Australia Wide Five at Paducah

I went to the first fall AQS show in Paducah, KY, just recently. I was anxious to see how this new show would go. I was pleasantly surprised. The show wasn't as big, the crowds weren't as large, and (frankly) it wasn't quite as overwhelming as the spring show. I must say that I really enjoyed it. 

Because the crowds were smaller, it was easier to shop and easier to see and photograph the quilts. I met SEVERAL people who were attending a quilt show in Paducah for the first time (which is what I took as a good sign), and I took a class for the first time in a long time. All in all, I would consider this a good show. I would definitely attend again.

One of the exhibits I really enjoyed was the Australia Wide Five. This exhibit is a juried, touring exhibition showcasing the artwork of members of Ozquilt Network Inc., Australia's organization for art quilters. There was a collection of 39 works reflecting contemporary art quilt practices from across Australia. Each quilt was 16" X 16". Here are a few of them. If you get a chance to see the exhibit, be sure you do it. The quilts are, of course, much cooler in person.

You can click on the pictures to see the description and maker of each quilt. These two quilts (on the right) were made by the same person. Details of each are on the left.

The following four quilts were really interesting. I liked the hand stitching on each of these.

I liked the colors of these quilts. From the more colorful to the tranquil, these quilts didn't disappoint.

Numerous techniques and materials were used in these small quilts--traditional screen printing, discharge screen printing, monoprinting, digital printing, fusing, piecing, appliqué, natural dyeing, hand embroidery, machine stitching, hand stitching, and photo transfer.

 

This last sample had A LOT of threadwork on it. The detail pic at the right is of the quilt on the bottom left.

I was really impressed with this exhibit and think you will be too. I hope you get a chance to view it in person.

24th Annual Juried Art Exhibit

Tonight was the Jasper Community Arts reception and awards presentation for the 24th Annual Juried Art Exhibit at Krempp Gallery in Jasper, Indiana. This is an exhibit of two and three-dimensional artwork by artists from Indiana, its contiguous states, and former residents. The exhibit includes a wide variety of media and techniques: oil, acrylic, prints, photography, collage, fiber, sculpture, mixed media, graphite, and others. I'm VERY happy to announce that the Best of Show was awarded to a fiber piece called "Left Coast" by Kathy Loomis. Congrats Kathy!!! On the left (below), you can see a close up of the piece.

I always like to see fiber in all-media exhibits like this one, and I wasn't disappointed--there were four fiber pieces in this exhibit. That is the most I can ever remember being in this show. All of the fiber pieces were made by members of a group to which I belong--LAFTA (Louisville Fiber and Textile Artists). Kathy had two pieces chosen for this exhibit. Her second piece is "Hot Town". The insert shows it in detail. This is a two-color quilt, but it is REALLY hard to see that in the photograph.

My piece, "Remembrance," was in the exhibit. The quilt really looks cream colored in this picture, but it is actually stark white. It is hand quilted and hand embroidered.

Vickie Wheatley's quilt, "Anxiety Quilt 2-Cutting Corners," was a nice addition to the exhibit. It is machine quilted with VERY close straight-line quilting.

The final fiber piece, "My First Quilt," was made by Debby Levine. She labeled it mixed media. It has hand stitching and what I think is metal attached to what looks like a linen handkerchief.

There were lots of oil and acrylic paintings. Here are a few. (Top--"Promenade in Cologne" by Todd Snyder received an Honorable Mention, "Pray Station 2" by John DenHouter; Bottom--"Hot Springs" and "Resilient" Honorable Mention by Abby Laux)

There was sculpture and other three-dimensional work. (Top--"Snakeskin Stick Box Award of High Honor and "Hanging Stick Box" by Wendi Smith; Bottom--"Music" and "Cosmic Swirl" by Larry Beisler)

There were collages, drawings, mixed media, wood, and other pieces. (Top--"Father Studies II" is steel and wood by Matthew Boonstra, Bottom left to right--"Searching for Joan" is a monotype and received an Honorable Mention Award by Katherine Fries, "Black Widow" (acrylic) by Emily Meyer, and a photograph "Thou Art That" by Stacy Graan. I didn't know lady bugs had hair until I looked at this photo.)

(Left--"April 28" (hydrostone--I have no idea what this is.) by Kerri Mehringer, Top right--"Grey Skies, Blackbird, Rocky Road" (acylic) by Rhonda McEnroe, Bottom right--"My First Quilt" (mixed media) Debby Levine.

(Top--on the left and right are pieces by Curtis Uebelhor, left "Drive-by Archeology Henderson Train Depot" Honorable Mention, right "Latch Key II" (both pieces are mixed media), middle "Anxiety Quilt 2-Cutting Corners" (fiber) by Vickie Wheatley; Bottom--on the left is Kit Miracle's oil painting "Pumpkin Head", on the right is "Mask" Award of Excellence by Michael Nichols. The description said it is "Airbrushed Bruon Fresco on ceramic support.")   

Kremp Gallery is a really nice space, and they had a very nice reception.

There is a lot more art to see at this exhibit (and, of course, pictures don't do the pieces justice). If you get a chance, stop by. If you need hours and/or an address (or any other information about the exhibit) check out the Jasper Art Center website here.

 

Sacred Threads Traveling Exhibition

I was thrilled when I was asked if my quilt, Black Beauties, could travel with the Sacred Threads Traveling Exhibition. Of course, I said, “YES!” I won’t get it back until sometime in 2019, but I think the story of the quilt is important for people to hear. (If you would like to know more about Sacred Threads,  go to the website here.)

I just received word from Sarah Entsminger (the “travel exhibit” contact from Sacred Threads), that the quilts are all in Michigan and have just been hung for their debut exhibit. She added that “the contact at the venue is thrilled with the exhibit, and that their community is very pleased to host the exhibit.” The quilts are currently hanging at the First Presbyterian Church in Flint, Michigan, and will be up through the community-wide Flint Festival of Quilts. It was really fun for me to see what the venue looks like and how the quilts look hanging there. Thanks, Sarah, for sending these photos from the venue. Check them out.

That’s my quilt on the left. If you would like to hear me tell the story of the quilt (in less than 2 minutes), dial the number 1-703-520-6404 and enter 621# when prompted. 

In mid-October the quilts will travel to the Heart Gallery at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Toledo, Ohio, to be part of the region wide celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. This celebration is expected to bring many visitors to this region of Ohio.

From November 1st through the middle of December, the exhibit will be at Grace Episcopal Church in Gainesville, GA. This timeframe includes the 111th Annual Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta being held in Gainesville.  Locations for you to see this exhibit will be updated on the website as new venues are added to the schedule.

These are the locations that have been scheduled thus far.

Flint Festival of Quilts, Flint MI - September 2017
HeART Gallery, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Toledo, OH - October 18-30, 2017
Grace Episcopal Church, Gainesville GA - November 1 - December 15, 2017
Voice of the Spirit Gallery, West Raleigh Presbyterian Church, Raleigh, NC -January - February, 2018
Southeastern Quilt & Textile Museum, Carrollton GA - March-June, 2018
Good Shepard Episcopal Church, Hayesville NC - July, 2018
The Rectory Cultural Arts Center, Norcross, GA - August, 2018
Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg VA - September-December, 2018
Best of the Valley Quilt Show, Lindsay, CA - April, 2019
A World of Quilts , Danbury, CT - May 2019

If you know of a venue that might be interested, you can find the contact information on the Sacred Threads website (link in the first paragraph). It truly is an inspirational show.    

"Extreme Embroidery" Class, August 2017

I recently taught a class on my “Extreme Embroidery” to the Pickin Up the Pieces Quilt Guild. They meet in Cordova, TN, near where my sister lives. We had such a good time. I took some pictures during the class as did one of the class participants. 

Don't you just love a tin filled with embroidery threads? I just HAD to take a picture of that! Take a look at the fabulous “extreme embroidery” pins these girls started.

We sure had a lot of fun.  This is what I saw on my way home. It was too cute not to share it!

Form, Not Function--The Winners

I wrote a blog post about having a quilt juried into the Form, Not Function Exhibit at The Carnegie Center for Art & History in New Albany, IN. You can check that out here. Today, I had a chance to revisit the exhibit with the SAQA IN (Studio Art Quilt Associates, Indiana). First, we met for lunch at The Exchange Pub & Kitchen in New Albany. From there, we took a quick look at the exhibit and headed to a meeting room for a SAQA IN meeting. (We did go back and spend a bit more time viewing the exhibit after the meeting.) What a nice day!

SAQA IN was well represented in this exhibit. Emily Bogard has a piece in the exhibit called “Layla the Layered Layer.” Her piece was given the Award of Excellence in Memory of Textile Artist Alma Lesch. Her piece is made of canvas, screen, recycled fabric, men’s ties, paper, and thread. It is placed above an air register, so the “feathers” constantly flutter. (I told Emily today that it is just the perfect place for the piece.)

  My piece, “Scorched Earth,” was given the Inspired by Nature Award. (I was thrilled!)  

Peggy Brown’s quilt, “Alike, but Not the Same II” was awarded an Honorable Mention. Her’s is a painted art quilt that is machine quilted.  

I wanted to “plug” the exhibit a bit, because you still have time to see it. It will be available until September 16, 2017. I might be a bit prejudiced (because I have a piece in the exhibit), but I feel like it is a really good show. Here are the remaining winners from this year’s exhibit.   The Best of Show Award was given to Niraja Lorenz’s “Strange Attractor #20.”  

Sandra Palmer Ciolino’s “Precaria #8: Crucible” (on the left)was chosen for an Award of Excellence as was Paulette Landers’ “The Ups & Downs of Uncertainty (on the right).”  

  The Creative Use of Stitching Award was given to Michele Hardy for "Geoforms Fractures #6."

The Award for Political and Social Commentary was given to Jennifer Reis for “Portrait of a Young Man: Trump in Drag.”  

The remaining Honorable Mention awards were given to Erika Carter (on the bottom right) for “Refresh IV,” Liz Kuny (on the top right) for “A440,” and Anne Parker (left) for “Chichi.”

There are many more FABULOUS quilts at this show. You might recognize some of the artists--Betty Busby, Susan Lenz, and others. If you live anywhere close to the exhibit (or would like to take a nice trip to New Albany, Indiana), give this show a look. (You can get directions to The Carnegie Center for Art and History on their website here.)  

Retreat--Nashville, IN (1)

I am blessed to have the chance to attend several retreats during the year. Right now, I'm in Nashville, Indiana, for a retreat. These ladies meet at the Cornerstone Inn twice a year. Nashville is such a pretty little town with lots of shops and restaurants. I enjoy the retreat, I enjoy visiting with friends, and I enjoy shopping and eating here in Nashville.

This retreat is a good mix of people from Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and (I'm sure) other states. Everyone works on their own projects. Several of the ladies work on charity quilts and Quilts of Valor. There is usually one or more product/technique demonstrations going on in the room at any given time. There are many stories told and lots of laughter coming from our room during our time there.

Let me share a few pictures with you from the last couple of days.

We started out with spool cookies complete with needle and thread.

So far, I have finished six of my 365 Project blocks I brought with me. I have another project going, but it is a secret--shhhhhh...

Robin finished a wedding quilt and a baby quilt (for different people).

Jan finished a charity top.

Bernice finished a quilt she said she has been working on "for awhile."

Sissy brought back a project she had worked on at the retreat last January.

We always enjoy going out to eat and doing a "little" shopping in Nashville.

There are lots of other things being completed; it is hard to get pictures of them all. I'm hoping to get some pictures during Show & Tell (if we have one), so I can share some more with you in the next few days.