Avid listeners came to the Tarble Arts Center Friday night to hear Caryl Bryer Fallert, a world-renowned quilt artist, lecture about her featured works.

This was the first time Fallert held an exhibition at Eastern.

She began the lecture by offering a brief display of gratitude for being asked to share her works with all in attendance.

For the next hour, Fallert took the audience members on an interesting and humorous tour, depicting the steps and stages she takes to make her award-winning quilts.

Fallert said she works out of a 1,000 square foot studio built on her farm in Oswego, Ill.

The studio was built to help her manage a more orderly business and to give her spacious area for creating her masterpieces, Fallert said.

“All sewing, photography, shipping and office work takes place in there,” Fallert mentioned.

The artist said she uses three portable computers and a laptop to aid her in the creative process. The computers help Fallert create graphics. She also uses “Corel Draw,” a print and vector drawing program to help her touch things up.

For the most intricate details, Fallert hangs a large sheet of paper on her studio wall so designs from her computer can be printed onto clear acetate, then projected with an overhead projector onto the wall.

“Sometimes it takes longer to design than create,” she explained.

As for the creative process, Fallert says, “I start with a simple idea and the rest just unfolds.”

Fallert began sewing at the age of 10, but it wasn’t until 1983 that she began to mix her artistic talent with her gift of sewing.

Many of Fallert’s ideas stem from a combination of her personal experiences, photographs and her quizzical thoughts.

Fallert wrapped up her lecture by offering time for the audience to ask questions and get a hands-on feel of her work, allowing everyone to see actual quilts she created.

Pat Wislay, a beginner at quilting, said, “I think (Caryl’s) work is incredible, and I will be coming back tomorrow for her workshop.”

Fallert was very satisfied at how her first exhibition at Eastern turned out.

“It’s a great facility with a lot of room to stand back and view the pieces,” she said.

For more information on Fallert’s work, log on to her Web site at www.bryerpatch.com.