Welcome to my Studio: Aprille Janes, Margaretsville, Nova Scotia

Winter by Aprille Janes (2020) 

I’ve just become an art quilter! Fabric and thread have once again become my primary means of creative expression after many years as a watercolour painter. I taught myself to sew as a child by carefully following the patterns my (non-sewing) mother bought for me. Later, as a young mother myself, I took classes and made a few quilts for family. But sewing faded from my life over time. My career required considerable travel so I took up watercolour painting, a more portable medium. Then last summer my love for all things fibre was rekindled when a friend invited me along to an art quilting workshop.

My husband and I moved back to the East Coast about three years ago. Our “new” home was originally a general store, built in 1893. In the 1960s it was a restaurant with a detached dining hall. When we bought it, it had been converted to a private home. The dining hall was in such bad shape that we were advised to tear it down, but we saw possibility. One year later, the hall had been transformed into a teaching space and a spacious painting studio, with soft northern light and long views of the Bay of Fundy. Because the building is situated on a slope it feels a little like being on a boat. I spent my days painting and teaching there, glancing up from my work to watch the waves and tide, so incredibly inspiring.

Lunenburg Dories by Aprille Janes w22"xh16"

But then, after that art quilting workshop last summer, my fibre art took over the classroom space! I set up “zones” for painting, machine and hand sewing and computer work. It’s wonderful to be able to move between activities without having to take down and set up. I usually have two or three projects on the go, allowing me to take my time with a piece. If I find myself rushing just to finish or feel that I might be overworking an area, I step away and do something else. This is important to my process and I’m thankful the studio supports this approach.

On sunny days, my studio is so bright that I don’t need artificial lighting. For the not so sunny days, we installed four full spectrum LED lights on the ceiling plus spotlights over my work table. Just for fun, I have twinkle lights running along the top of my shelving units. 

I’m most happy when my tools and materials are organized and visible (though the actual work can be chaotic!). Because I like to see what my choices are, I display my materials on a mix of shelving units from Ikea and pieces my husband refinished. 

My fabrics are wound on acid-free comic book backing boards and held in place with clips. The bolts sit on shelves like a mini-fabric store, taking up less room than they did when folded and stacked. 

While my good cotton threads are organized on a rack, my other threads and button collection are stored in antique mason jars. Baskets hold ribbons, antique laces and scraps. Right now, I’m looking for a better, more visible way to organize my scraps because they’ve become important to the work I’m doing. 


I found my Bernina 930 sewing machine on Kijiji, totally refurbished and complete with all the accessories and clamshell case. It enables my creative expression just as my paintbrushes do. It sews like a dream, never jams, and has all the features I need.

The one thing I would add to my studio if I could is a sink with running water. Bringing water to the studio in a bucket is fine for watercolours, but I’ve moved on to painting and mono-printing on fabric and I plan to work with dyes and cyanoprints come summer, so a wet studio would be ideal. 

I feel like I’m still an art quilt newbie, experimenting with different methods of expression. Yet the design principles I learned as a painter serve me well in textile work and my old sketchbooks are a rich source of ideas for my new medium. I’m drawn to the colour, embellishment and tactile quality of the fibre, which are deeply satisfying to me. 

I’m currently making a series of four original wall hangings inspired by Robert Frost’s poem Birches:

So was I once myself a swinger of birches. 

And so I dream of going back to be.

Fall by Aprille Janes (2020) 

Once this series is complete, I would like to re-create some of my original paintings in fibre, and design some new work with the goal of eventually submitting a piece to a SAQA call for entry.  

Thanks for dropping by my studio…

Aprille

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Read more about Apprille Janes and her artwork on her website Aprille Janes: Life, Art and Inspiration. You can also follow Aprille Janes on Instagram.