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Caryl Bryer Fallert-GentryCaryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry is an internationally recognized art quilter, author, and lecturer. Her award-winning quilts are known for their luminous colors and exceptional styles, and have appeared in hundreds of national and international exhibitions, collections, and publications.

In the upcoming exhibit “Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry: 40 Years of Light, Color, Motion,” we get to go inside Caryl’s world and see her inspiration through her travels, everyday life, and imagination. These quilts have been gathered over the decades since she first started her work in the ‘70s.

We spoke with Caryl about her work and her current exhibit at the Texas Quilt Museum.

Your formal training was primarily in design, drawing and studio painting. What got you interested in quilting?

Caryl: In 1974, my husband and I bought a farm in Missouri from a 79-year-old woman who made quilts. I loved her quilts, and, since I was already sewing and knitting, this seemed like one more fun thing to try.

How has your work evolved in style since you first started?

Caryl: My first few quilts were based on traditional designs and were meant to cover beds or babies. In 1983, I began making quilts that were original designs and were meant to hang on the wall as art. Since that time, I have worked in several different styles as my interests changed.

​Vine (30” by 30”)

You have travelled to many foreign countries, do you think that has reflected in your work and how?

Caryl: Probably. I find inspiration almost in everything I see. Since I rarely work pictorially, it’s sometimes hard to identify what one thing inspired a particular quilt. My travels have probably affected my color palette more than the designs themselves.

Your exhibit is subtitled “Light, Color, and Motion.” How do each of these three elements influence your work today?

Caryl: Most of my quilts are full of brilliant, saturated colors. In almost every one I have also used gradations for light to dark and color-to-color, creating the illusion of an inner glow. The gradations plus the sweeping curves in many of them create a feeling of movement.