A Master Quilter’s Creativity Tugs At The Thread Of Life

By Nancy K. Crevier

To look at the exquisite quilts, pillows, runners and wall hangings she has sewn, one would think that Selma Kenter had been quilting since she was old enough to hold a needle. But Ms Kenter came to the world of quilting, in her words, “Rather late in life. I didn’t start until the early 90s.”

Prior to having her three children, Ned, Ali, and Kerim Agalar (now 25, 22, and 21 respectively), she had worked as an auditor for Arthur Andersen and for an investment bank — in Turkey. Ms Kenter is a resident of Newtown during the summer months, and lives in Istanbul the remainder of the year.

“I grew up in Istanbul and went to an American high school. People [in Turkey] who can afford to, try to send their children to school to learn another language.” It was not until 1980 that Ms Kenter and her husband visited the United States. “My uncle was a doctor at Danbury Hospital. We started visiting often,” she says. Her children attended the Green Knoll Camp in Brookfield, and feeling that her family had outgrown the hospitality of her uncle, the Agalar family bought a summer home in Newtown.

As her children grew up, Ms Kenter began searching for a creative outlet. Always interested in art, she found herself drawn to the examples of quilting she found in Turkey. Eager to learn more, she started connecting with quilters in Newtown, then joined a hand-quilting class in Istanbul.

“It was English piecing,” she says, “a long, tedious process. I wanted to do more, in less time.” Hearing of an American quilt teacher, she and a group of like-interested friends hired the woman to teach them machine piecing techniques, a much more satisfying effort for Ms Kenter. The friends came to make up the Textile Arts Association in Istanbul.

As the interest in quilting grew among the association members, Ms Kenter began importing fabrics, tools, books and other quilting supplies that were not readily available in Turkey. When divorce added a twist to her life in 1999, she opened a textile shop, Ark Tekstil, in the lower floor of her home.

“What I like best is the sharing you do with other quilters,” says Ms Kenter, and for her, it is not just words. The members of the Textile Arts Association teach other organizations to help impoverished Turkish women learn quilting skills “In hopes they can then make a living,” she states.

At Textile Arts Association Ms Kenter teaches quilting techniques, and she teaches at conferences around the world, gives slide shows, and curates quilting exhibitions, all while continuing to hone her own skills. In November, she will travel to Japan to curate an exhibition of Turkish quilts and present gallery talks, always eager to spread her enthusiasm for this craft.

In addition, every two years Ms Kenter organizes a huge exhibition of quilts produced by the members of the Textile Arts Association. More than 4,000 visitors from around the world attend the seven- to ten-day event.

She says, “These last 10 to 20 years have been flourishing ones for quilters. Every year there are more tools, more books. America has a major input into quilting, even though it didn’t start here.”

Where quilting had its origins is uncertain, but it is believed, says Ms Kenter, that the oldest patchwork piece, dating from around 100 BC, was found in a Scythian tomb. Other information hints that even earlier examples exist in Egypt.

Fascination with quilting has led this fabric artist to travel worldwide, gathering skills and harvesting ideas from international quilting shows. “Quilting is all around the world,” she says. “It is like a language.”

Many of the quilters in her groups base their designs on classic patterns from America, but each one has its own story. As the quilters gain confidence, she has seen a new trend. “They are recently pulling designs from their own culture,” she notes.

Her own designs have been pieced together through the colors and textures of the places and people she has encountered in her travels. “Inspirations From Myrto,” a quilt made from floral upholstery scraps, came about following a visit to a Greek quilting friend. The influence of her holidays along the Aegean Sea are conveyed in the “The Aegean 1” and “The Aegean 2,” machine pieced tapestries in soothing shades of turquoise. The cozy flannel “Warm and Comfy II” quilt and “My Afternoon Nap Quilt,” a woolen creation that she claims is the perfect winter cover-up, express her penchant for a daily snooze.

As an importer of fabric, she is mesmerized by bits of material, and scrap quilting is her passion. “I can’t throw fabric away. They take me away,” she exclaims, which probably explains the tapestry, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” made from, of course, scraps. Fabric bits from special places she has visited come together in the quilt “Patches of Life.”

Quilting has been a solace to Ms Kenter in difficult times. In 1996 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. An avid quilter by then, Ms Kenter spent several months in Newtown recovering from surgery and aggressive chemotherapy.

“I had great support from Newtown quilters, The Calico Cats, as well as The Scrap Baggers,” she notes. As she watched autumn settle upon New England and finished chemotherapy, the idea for her “Healing Quilt” took form. “I got my inspiration from the foliage. It took two years to complete.”

Many of the quilts she makes now are donated to raise funds for charitable foundations.

“When you are faced with something like [cancer], it makes you look at the world differently. I think I donate more [quilts] than I sell,” she says. Prior to her cancer diagnosis, she had frequently contributed quilts to the Day To Make A Difference fundraiser at Danbury Hospital. She continues to support that charity each year, but it is Ann’s Place, The Home of I Can, in Danbury that is the beneficiary of much of her creative spirit now. The support she received during cancer treatment from this organization was vital, she says, and she has found many ways to contribute her skills over the years.

Since 2003, Ms Kenter has donated dozens of quilted items to the Festival of Trees and Traditions held by Ann’s Place. The cover of Tapestry of Hope, a booklet of art, prose and poetry by cancer survivors and published by Ann’s Place, features a quilt put together by Ms Kenter. “I collected squares from many survivors, and pieced them into one big quilt.”

Collecting images from other quilting artists was not new to her. “Millennium Quilt” was created by quilters from all over the world

“I asked [the quilters] to make a wish, or write a slogan with their square,” says Ms Kenter. “Most were for peace. Unfortunately, the millennium did not come in peace.”

“My Friends and I” is another collective piece she has quilted. Thousands of multicolored, one-inch hexagons were sewn by her many quilting friends and eventually pieced together by Ms Kenter to create a flowing vista of color and visual delight.

For Selma Kenter, quilting is a link to friends, to family, and to the world around her. Of the quilts that are not custom ordered or donated to charity, many find their way into the hands of those she loves.

“Fabric is soft, thread is bonding,” she says. “The quilting is bonding.” Playing on words, she adds, “It is a peaceful activity — however you spell peace.”

(This year’s Festival of Trees and Traditions will be at the Starr Ridge Banquet Center in Brewster, N.Y., from November 11 to 13.

The festival’s quilting corner will feature works from local quilters, including Ms Kenter. A seven- by eight-foot machine pieced quilt by Ms Kenter will be raffled off during the festival as well.)