Some artists make quilts to sell or give away. Others sew quilts to hang on the walls of galleries.

When Marcia DeCamp made her first quilt in 2001, it was for an old-fashioned reason: to lie on a bed.

DeCamp, of Palmyra, brought the king-size blooming nine patch quilt, along with 55 others, to her trunk show on Sunday at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center.

Her collection included two from the heart, her mother's quilts that were on beds at the home where DeCamp grew up.

“The intent was strictly utilitarian,” she said. “They really got me thinking about quilting as something I wanted to do.”

DeCamp's art quilts have been exhibited at shows throughout New York, Indiana, Massacusetts and in traveling shows.

She also is an exhibitor this year at the Schweinfurth's Quilts=Art=Quilts show, which runs through Jan. 4. DeCamp's presentation on Sunday was part of a series of trunk shows that coincide with the quilt exhibit

Showing how supportive the quilting community is, about a dozen of DeCamp's friends drove from the Rochester area to attend her show.

They are members along with DeCamp of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club and the Rochester Area Fiber Artists.

“We encourage each other as colleagues,” said Pat Pauly, of Pittsford. “Most of our work is done alone, so sometimes you have to come out of that solitude. It helps to bounce ideas off another artist.”

DeCamp, a former business teacher, took her first sewing class about eight years ago.

“The only sewing I had done, if you could call it that, was in home economics class in junior high,” she said.

After her first quilt, DeCamp took more classes and began to grow as an artist. She made “journal” quilts in which the artist makes one quilt a month representing what is going on in his or her life.

DeCamp now takes her inspiration from what she sees around her.

The view from an airplane over central Florida inspired one quilt. Jet trails in the sky she saw while out for a walk inspired another.

“The art is foremost, and the fact that it's in fabric is secondary,” DeCamp said.

She meets regularly with the Rochester area clubs and also belongs to the national Studio Art Quilt Associates.

“Those are clubs with like-minded people,” DeCamp said. “There comes a time when you finish a quilt and wonder if it's any good, so you take it to your friends.”