An 11-year-old from Newfoundland has earned a spot among the Youth Emerging Artists (YEA!) exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Amelia Hochwald is the sole Canadian amid the 31 artists under age 35.
“I’ve never had one of my crafts accepted in a big competition,” she said. “I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. A lot of people had entered and I was blown away that my design made the cut.”
She created a wall hanging The Jellyfish in her grandmother Elsa Flack’s studio. Placed on a bright blue background, the purple sea creature has a “poofy head” and tentacles made from fuzzy yarn.
Amelia also added a rock with pebbly stitching, 11 little fish, two stems of coral and sea grass. The stitches around them come in waves and bubbles so the jellyfish stands out.
“I wanted to do an ocean theme,” she said. “Purple isn’t a colour I wear or draw with all the time so I decided to try it.”
Born in Calgary, Amelia moved to Torbay, Newfoundland with her family in 2020 to live closer to her father’s parents. She cites her grandmother as a major influence in her work as they both use bright colours.
“My granny takes me to her studio and shows me her latest quilts,” she added. “After school or on weekends, we have lunch then make quilts. My friend Kate comes along with me.”
Elsa’s guild members also offer tips and ideas to this eager-to-learn artist.
YEA for Amelia!
The YEA! Exhibit shines a spotlight on the next generation of creators with wall hangings, wearables or freestanding 3D artwork.
For decades, the quilt world has talked about how to excite younger generations about fabric art. This exhibit aims to address that challenge with cash prizes and unique networking opportunities with industry professionals.
Amelia hopes to see the show via a livestream since she will not travel to Houston. So far, she has only seen the list of names of other artists, but not their work.
She heard about the contest from Elsa.
“My granny is big into quilting and she has a lot of quilting friends all over Newfoundland,” Amelia said. “She wanted me to enter and helped me mail my jellyfish off in a tube since she is more experienced with that kind of thing.”
Amelia’s Second quilt
Before The Jellyfish, Amelia had made one quilt – a portrait of her cat Robin resting on a balcony. Now hanging in her bedroom, it has a dense quilting to add texture and shiny fabric for its shimmery moon.
She entered it in a local competition two years ago. Until her latest coup, her only only artistic recognition came last year for an original Christmas card.
“Amelia has always taken to creating works of art since she was a baby,” her father Mike said. “She was painting and drawing on her own easel since she was two.”
Granny Elsa took Amelia out to her quilting groups to expose her to more techniques and she really just took to it, he added. She’s progressed into knitting and weaving, making scarves for her parents, friends and a teacher.
Currently, she makes different types of Squishies, among other projects.
