Born to Sew - Real Men Quilt
by Jayne Behman
In high school and college, Rob Appell enjoyed learning about basic techniques in art classes. However, this art education did not bestow upon him the inspiration to move towards his now successful career as a quilt designer. In fact, he considers himself a cartoonist when it comes to being labeled a visual artist.
Rob originally wanted to be a math professor. During high school he was good at math and was very involved in the the Associated Student Body and as Senior Class President. His aspirations to be a math teacher were shattered when his favorite teachers were given "pink-slips." This, in 1991, was a life changing moment. In a flash, he changed his career path, deciding to be a free spirited artist and to live out of his van.
What we may judge as a reckless decision by an 18-year-old was the passport that has taken him on an unanticipated life journey, an outcome that is far from being over or set in stone at just 37 years of age. Art is about the process, not the product. We can say the same about life. Are we the same people we were yesterday or will be tomorrow? We are always morphing into someone else. With age comes life experiences; like wine, we tend to get better with age.
Rob is married, with two children, 7 and 5 years of age. He adores his wife, who along with successfully managing his home, conducts a private tutoring business and teaches African Dance.
To put food on the table, Rob worked at odd jobs, sometimes a number of them at one time. As the understudy assistant chef at the Gardens in Avila, he realized that the life of a restaurateur was not conducive to being a family man. He was helping put his wife through school. "Mom gave me a part time job at the Cotton Ball (Morro Bay)." Since then, he has been a key ingredient in this family owned-business. Then the Cotton Ball was a craft and fabric store. Rob managed the craft section and taught craft oriented classes. Working the desk, he interacted with customers, troubleshooting projects and helping customers think out of the box.
His mother also taught Rob to sew on a sewing machine. He still has his first project, a jacket. Thirteen years ago, he brought the PFAFF sewing machine dealership into the Cotton Ball. With the dealership, he had to learn how to operate and fix the machines. This education ignited his love relationship between sewing and fabrics. He combined his sewing skills and math skills with various colors found in fabrics to create art quilts.
People quilt for all sorts of reasons. Quilting customizes and personalizes a fabric's innate design. This creative outlet positively affects self-esteem. Moreover, participation in the arts reduces stress. Real men quilt. Navel officers, truck drivers, and doctors quilt, knit, and/or crochet to decompress.
Generally, a traditional quilt is a sewn-and-pieced background. It is soft in construction. An art quilt generally uses less than the three layer traditional construction and is stiffer. Art quilts are often used as decorative wall hangings. Rob's first art quilt was made in 2001 and told a story. Upon seeing his work, customers saw something different from quilt industry standards. The subject matter was strong and offered a male point of view. This first project fueled his creativity in this art form. Over these past nine years, he estimates he has completed over 75 art quilts of varying sizes.
Being the featured showcase on Simply Quilts, the most watched program on the Home and Garden Channel, catapulted Rob's career as a quilt artist. Telephone and internet orders for his work quadrupled. This was four years ago. Today Rob's events and workshops calendar is currently filled through March 2011. His quilt methods are in high demand and keep quilting students running from California to Oregon and beyond.
Today thread and fabric makers are sponsoring Rob. He's designing fabric and with New York's Michael Miller Fabrics he has packaged his Endangered species quilt series patterns. They have teamed up to build awareness about our planet and her endangered species. $3.00 from every pattern purchased is donated ($4,500 already) to the World Wildlife Fund He is supplied thread by Aurifil, an Italian firm.
His Endangered Species art quilts are very popular. This quilt series started his quilt teaching career. Nationwide quilt exhibitions request Rob's attendance to teach workshops. His travel calendar job description has changed from being a vendor to being a creator.
It is Rob's calling to motivate young people to look at and to use textiles not only for utilitarian purposes, but to create art forms. "There are great fabrics with designs for little kids and adults, but the teenage draw and sewing projects have been missing," he says. He introduces teens to hip fabrics and fun projects.
Meet Rob Appell at the Cottonball 1199 Main Street, in Morro Bay.
Be sure to visit Rob Appell.com.
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