Quilt star rising

Bigfork artist's designs lauded by renowned quilting publication

Bigfork artist Toni Whitney never expected to read about herself as "a rising star in the quilting universe."

But when the "Keepsake Quilting" catalog arrived this spring, Whitney was trumpeted as such on the pages of this revered publication. She was humbled by the honor.

"It's very rare that someone so new is a featured artist," Whitney said.

Until about two years ago, quilts weren't even part of her universe. Whitney's world revolved around producing fine-art paintings that were turning more than a few heads in Bigfork.

But then her good friend Traci Marvel suggested that she submit her artwork to Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. for licensing as quilt designs. Always up for anything art-related, Whitney jumped in, but with limited expectations.

"When Traci asked me to do it, I thought this is definitely not a money-maker," she said with a laugh.

Now with seven successful designs to her credit, Whitney realizes a healthy revenue stream from licensing her art for quilts through Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. Her new design, "Winter Wolf," sold so well that the pattern has 400 back-ordered.

As a result, she has a different view of quilting. It's not just a few grandmothers stitching in their spare time.

"It's a multibillion dollar business," Whitney said.

THE ARTIST has become yet another devotee of piecing together fabric. Unlike some designers, Whitney goes beyond executing the artwork to lay out fabrics, cut each individual piece on a pressing sheet and then fuse them into her design.

She favors batik fabrics created in Bali for their colors, shading and texture.

"I take fabric and work it like paint," Whitney said.

But unlike oil and acrylics, a misstep with fabric means ripping up the whole thing and starting over. In spite of the frustrations, Whitney has come to love the entire process, particularly interacting with quilting enthusiasts.

She said she loves getting feedback from the front line. Whitney takes no offense if quilters take creative license with her designs.

"Sometimes they change the fabric," she said. "I love it when they do that."

Sitting in her new studio ablaze in natural light, Whitney marveled at the evolution of her career as a sportswear designer in Seattle just eight years ago. That's when she met her husband Frank, an engineer and member of the pioneer Whitney family of Bigfork.

She credits her in-laws for prodding her into the art scene in Bigfork. Her father-in-law, Wayne Whitney, an architect and artist, was a prime influence.

"He encouraged me to do fine art," she said.

Whitney said Wayne taught her the fine points of acrylics while a friend of the family, the late artist and cartoonist Elmer Sprunger, worked with her on oils on a trade-out basis.

"I would trade cookies for painting tips," she said with a laugh.

Her husband's late uncle, Jack Whitney, paid his niece-in-law the ultimate compliment when he asked her to finish a painting of a bison started by Hugh Hockaday on a canvas that includes small scenes painted by a host of famous Montana artists.

Whitney explained that Hockaday and artists Ace Powell, Fred Fellows, Sprunger, Gary Schildt and Shorty Shope had painted the work in thanks to Jack for framing their work in the days before they had financial success.

"Hockaday passed away before he could finish his," Whitney said. "Jack encouraged me but it was terrifying to finish."

HER RELATIVES saw the merit in her paintings even when she had her doubts. Whitney recalled when her mother-in-law, Helen Whitney, asked to meet her in Bigfork for lunch and to bring two horse portraits she had completed.

Before Whitney had time to protest, Helen grabbed up the paintings and took them into a friend's gallery in Bigfork.

"That's how it all started," she said. "I started painting in '03 and was doing really well at it."

Then two years ago, Marvel introduced her to the quilting world. Whitney said her new pursuit, added into her painting projects, threatened to overwhelm the 800-square-foot house she shares with her husband in the woods off the Swan Highway.

Guilt struck as she watched her husband huddled in a chair balancing his dinner plate on his lap.

"I was taking up way too much of our house," Whitney said with a laugh. "I cut back."

She focused on the quilting side of her art pursuits while they built a new house next to the tiny house they had lived in for years. Whitney recently moved into her studio in the new house, which is nearly finished.

With high ceilings and abundant light, the studio shows off the seven quilts that launched Whitney's meteoric rise in the quilting world via Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. Her first, featuring horses, was titled "Wild Horse Canyon."

Horses represent a favorite subject since she first began drawing as a child. She hit pay dirt with two others, including the four horses of "Forever Friends" and the haughty stallion depicted in "Spring Storm."

Whitney laughed looking at the stallion.

"He thinks he's the greatest thing ever," Whitney said. "For me, it's all about color and the expression on the face. It gives them personality."

With her studio windows overlooking the woods and a pasture holding her own horses, the artist has a never-ending supply of inspiration from equines to moose, bobcats, mountain lions and more.

"We're in the bear belt," she said.

In her new digs, Whitney has room to return to painting and other mediums. She found a stylistic benefit from her time focused on quilt design.

"It kind of loosened me up in painting," she said.

Both forms begin with a preliminary rough sketch. High-quality art results from each, but multiplies through her quilt patterns.

Whitney gets a lot of satisfaction when customers tell her how she helped them find their own inner artist.

"People will write and say I feel like I'm doing fine art," she said with a smile.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com