Exhibit Opening

The opening of the 44th Mid-States Craft Exhibition was held last night at the Evansville Museum in Evansville, Indiana. It is really exciting to see my pieces hung in a museum. I didn't win any awards, but I feel like a winner by being juried into the exhibit to begin with.

For an all-types-of-media show, I was REALLY pleased to see so much fiber in this exhibit. When I had a piece in the show before, there were only two pieces of fiber in the entire exhibit; there were lots of fiber pieces this year. I took some pictures to share with you. Needless to say, pictures DO NOT do the pieces justice. If you get a chance to see this show in person, by all means go. You won't be sorry.

My piece, "Black, White, and Red All Over," is the first piece you'll see when you come in the door to the exhibit.

I loved where they placed my "Metamorphosis I." It was next to Janie Kegley's "Unaimed Kinetics" ((92 X 92 X 6 inches) at least that is what was on the card--it wasn't 92 inches tall; mixed media and fiber). The pieces really complimented each other. (My piece is the one on the right. It measures 26.25 X 36.5 inches.)

There was lots of color in fiber. Top left-"The Wish" (27 X 31.5 X .3 inches, hand dyed and hand quilted fiber) by Marliese Johnson from Louisville, KY; top right-"Coming Unglued" (23 X 23 X 2 inches, hand dyed and over dyed wool hand hooked on linen) by Renee Ferrell-Dillard from Makanda, IL; bottom-"Messages" (41 X 70 inches, fiber art quilt) by Marti Plager from Louisville, KY.

There were fiber pieces in neutral colors. Top left-"Dissemination" (28 X 23 inches, handwoven wool with rayon, nylon, cotton and metallic) by Laura Nicholson from New Harmony, IN; top right-"Matrix" (26 X 38 inches, framed tapestry weaving created on a hand loom) by Cynthia Martinez from Hudson, OH; bottom-"The Escape" (17.5 X 44.25 inches, fibers) by Lisa Kriner from Berea, KY.

One of the winners last night was a weaving called "Festive Entrance" (76 X 46 X 2 inches) by Philis Alvic from Lexington, KY. It won the $250 Marc Amiguet Schmitt Merit Award. You might think the other piece (on the right) is fiber, but it is a piece of earthenware called "Scrapped: Shawl" (36 X 19 X 19 inches) by EJ Brown from Oxford, OH.

I really loved these next two pieces. On the top is "Thread Chart 6" (18 X 19 inches; found fabric, thread, ink and pencil on linen) by Jean Hess from Knoxville, TN. This was one of the pieces that made me want to see it really close up, so I included a detail picture of this one. On the bottom is "Observe the Rhythm" (36 X 36 X 1.5 inches, wool and silk) by Wendy Franklin from Indianapolis, IN.

These next two pieces were very interesting. I couldn't tell what they were made of until I read the gallery tag next to the pieces. Surface Play is the name of both pieces made by Susan Harrison in collaboration with Conrad Pressma both from New Albany, IN. The pieces are each made of two interwoven digital prints on canvas. They measure 18 X 36 X 24 inches and 14 X 36 X 36 inches.

Here are some of the non-fiber pieces I really liked. Top left-"Beach Landscape" (glass) by Benjammin Johnson from Cicero, IN; top right-"Druzy Agate Necklace" (jewelry) by Mark Needham from Louisville, KY; bottom-"Bench for the Platform at Fashoda Junction" (wood) by Graham Campbell from Smithville, TN. (I have a piece of jewelry made by Mark Needham. I think I picked it up at the gift shop in the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft or at one of the craft shows I attend.

This is a really nice show in a really nice space. There is lots to see at the museum and good places to eat close by. My husband and I really like The Dapper Pig (four minutes away). It is open for lunch and dinner, but it is closed in between--open 10:30-2 for lunch and opens again from 5-9 CENTRAL TIME for dinner on weekdays; Fridays-same hours but open till 10 pm; Saturdays-same hours but open till 1am; Sundays-only open for lunch/brunch 10-2. They are closed on Mondays. Check out the exhibit, go out to eat, make it a day!

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