Nine art quilts worth almost $6,000 have been stolen from an exhibit in a Vancouver church.

Artists Katie Stein Sather and Karen Johnson discovered on Sunday that nine of their art quilts – about half of the pieces set for display – were stolen from their art exhibition at the Vancouver Unitarian Church on West 49th Avenue.

"We were both absolutely stunned," Johnson told CBC News. "It was very difficult yesterday, with people coming in and having to tell them more than half the show was gone."

Sather said that she is worried the works have been damaged, as the hanging rods used to display the pieces were still in place, suggesting that the thief forcibly took the art pieces.

"We wonder if they took a knife and sliced them off," Sather explained. "They also took the book of descriptions and price lists which really makes us think they will try and resell them."

It takes at least a hundred hours to complete an art quilt, said Johnson.

Parish minister Steven Epperson said that while he does not know how the artworks could have been stolen, the Church may have been too trusting of people.

"I think there's some desperate people out there and if they see an organization that is vulnerable they'll exploit it," Epperson said.

Epperson revealed that the Church will be improving its security following the theft and it is looking into whether the theft will be covered by insurance.

Sather has posted pictures of the stolen art on Facebook and on a website dedicated to lost and stolen quilts. Johnson, on the other hand, hopes that the thief or thieves would return the stolen pieces.

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