The geometric designs fanning out across the board are crisp and sharp.
Vicki Howarth wants every point, every line and every shape to be precise. Her background in technical graphics demanded it, and she has carried that over into the unique artwork of barn quilts.
But behind that exacting craftsmanship is a timeless quality and tradition stemming generations. For Howarth, creating barn quilts is a way to preserve heritage while beautifying landscapes.
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“Trying to keep heritage alive is a goal of mine. To do things where people remember the past,” she said. “A lot of the patterns people come to me with were from grandma’s old quilts, so it keeps memories alive.”
Howarth has become a devoted creator of barn quilts, large-scale graphic decorations with patterns based on quilt blocks. Her original designs and custom work take the traditional art form and infuse it with eye-catching designs augmented by bold colors.
Sunbursts, patchwork and other classic forms are joined by depictions of autumn leaves, spring lilies and blazing fireworks.
“It’s sharing a different type of art that people might not think of,” she said.
Barn quilts are rooted in the tradition of hex signs, brought to the U.S. by Dutch settlers in the 1700s and enduring, first throughout Pennsylvania and then across the country, on barns and homes in rural areas.
“People just like to decorate their barns, to have something nice to look at. Sometimes it helps preserve the barns, if painted directly on it,” Howarth said. “It can mean a lot of different things. People just enjoy landscaping their environment, and (barn quilts) are one way of doing it.”
In the early 2000s, a group of artists borrowed from that tradition, painting large-scale quilt designs on barns to add color and character to farm buildings. A woman named Donna Sue Groves living in Ohio is generally credited with starting the trend, painting a quilt block on her barn in honor of her mother, according to Suzi Parron, an author who has researched and written two books about barn quilts.
From that time, other farm owners have decorated their barns in similar ways. The popularity of the practice has led to the creation of “barn quilt trails,” publicized driving routes where people can view different barn quilts in generally the same area.
Currently, nine Indiana counties have barn quilt trails, mostly in the northeast and southwest regions of the state.
The town of Hope, just south of Johnson County, has dotted its community with barn quilts to signify its interconnected nature. Two of Howarth’s quilts are among the many mounted in the downtown area.
Howarth was familiar with rural barn decor stemming from her childhood. Growing up in northern Indiana, she would often visit her grandfather’s organic farm.
From that time, she maintained an admiration for rural life. Howarth eventually attended Purdue University to study technical graphics, and trained in drafting, painting and drawing, among other arts.
Her technical background and lifelong interest in rural arts came together one year while driving through Tennessee and Kentucky. Along the way, she noticed beautiful decorations on the barns.
“My husband and I are getting to the point where we want to think about what we’re going to do after work. I looked at those and thought, ‘I can do that,’” she said.
Howarth’s first designs were done for a friend, who wanted the decor for her wedding. She researched and planned, and from that point four years ago, she started creating more and more. In 2018, she formed her own company, American Garden Barn Quilts, and started doing the art full-time.
She takes her inspiration from designs that she’s found online, as well as her own observations of the natural world. Once an idea is planted in her head, she uses her own creativity to adapt it.
A popular depiction of geometric autumn maple leaves features a branch coming from the corner to make it more artistic. Taking the traditional shape of the compass rose, and loops a nautical rope around it as a border.
“I’m a perfectionist. I want all of my points to be points, so it takes a few hours to touch everything up so nothing is out of line,” she said. “Some of the geometric designs patterns can be challenging. You have to work a lot of your angles and get out your protractor and all of that good stuff.”
In her garage studio, Howarth takes 4 foot-by-4 foot pieces of medium density overlay panels of wood. She uses wood glue on the edges, adding four or five coats to form a smooth bond around each piece. The surface is treated with three coats of exterior primer, and then the design is added with four coats of paint. Some of the pieces have paint glitter that add a flurry of flair to the background color.
Sealer protects the entire piece. Pieces take hours of time to create, with each one taking up to three weeks to be finished and ready to deliver or ship out of state.
“I love creating something. I love the finished product when its done. And I love seeing the joy in people’s faces when they receive it,” she said. “It gives you a sense of accomplishment.”
This weekend, Howarth will be leading a discussion and showcase of barn quilts as a way for people to inspire their own landscapes — be it their home, porches, barns or other environment.
The chance to share with people her passion for the art form is exciting.
“The more people I can relate to and connect to, the more my business will grow and the more people will enjoy these pieces of art in their own homes,” she said.
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Vicki Howarth
Home: Bartholomew County
Occupation: Artist and owner of American Garden Barn Quilt
Education: Graduated from Purdue University with a degree in technical graphics
Website: agbarnquilts.com
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Inspire Your Landscape with Vicki Howarth
What: Howarth will lead a presentation about what barn quilts are and how they are made, as well as displaying some of her artwork.
When: 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Brown County Visitors Center, 211 S. Van Buren St., Nashville
Cost: Free
Information: browncounty.com
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