skill levels and majors, five sewing machines, and two days. This gave me the opportunity to think differently. So I decided
Through Our Hands Magazine, Issue 7 | winter 2015