ODETTE TOLKSDORF

ODETTE TOLKSDORF

Odette is an artist, designer and educator who has been working in the richly tactile world of contemporary quiltmaking for many years.  Over time, her formal education in graphic design and art, have merged wonderfully together with her great passion for textiles, threads, and stitching.

Aspects of both contemporary and traditional techniques are found in Odette’s art quilts. She uses cotton, silk, linen, organza, and other products like bark cloth, that may be hand dyed, painted, and screened or commercially printed.

She has exhibited her art quilts and taught a variety of classes in design and contemporary quiltmaking at international quilt conferences in the USA, the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout South Africa as well as in Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Odette’s art quilts can be found on many internet sites and have been widely published around the world for example in: FiberArts Design Book 7,  Quilt National – The Best Contemporary Quilts and A Passion for Quiltmaking by Norma Slabbert (front cover).

Since the early 1990’s Odette has been a quilt judge and curator of quilt exhibitions, which includes the Houston Quilt Festival, the World Quilt and Textile Competition, and many others.

Odette is a founder member of Fibreworks:  http://www.fibreworksart.com   a group of South African fiber and textile artists who exhibit together, and she is a founder member of the South African Quilters Guild and the KZN Quilters Guild.

Among the awards that Odette has received are a Lifetime Honorary Membership of the KZN Quilters Guild in 2007 and the Grassroots Guild Chairlady’s Award.

In 2008 Odette received the Pro Dedicate award from the South African Quilters Guild:  “An Award for outstanding service. In recognition of her dedication to the promotion of the art of quilt making in South Africa since 1987. We pay tribute to this South African quilter for her vision of promoting our textile artists beyond our borders and lifting textile art to a professional level.” https://www.quiltsouthafrica.co.za/2020-hall-of-fame-odette-tolksdorf

In 1995 Odette conceived the idea for and helped to coordinate assembly of The Peace Quilt, consisting of almost 800 flat brick-sized blocks received from 29 countries and made into 27 quilts. It was exhibited throughout South Africa and at the Houston International Quilt Festival and in Europe. The Peace Quilt is now permanently displayed in the concourse of the International Convention Centre in Durban and is enjoyed by people from all over the world.

Since 2000, Odette has also been working in the travel industry, organizing tours of South Africa which focus on the fascinating arts, crafts, cultures, and people of South Africa and connects artists and makers with travelers.

Odette loves to travel and interact with people, and she has a natural curiosity and interest about what is around her, and also.… what is around the corner?  She enjoys being amazed and astonished!  Her personal holiday travels have taken her to a few of the world’s most interesting textile countries, such as Morocco, India, and Mexico, and she intends to continue this quest for as long as possible.

Cape Town, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is home for Odette where she lives with her husband.

ODETTE TOLKSDORF

Odette is an artist, designer and educator who has been working in the richly tactile world of contemporary quiltmaking for many years.  Over time, her formal education in graphic design and art, have merged wonderfully together with her great passion for textiles, threads, and stitching.

Aspects of both contemporary and traditional techniques are found in Odette’s art quilts. She uses cotton, silk, linen, organza, and other products like bark cloth, that may be hand dyed, painted, and screened or commercially printed.

She has exhibited her art quilts and taught a variety of classes in design and contemporary quiltmaking at international quilt conferences in the USA, the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout South Africa as well as in Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Odette’s art quilts can be found on many internet sites and have been widely published around the world for example in: FiberArts Design Book 7,  Quilt National – The Best Contemporary Quilts and A Passion for Quiltmaking by Norma Slabbert (front cover).

Since the early 1990’s Odette has been a quilt judge and curator of quilt exhibitions, which includes the Houston Quilt Festival, the World Quilt and Textile Competition, and many others.

Odette is a founder member of Fibreworks:  http://www.fibreworksart.com   a group of South African fiber and textile artists who exhibit together, and she is a founder member of the South African Quilters Guild and the KZN Quilters Guild.

Among the awards that Odette has received are a Lifetime Honorary Membership of the KZN Quilters Guild in 2007 and the Grassroots Guild Chairlady’s Award.

In 2008 Odette received the Pro Dedicate award from the South African Quilters Guild:  “An Award for outstanding service. In recognition of her dedication to the promotion of the art of quilt making in South Africa since 1987. We pay tribute to this South African quilter for her vision of promoting our textile artists beyond our borders and lifting textile art to a professional level.” https://www.quiltsouthafrica.co.za/2020-hall-of-fame-odette-tolksdorf

In 1995 Odette conceived the idea for and helped to coordinate assembly of The Peace Quilt, consisting of almost 800 flat brick-sized blocks received from 29 countries and made into 27 quilts. It was exhibited throughout South Africa and at the Houston International Quilt Festival and in Europe. The Peace Quilt is now permanently displayed in the concourse of the International Convention Centre in Durban and is enjoyed by people from all over the world.

Since 2000, Odette has also been working in the travel industry, organizing tours of South Africa which focus on the fascinating arts, crafts, cultures, and people of South Africa and connects artists and makers with travelers.

Odette loves to travel and interact with people, and she has a natural curiosity and interest about what is around her, and also.… what is around the corner?  She enjoys being amazed and astonished!  Her personal holiday travels have taken her to a few of the world’s most interesting textile countries, such as Morocco, India, and Mexico, and she intends to continue this quest for as long as possible.

Cape Town, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is home for Odette where she lives with her husband.