Central Oregonian

Inspiration from a different medium

Local quilt artist June Jaeger has had one of her quilts chosen from more than 100 other entries for a juried quilt show in Bend

RAMONA MCCALLISTER/CENTRAL OREGONIAN

Hidden Assets, a quilt created by Prineville resident June Jaeger, was inspired by the wild horses of Wyoming.

Ramona McCallister

March 07, 2013

June Jaeger of Prineville is among 28 quilt artists in Central Oregon who are being featured in a juried exhibition hosted by the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show during the month of March.

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) is held in July in Sisters, and is the largest of its kind in the world. More than 100 quilts are submitted for consideration for the current exhibit, “Fabrications,” which opened at Franklin Crossing in downtown Bend on March 1, and runs through March 31. It is the only exhibit of its kind in Central Oregon, and only showcases 32 pieces from 28 different quilt artists.

Art comes in many mediums, and Jaeger has chosen quilting as a form of art to express her creative side. She recently submitted three different quilts to the second annual exhibit of art and contemporary quilts.

“I submitted three different quilts,” said Jaeger. “One was very abstract, one was very pictorial, and this one was kind of in the middle. That is the one they chose.”

The quilt, called “Hidden Assets,” is one of a horse, which Jaeger painted, then applied to the quilt. Her inspiration came from wild horses in Wyoming.

“All of a sudden, there would be a horse next to some rocks that you would never notice. That was my inspiration,” she explained. “I pieced the rocks in the background, then painted the horse, and then hand-appliqued him on. His eyes peeking through the mane, I think that is what it’s all about to me.”

Jaeger incidentally loves horses, and has had them since she was five years-old. She has now lived in Crook County for 14 years, and resides and works in a log cabin and studio outside of town, where she immerses herself in her artwork.

“Right now, I don’t have any up here (horses), and it is a huge void in my life,” she remarked.

Born in Prineville, Jaeger is well-known among the quilting community, with her work at businesses like The Stitching Post in Sisters, Prairie Girls in Prineville, and Bend Source International. Two years ago, she designed the raffle quilt for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, and she has designed more than 30 quilting patterns of her own.

Looking around her studio reveals colorful and soulful quilt projects that depict Central Oregon scenes, as well quilts that demonstrate her love of animals. Jaeger is currently finishing up a book, her first, which will be a “how to,” on quilting, and will be on the market in May. She is self-publishing the book, although the book will be printed by Snyder and Sons Unlimited in Bend.

“It’s a big project for me,” she exclaimed.

She will go to the International Quilt Market in Portland this summer, where she will have a booth with her quilt patterns and her book. The book will include more than 30 of her patterns.

She plans on publishing her second book on pictorial quilts of “Best Friends,” a “how to” book on animals.

She majored in art education in college, although she started out in veterinarian medicine. She had to do her own thing, however, and chose to pursue her art. She has dabbled in many different art mediums, including acrylics and oils. In 1969, she was living in the valley on a working ranch, where the winters got long and sometimes depressing.

“My sister said, ‘make a quilt. You need to do something in the house. Make a quilt.’ That was the start of it,” said Jaeger of her quilting.

She started designing her own patterns, and when they moved the ranch from the valley to Pendleton, Ore., she opened a quilt shop. She continued to draw and paint, and turn her artwork into quilts.

When her mother passed away, she hit a point where she needed to move on, and Prineville was home to her. She likes the seclusion of the location where she built her log home, where she can draw inspiration from her surroundings.

Upon reflecting on her art, she put her hand on her heart and commented, “It fills up my heart.”

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show will be July 13. For more information call Ann Richardson, Executive Director, SOQS at 541-549-0989.