Facets on Fire: The Gemstone Quilts of MJ Kinman

MJ Kinman likes to tell people that she makes the biggest gemstones in the world, but instead of using the hardest substances on earth, she fashions her gems from the softest – cloth. The adventure started 30 years ago when an image of a gorgeous gem captured her imagination. As a new quilt maker, she was unsure of how to transform that image into a quilt, but she knew there had to be a way. She began searching for the right techniques and, after seven years of research and experimentation, made her first gem.

Her newest series entitled “National Treasures” celebrates the gems included in the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. The first two pieces of which are being exhibited for the first time at this exhibition. These works were inspired by the cognac-colored Victoria-Transvaal Diamond and one of the Museum’s newest acquisitions, the incomparable Whitney Flame Topaz. The Whitney Flame Topaz was donated in 2018 by long-time friend of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Museum, Dr. Coralyn Wright Whitney. 

MJ Kinman - Facets on Fire

More Info