A Wonderful, Wonderful Fiber Arts Day

I had the most wonderful experience this past week--I got to attend the opening reception for an exhibit of a friend of mine, and I got to meet a fiber artist I have admired for a long time. If you live near Louisville, you can check out my friend's exhibit too. It is being held at the Wayside Expressions Gallery at the Wayside Christian Mission in Louisville. Works of Art by Siblings, Karen "Karoda" Davis and Ronald "Upfromsumdirt" Davis, "Unfamiliar Familial" Exhibition will be on display through October 2, 2012. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. or by appointment. The gallery is located at Hotel Louisville, 120 West Broadway in Louisville. Here is a picture of me with Karen "Karoda" Davis at her opening reception. I asked her to pose with me in front of her favorite quilt. She said, "CURRENTLY, this is my favorite quilt." (Don't we all have trouble choosing a favorite? It is like being asked to choose a favorite child.) This quilt is intricately painted, densely stamped, and hand stitched--really interesting.

While I was at the exhibit, Karen was talking about how she came to create this quilt. I LOVE quilts with good stories. I asked Karen to send me the "story" of the quilt. I found this one really interesting; I hope you do too. Karen had this to say about the quilt.

"These are the boats carrying us up to heaven" is the full name of the quilt. It began the day after I watched Amy Goodman on FSTV cover the protest against the execution of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia. I had been following the story for a few years as his sister had been working for his defense for many many years all while battling cancer (she died shortly after his execution). I was glued to the TV for five hours hoping for the execution to be lifted at the last minute. Sadly it wasn't. The next morning I awoke early to head to the studio with the intentions of doing something else (I can't recall what now), but while clearing off my print table I heard the phrase "these are the boats carrying us up to heaven" (I call this hearing with the poet's ear). It made me pause, waiting for meaning...but nothing more...so my thinking was it had to be related to Troy Davis, and I wanted to explore it with the hopes that more would be revealed to me as I worked on it. Pair this with me turning to my box of found objects I use for stamping and there is the photo stand in the shape of the boat." Karen ended up using the photo stand as a stamp to make the boat shape. It is a lovely quilt. At her exhibit, you will have the opportunity to view several of her quilts along with some mixed media pieces by her brother.

The artist I have admired for a long time and finally got to meet is Penny Sisto. She was kind enough to invite me to her home/studio. She was so generous to share her time and techniques with me. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her. If you are not familiar with her work, you can check it out here. You can see some of her work in person now through October 7, 2012, at the Artisan Center in Corydon, Indiana. For more info on that exhibit, click here. She also told me she has eight new pieces at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft in Louisville and that the exhibit is up through the end of September. Penny also had a picture taken with Karoda and her quilt.

I'm hoping for many, many more of these wonderful fiber arts days!