Bio:
Kim Eichler-Messmer is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. Her work is grounded primarily in textiles through which she explores nature and built environments using pattern, color, structure, line, and rhythm. Currently an Associate Professor of Fiber at the Kansas City Art Institute, Eichler-Messmer earned an MFA in textiles from the University of Kansas and a BFA in studio art from Iowa State University. Her work has been exhibited across the US and abroad including shows at the Iowa Quilt Museum (Winterset, IA), QuiltCon, Penland Gallery (Penland, NC), India Quilt Festival (Chennai, India), and Tokushima Cultural Center (Tokushima, Japan). She was an artist in residence at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Prairieside Cottage + Outpost. She is the author of “Modern Color: An Illustrated Guide to Dyeing Fabric for Modern Quilts” and has taught numerous workshops on surface design, natural dye, and quilting across the US.
Statement:
Quilts are the heart of my practice, serving as objects with deep cultural resonance and as a medium for play and exploration. I approach sewing as a way of thinking, constructing, and drawing. Each stitch records time, labor, and care, while the structure of the quilt provides a framework for repetition and rhythm. Within that framework, I make decisions intuitively, responding to composition, contrast, and the interactions of color, texture, and shape. The result is work that honors the quilt tradition while embracing abstraction and experimentation.
My work is inspired by the world around me, shaped by a childhood in the Midwest, endless hours spent outdoors, and travel to mountains, deserts, oceans, glaciers, and volcanic landscapes. Dappled light through trees, shifting shadows across fields, coded information in tree rings and rock formations, and reflections on still water all speak to me. I am also drawn to constructed landscapes such as bridges, water towers, and building sites, where structure and space create rhythm and tension.
Color is central to my work. I dye most of my fabric, sometimes with plants I grow, including indigo, madder, weld, black walnut, and coreopsis. Other times I use synthetic dyes, which provide a more immediate palette and an endless range of hues. Natural dyes carry the slow pulse of seasons and connect me to the land, while synthetic dyes allow vibrancy and unexpected combinations. I choose between them based on what each piece requires, letting the method of dyeing bring its own energy and character.
My work exists in a constant push and pull between tradition and abstraction, quiet reflection and active response, meditative repetition and spontaneous experimentation. Each quilt carries presence, warmth, and energy, inviting touch and attention, offering surfaces alive with rhythm and pattern, and serving as a vessel for memories and dreams.