Quilted by Design: Billy Reue
Your journey from architect to quilter is so unique. What was it about that first quilting workshop that sparked your creative shift into textiles?
When I attended my first quilting workshop with my sister Yvonne, I had absolutely no expectations. I am always very busy with my architecture practice in New York City, and I was searching for a fresh outlet for my creativity to balance my work life. The workshop was put on by the Quilt Guild of Great Victoria, and the instructors were teaching everyone how to put together a simple 9-patch block. They explained how to make select contrasting fabrics for dramatic effect, how to cut the pieces with seam allowance, how to plan the sequence for sewing the parts together, and how to nest your pieces so that the fabrics will lay nice and flat. Every aspect of making the little 9-patch was so carefully considered, and I found it incredibly fascinating. The intense thoughtfulness required to make the simple little block reminded me of what I often tell clients about my design work -- it takes a lot of effort to make it look effortless.
How has your architectural background influenced the way you approach quilt design and fabric composition?
Absolutely. My fabric designs and architectural projects typically maintain a legible underlying structure to them, even if they appear, at first glance, organic in nature. Much of my architectural work might be described as minimalist and grounded in neutral tones, while my fabrics are saturated with over-the-top color. But it all comes from the same voice. Sometimes shouting is what’s called for, and sometimes it is more appropriate to whisper. As crazy as it sounds, I still design all my quilts using architecture drafting software.
Your Crosshatch Quilt has a modern, graphic feel that resonates with both artists and makers. Can you share a bit about what inspired that design?
The blocks for Crosshatch were designed to show how different groupings of prints from the Kaleidoscope Collection work together. In a way, it turned out to be a giant “sampler” quilt for a quilter of any level. Curiously, at the time I was developing the design for Crosshatch Quilt, I had been working on a separate art project that required me to research the International Maritime Nautical Signal Flags. I was completely unfamiliar with their individual meanings and how they are used. The basic block for the Crosshatch Quilt is a combination of the “M” flag and the “R” flag. The “M” flag means “My vessel is stopped, and I am making no headway.” I feel that way sometimes in my creative work, but I always seem to push through.
As someone who lives and creates in New York City, how does the urban landscape inspire your work—both in architecture and quilting?
My first collection was called Madison One, and all sixteen prints from that collection were derived from a single painting of a building that I had made. My studio at that time was on the ninth floor of a building overlooking Madison Square Park. Sometimes inspiration literally comes from just looking out the window, and sometimes I will make dedicated field trips around the city to photo-document bits of the urban landscape that interest me -- scaffolding, streetlights, manhole covers, anything. If you look closely at some of my collections, you might see how some of the prints were influenced by these things. I used a similar process for my first ground-up commercial building in Manhattan years ago. It was a modest two-story building facing East Houston Street in the Lower East Side, and I spent a week photographing historic brickwork in the surrounding area. My “new” building had to look tough, gritty, imperfect, and that it was an authentic part of the neighborhood. If you want to make a building look like it is going to last forever, it helps to make it look as if it has been here a while.
What do you hope people feel or experience when they engage with your fabric designs and quilt patterns?
I want them to be delighted by the fabrics. I want them to inspire people to push the boundaries of their own creativity and to take creative risks.