Nashauna Drummond, Lifestyle Coordinator

Quilt maker Brenda Kaye Sivils shows off one of her designs. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

Brenda Kaye Sivils would not describe herself as an artist, but her creations are definitely works of art. Sivils makes art quilts that are simply picture perfect.

Thirteen years ago, this Arkansas native and her husband made Jamaica their home. A year later, she joined a sewing club, which was more about being among the women than sewing.

In 2000, a member of the club persuaded her to try her hand at quilting a pineapple. The outcome wasn't pretty and Sivils was about to throw up her hands and give up. However, her friend sat with her and they pulled everything out and started from scratch.

Happy with that achievement, once home, Sivils looked at the paintings she had in her home and thought: 'I wonder if I could do that'. Well, she did, and you would not be able to tell the difference between the originals and her quilts. This from someone who admits: "I was never artistic as a child."

Skilful reproductions

At first, she only made quilts for her grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends. It takes Sivils about 40-45 hours to complete each quilt and she has skilfully reproduced all the paintings in her home along with some original cranium creations. How many has she made so far? "When I hit 50, I stopped keeping count," she told Flair.

On October 5, Sivils staged her first art quilt show. "It was a Sunday afternoon and it rained all day. About 30 persons showed up, but I had a very good sale." The show was a year in the making, after she took one of her pieces to be framed and got the idea to put on a show.

For Sivils, quilting is a great way of relieving stress, and when her husband is away on business you will find her quilting day and night, indulging in her passion. According to Sivils, "sometimes you don't find what you like to do until you're old".