Quilt National at the Foundry/Cedarhurst

For the last two days, I have been in St. Charles, MO, a beautiful little town on the Missouri River situated a short drive northwest of St. Louis. A friend and I went to see Quilt National being held there from September 25-October 29, 2009. Quilt National is a biennial, international, juried and judged quilt art competition. For more than 26 years, Quilt National has showcased the most exciting and innovative trends in the medium, demonstrating the transformations taking place in the world of quilting. Its purpose was then, and still is, to carry the definition of quilting far beyond its traditional parameters and to promote quilt making as what it always has been--an art form. The entire exhibit is in St. Charles but afterwards it will be divided into three smaller exhibits and begin its two-year world tours. I don't have any pictures to show you, because photography is not allowed; however, I can tell you it is an exhibit you definitely don't want to miss. It consists of 85 art quilts (chosen from a field of over 1,000 entries) and is held at the Foundry Art Centre. This facility has 5,000 square feet of exhibition space in four galleries that features an on-going rotation of special touring exhibitions, curated exhibits and juried competitions. 21 studios for artists have been built on the mezzanine level of the building that allows visitors to see and talk with the artists as they work.

We were fortunate enough to be able to attend a luncheon on Thursday which featured Kathy Loomis (a member of LAFTA--Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists). Kathy has her quilt, Postage 3: Memorial Day in this exhibit. It is made up of over 4,000 individually quilted small flags and was awarded the coveted Quilts Japan Prize during the opening ceremonies. Kathy says, "On 5/26/08 - Memorial Day a year ago - the U.S. military death roll was 4,083. I thought about all those flag-covered coffins and realized they would work well in the "Postage" format (referring to size and shape of individual pieces), which I had already used for non-political quilts. Making it was a terribly emotional experience and I shed more than a few tears as I stitched." To read more of Kathy's thoughts on her art quilts visit Terry Jarrard-Dimond's blog at http://studio24-7.blogspot.com/2009/05/kathy-loomis-awarded-quilts-japan-prize.html.

In addition to being a great place to see quilts, St. Charles has been designated as a Lewis and Clark site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. If you would like a GREAT getaway, where you would be able to see some stunning art quilts, eat at some wonderful restaurants, shop in some very unique shops, and enjoy some beautiful scenery, pack the car and head for St. Charles. (Oh, and if you stay at the Country Inn and Suites, you get warm cookies and hot tea and coffee in the evening and a very nice breakfast in the morning.)

While we were driving back, we stopped at Mt. Vernon, IL. We visited a much more traditional quilt exhibit at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts. Check out Cedarhurst at http://www.cedarhurst.org/. They are hosting their 20th annual Gathering of Quilts from August 8-October 18. They are featuring quilts made by members of the Cedarhurst Quilters Club. Here is a small preview...I'll include more pictures in my next blog entry.

Bits of Broken Glass was machine pieced and hand quilted by Dorothy West Folsom from Mt. Vernon, IL. It is Dorothy’s original kaleidoscope pattern.