Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, quilt artist Joan Hug-Valeriote, shares that her first quilt was a pot
holder made at a historical home kitchen in Toronto’s High Park. She recalls back then only knowing
how to sew square pieces of clothing together and doing checkerboard pattern with them, however, she
didn’t know how to make a proper quilt. In that space, accompanied by a friend and their respective
babies, both learnt this craft that nowadays has been transformed by Joan into an entire repertoire of
masterpieces. She confesses to have been ‘hooked by quilting tridimensionality and patterns’. “I just
loved it, and also all the calmness and tranquility that the process of hand-quilting gave me since the
very first moment. It’s really meditative, it’s quite therapeutic.” In her love for quilting, she found a shift of
perspective, and what seemed to be the utilitarian purpose of something made with this technique, little
by little evolved from being a craft to becoming an art form.

In 1995 Joan and her family moved to California. She recalls going to the quilt shop and inquiring where
the guild met, there she met great speakers who were artists in fabric, they offered classes, and Joan
took as many as she could. Then she also met a friend who introduced her to computerized quilting
design. And that’s the moment she refers to as the beginning of her career as a quilt artist. When she
returned to Canada in 1999, she started teaching classes and taking commissions…

By Zandra Juarez

Quilt Exhibition

To read more about the 2021 quilt exhibition, please click on the Guelph Arts Council link below

‘Scapes, ‘Scopes & Abstracts: The Imagery Behind Joan Hug-Valeriote’s Creations (guelpharts.ca)