Wednesday, July 12, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Quilt collector showcases his best
By Jodi Schneider McNamee
Correspondent
Bert Kronmiller, an art
advocate from Bend, has
been collecting quilts for
years. He purchases the
quilts from all over Central
Oregon and on occasion wan-
ders east to Amish country in
Pennsylvania to find the per-
fect quilt that catches his eye.
“The artistry, myriad of
fabrics, and geometric com-
plexity drew me to start col-
lecting,” Kronmiller told The
Nugget. “To me, the Amish
quilts are the gold standard
for quilt making.”
Five unique quilts from
Kronmiller’s collection will
be on display at FivePine
Lodge and Conference Center
through the month of July.
Kronmiller became inter-
ested in fiber arts as a teenager
and majored in visual arts at
the University of Oregon.
“In the late ’70s my sister-
in-law and I visited a quilt
shop near Whitefish, Montana
during one of our family
reunions. And I fell in love
with quilts,” said Kronmiller.
“But just started collecting
them about eight years ago.”
As an art collector for 25
years, he focuses on contem-
porary Western and Native
American art. He collects
paintings, sculptures, ceram-
ics, drawings, and quilts.
“I have a huge art collec-
tion. I sort of had an indirect
relationship to art being in
marketing and advertising,”
Kronmiller said.
When Kronmiller moved
to Central Oregon from
California in 2011, his sister-
in-law introduced him to the
SOQS.
To me, the Amish
quilts are the gold
standard for quilt making.
— Bert Kronmiller
“For me it was like being
a kid in a candy store and I
went bonkers. I make pur-
chases every year,” he said.
A few years ago,
Kronmiller, an Arts Central
board member, met Tracy
Alexander, Sisters Outdoor
Quilt Show’s administrative
manager, who at that time was
in her last year as Art Station
manager for Arts Central in
Bend.
“My first impression of
Bert as a staunch supporter of
the arts came when, after his
first tour of the Art Station, he
bought a GoPro camera for
use in kids’ programming and
promotion. I knew that Bert
was proactive when it came
to supporting art education,”
Alexander said.
Arts Central, Central
Oregon’s arts education and
advocacy organization, closed
in 2016.
Alexander joined SOQS
as the administrative manager
two years ago in a part-time
position. Alexander is also a
quilter who practices in the
Hawaiian applique style of
hand-quilting. In the summer
of 2015 Alexander unexpect-
edly met up with Kronmiller
at Sisters Coffee Co. while
exploring Sisters with her
family.
“I told him I was working
for SOQS, and we chatted
about the importance of quilt-
ing as a unique type of fiber
art that not only looks beau-
tiful, but tells a story. Bert
purchased a quilt that day
and I was so grateful for his
appreciation for fiber arts,”
she said.
Alexander saw him again
last year at the SOQS pur-
chasing more quilts and real-
ized what a growing collec-
tion he had.
“This year, when Jeanette
PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE
Art advocate Bert Kronmiller showcased Amish quilt collection in Sisters.
Pilak, SOQS executive direc-
tor, suggested that we show
Bert’s collection at FivePine
Lodge, I thought it could
tell a unique story ... from a
collector’s point of view,”
Alexander said.
Kronmiller has a few
favorites out of his quilt col-
lection on display.
“I have one of my Amish
quilts, Lone Star Commons,
that is a large quilt,” said
Kronmiller. “I find the
simplicity of their culture
fascinating.”
Kronmiller also collects
quilts from fabric artist Nancy
Cotton, who is represented at
Sunriver Art Gallery. She is
well known for her geomet-
ric quilts. As a retired math
teacher, she always loved
geometry and patterns in
nature.
“One of my Nancy Cotton
quilts on display, ‘Sunflower
Illusions,’ reminds me of col-
orful sunflowers and I bought
it to complement my painting
by Nelson Boren, a Western
watercolorist,” he said.