Mary’s ‘quiet’ influence lives on
Grand exhibit seeks fiber artists to help continue legacy
Cathy Hartten helps arrange fabric bundles and colorful quilting supplies on tables in Oct. 2023. (Photos by Chris Hartten)
Avid quilter Mary Hartten, died in April 2023 leaving her unused fabric to The Grand Center for Arts and Culture. The Grand, along with Hartten’s family, is planning an art exhibit paying tribute Mary by featuring pieces created with her donated fabric.
Abundant fabrics fill the room at The Grand during the weekend sale event in 2023. (Photos by Chris Hartten)
The Grand and Hartten family members stand with a table full of fabric at Oct. 2023 fabric sale, overjoyed with the results from the event. Maggie Schwab, Chris Hartten, Barb Pagel, Anne Makepeace, Cathy Hartten, Randy Hartten (L-R). File photo by Dan Olson
People wait by the dozens outside The Grand before the Mary Hartten fabric sale in Oct. 2023. Chris Hartten said there was a crowd outside 30 minutes before the sale began. File photo by Dan Olson
Cathy Hartten (left) and Randy Hartten (right) walk up to and embrace old friend Michaela Lynaugh (center). During the Grand’s Oct. 2023 sale of Mary Hartten’s fabric. File photo by Dan Olson
Mary Hartten’s ‘Unfinished Piece’—a glimpse at the book both folded and spread out, revealing the quilted squares, meticulous stitching, and ironing on the backs. Binding is intentionally absent, letting the work breathe on its own. (photos by Randy Hartten)
Cathy Hartten helps arrange fabric bundles and colorful quilting supplies on tables in Oct. 2023. (Photos by Chris Hartten)
Avid quilter Mary Hartten, died in April 2023 leaving her unused fabric to The Grand Center for Arts and Culture. The Grand, along with Hartten’s family, is planning an art exhibit paying tribute Mary by featuring pieces created with her donated fabric.
Abundant fabrics fill the room at The Grand during the weekend sale event in 2023. (Photos by Chris Hartten)
The Grand and Hartten family members stand with a table full of fabric at Oct. 2023 fabric sale, overjoyed with the results from the event. Maggie Schwab, Chris Hartten, Barb Pagel, Anne Makepeace, Cathy Hartten, Randy Hartten (L-R). File photo by Dan Olson
People wait by the dozens outside The Grand before the Mary Hartten fabric sale in Oct. 2023. Chris Hartten said there was a crowd outside 30 minutes before the sale began. File photo by Dan Olson
Cathy Hartten (left) and Randy Hartten (right) walk up to and embrace old friend Michaela Lynaugh (center). During the Grand’s Oct. 2023 sale of Mary Hartten’s fabric. File photo by Dan Olson
Mary Hartten’s ‘Unfinished Piece’—a glimpse at the book both folded and spread out, revealing the quilted squares, meticulous stitching, and ironing on the backs. Binding is intentionally absent, letting the work breathe on its own. (photos by Randy Hartten)
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NEW ULM — The Grand Center for Arts and Culture is inviting people who bought fabric at the 2023 memorial sale for New Ulm quilter Mary Hartten to participate in an upcoming exhibit.
Submissions are being sought for Picking Up the Piecework: A Legacy of Creativity Through the Lens of Mary Hartten, which will open Friday, March 27, 2026, at the Four Pillars Gallery.
Olivia Norquist, Marketing and Programming Coordinator at The Grand, said entries are not limited to traditional quilts.
“Any fiber art created from Mary’s fabric is welcome, including wall hangings, garments, art pieces, or other textile projects,” said Norquist.
Chris Hartten, Mary’s daughter, said many fiber artists share her mother’s reluctance to call themselves artists.
“Part of the reason why we want to do this show is to have other community members, other quilters, other fiber artists out there see themselves as artists,” Chris Hartten said. “They’re in their homes making these pieces of art, and they don’t even consider themselves as artists.”
Mary herself never saw herself as an artist, but her daughter said her work told a different story.
“One time she had a large quilt across her lap and was tearing out all her seams,” Chris Hartten said. “It was just a little crooked, but she rebuilt the whole thing.”
In her 25 by 13 foot sewing room with color coordinated cabinets, Mary kept track of every fabric scrap. Even during her final year at Vista Prairie at Ridgeway, she could direct her daughter o any piece by memory.
“She was very detail oriented,” Chris Hartten said. “We finally told her she needed to start thinking of herself as an artist.”
Mary had long questioned what would happen to her fabric collection.
The answer came through her Mary Hartten's connection to The Grand, where she was a supporter.
“We wanted it to stay local and to benefit The Grand,” Chris said. “We are fortunate to have such an art center in New Ulm and want to help sustain its financial health.”
The 2023 memorial sale filled the first floor of The Grand. When the doors opened, the line extended down the block. In six hours, the event raised $10,000.
“Mary was wondering what to do with it, and they decided this would be a place that could benefit. And indeed we did,” Grand executive John Kellen said. “It was a community event even then.”
Months later, Chris Hartten and Kellen began discussing an exhibit.
“Wouldn’t it be great to do something else?” Kellen said. “Not just have the sale, but how can you create a legacy with that material?”
The exhibit will include new works created from Mary’s fabric as well as pieces she made herself. One quilt, left unfinished on her living room floor, was completed by a friend as a tribute.
Mary’s children also commissioned a letterpress book that includes 54 of her quilt squares mounted on individual sheets. The Grand plans to display it during the exhibit.
Kellen said the exhibit is about more than quilts.
“The most influential people are the ones who are quiet,” he said. “They influence by their work. Mary’s legacy will continue to inspire new generations of artists.”
Quilters and fiber artists who purchased fabric at the sale are encouraged to submit one piece for inclusion.
Submission dates are Thursday, March 12, 2026, and Saturday, March 14, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The exhibit runs through April. Artists will receive 70 percent of the sale price for any works sold, with The Grand receiving 30 percent.
For more information, contact Olivia Norquist at 507-359-9222.