Visitors to the Kalona Historical Village have had access to a temporary display of Dr. Carmon Slater’s quilts since spring; on Sept. 27-28, during Fall Festival, they will be able to experience the quilts on another level when the artist himself speaks at 1 p.m. in the quilt gallery both days.

Dr. Slater, who has Iowa roots, having earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Iowa and served as vice-chair of the Iowa Arts Council, will be traveling from his home in Colorado to Kalona for festival weekend to share more about his art and process with those who are interested.

“I think it will be cool having him come since he’s originally from Iowa,” Nancy Roth, managing director of the Kalona Historical Village, said. “It will be exciting to meet him.”

This will be the first time a guest speaker will be flown into Kalona to speak about his work at Fall Festival. At a previous festival, historian Mike Zahs presented on his feed sack exhibit on display, however, Zahs is local to the area.

Dr. Slater’s quilts are a departure from tradition. Bold colors, nontraditional techniques, and contemporary themes define his work. Those who view his quilts expecting log cabin, eight-pointed star, or pinwheel designs in calico prints may be taken by surprise.

“This is definitely something completely different,” Roth confirmed.

His background as a scientist has informed his work, as have other modern visual artists, such as Jackson Pollock.

“My creative foundation comes out of the idea that the real, but seemingly abstract, relationship between the macroscopic and microscopic world is a constant force in our lives,” Dr. Slater writes in his artist’s statement. “I am concerned about the interrelationship of all organisms in their environment and the importance of each within the context of that environment.”

He explores this relationship through his unique approach to materials and technique in quilt making.

“I utilize both old and new artistic techniques, approached with a contemporary twist,” he writes. “Contrasts are explored, lines are direct or subtle, an organic rhythmic flow. There is always an integration of color, pattern, form, and line quality, which creates visual language and metaphor regardless of the medium I am working in.”

Fall Festival will be the last opportunity visitors will have to see the exhibit of Dr. Slater’s quilts in Kalona; following the festival, they will be packed up and shipped back to Colorado, and a new quilt exhibit will take their place.

Take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about a contemporary quilt artist by attending Dr. Slater’s lecture at 1 p.m. on both Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28 at the quilt gallery inside the visitors center at the Kalona Historical Village. The lecture is included with Fall Festival admission.