Reece Museum exhibition weaves together storytelling, spirituality

Quilts have long carried stories from one generation to the next. A new exhibition at East Tennessee State University's Reece Museum explores that tradition through intricately designed fiber works that bring together storytelling, spirituality and art. "Spiritual Conversation: Storytelling Through Art Quilts," featuring work by artist Kristy Moeller Ottinger, is on display now through Jan. 8. A reception for the exhibition will be held Thursday from 5-7 p.m. and will include an artist talk with Ottinger. The exhibit features 45 fiber works by Ottinger. Intricately designed textile wall hangings and books narrate themes in spirituality and illustrate how stories are passed down from one generation to the next. Ottinger's visionary fiber works showcase meticulous sewing skill and an imaginative incorporation of found objects. "I explore the effects of diverse, colorful patterned fabrics and push the use of embellishments," Ottinger said. "I intend for the audience to engage and find words and hidden meanings in my quilts." Ottinger was born in Tipton, Indiana. She is the older of two girls born to Herbert and Lucy Moeller, who raised their children to be resourceful and creative. If they wanted something, they were encouraged to create it themselves.Making was a part of life in the Moeller household, where Herbert was a cabinetmaker and Lucy a dressmaker. At age 9, Ottinger began learning the sewing skills that would lead to her eventual focus on fiber art. A lifelong learner, Ottinger earned degrees in Bible, education and art. She taught elementary school art until 2016, when she began to pursue her art full time. Best known for her narrative art quilts, Ottinger embellishes her work with found objects, mixed media, embroidery, paint and writing. As she moved through her formal art education, Ottinger worked in other media, eventually earning an MFA in painting. A 1994 scholarship to Burren College of Art in Ireland introduced her to an Irish quilter who provided bits of silk for her initial art quilt. Her first love reawakened, Ottinger returned to fiber art. Now, her detailed narrative quilts demonstrate both her sewing skill and her talent for incorporating mixed media that enhances the stories told through her work. "Making art is my form of worship," Ottinger said. "Every creation is a spiritual conversation. Each bead sewn or found object attached comes with a prayer." The Reece Museum is a unit of the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services, which is housed in the ETSU Department of Appalachian Studies. The museum is free and open to the public. Located on the ETSU campus, the museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For more information, visit etsu.edu/reece or call (423) 439-4392.