Art Quilt Exhibit in Poway 12-14-13

Friend Liz Williams and I drove down to Poway Center for the Performing Arts in Poway, CA., to attend the opening of the "Fiber Reactions" exhibit from SCalifornia members of SAQA.  The postcard lists thirty artists, but I didn't see work from several of them.  Most showed two quilts, usually in the same style.  They have, I suppose, found their "voice".   I think every possible surface design technique was shown - lots of hand-dyed fabric and hand stitching along with machine work. 
Here are a few quilts that I admired - I will show I few more on another day.

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy has an unusual sense of humor which always causes me to laugh out loud,
 

An extra treat was the view out the two story windows onto the "piazza" with the red sweet gum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua). 
 

At one point there was a huge gust of wind and the air was full of swirling red leaves - gorgeous.

Supporting Quilt Related Organizations + Portals 12-13-13

Here is a commentary from Luana Rubin of eQuilter that I copied from their e-mail ad some time last summer. The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles was able to come up with the money they needed to stay open and are continuing their mission to introduce people to quiltmaking and support quilters everywhere. As Luana says, "..even $5 helps", but deciding which organization to help with the $5 is a hard decision. My involvement with Visions Art Museum: Contemporary Quilts and Textiles is well known and I encourage others to support this outstanding venue for the quilts being made today. www.visionsartmuseum.org They are holding their own, but it takes a lot of strategic planning and penny pinching. If you hold dear the place of quilts and quiltmaking in your life, give a little, or a lot, to help worthy organizations over this yawning funding gap. I have decided to support Visions Art Museum, Alliance for American Quilts, Virginia Quilt Museum, and the Pacific Northwest Art School in Coupeville, WA. Check out your favorite quilt supporting organizations and decide which you would like to support with your $5. Or more!   Del

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From eQuilter e-mail ad:

Lately I've been working with board members of various organizations, brainstorming how to raise funds so they can upgrade equipment, attract new members, and thrive without constant financial stress.

As I mentioned last week, I am working with SAQA and Andover Fabrics on a fundraising design project.  I accepted an invitation a few months ago to sit on the development committee of the Boulder Philharmonic, and it has been interesting to look at the fundraising topic from another angle.  Recently crowd funding has been a popular and usually successful way to raise funds for projects, such as the recent (successful!) fundraiser for the Tentmakers of Cairo documentary.

Yesterday Karey Bresenhan posted a very humble plea for support to raise $ on Indiegogo for the Texas Quilt Museum to buy a new projector system so they can host programs at the Museum. (see my blog for this post) A smart investment for TQM! 
Just this morning I received a e-newsletter from the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, that they are in need of emergency funds. I hope they will get a crowd funding page up soon so we can all pitch in whatever amount is possible!

I really respect and admire those who sit on these boards, and who try to figure out how the heck to raise money to keep these organizations afloat. Raising membership fees or ticket prices is not always the answer - if you lose members because of the higher fees, then you are right back in the same hole.

So I just wanted to salute those who are working so hard behind the scenes, (as volunteers mostly!) to keep all the museums, non-profits, quilt exhibits, conferences, and other events in the black - i.e. with balanced budgets. It is not only our lawmakers who struggle with this issue!
Our Wonderful World of Quilting is a microcosm, and our leaders are privately wrestling with the same budget issues that the politicians are wrestling with publicly in the Macrocosm.

If you have a moment to visit one of those crowd funding pages, remember that even $5 helps, if 1000 people each give $5 or whatever they can afford. These organizations are incredibly rich sources of creative inspiration and technical design information for all of us, so your $5, $10, $50 or more will give you a rich return on your investment. I am going to go make a donation right now!

Sharing your Passion for Fabric...   Luana and Paul     [Rubin - of eQuilter]

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Garage Doors - Placentia, CA  08-15-13

Wordy Wednesday - After the sun set over the Pacific 12-11-13

When I drove home from San Diego yesterday there was this huge "ship" of clouds reflecting the sun which was already under the horizon.  The bright yellow streak at bottom right is the reflection of the sun on the underside of the clouds.

 
Click to enlarge.
 

This picture shows the ocean as a violet grey color.

The small white bump at botton right is a doppler antenna.
 

Monday Browsing & Portals 12-09-13

A playlist of vintage fashion reels from the YouTube channel Vintage Fashions. Taken from the British Pathe.     https://www.youtube.com/playlist?annotation_id=annotation_274320&feature=iv&list=PLC916D4214A951AC9&src_vid=25xA3SNCb18

“Go Tell it at the Quilt Show” – Video interviews with quilters from the Alliance for the American Quilt.  “One quilt, one person, one camera, three minutes,  another story saved.”   If you hover your mouse indicator over the listing on the right you can see who the interviewee will be on that segment.  Hollis Chatelain does one about her “new technique” which is a variation of San Blas style reverse appliqué.   https://www.youtube.com/user/QuiltAlliance?feature=csp-in-feed

 Time for Xmas tamales:  http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-places-to-buy-tamales-in-oc/

A special installment of “Hawaii 50” which includes info about the internment of Japanese American citizen in Hawaiian concentration camps.  http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=n9hdpzaab&v=001cQDW1aEI0uXpX1SCpXD5BlZaHtTL_Gj2dj1kFN8IlMS_ZktyUqNJeI2Zgvd8Sj6AayVBCqCEGeln0VXZN6lS95CAqC4muXxFWgzUs-kKN7byfyPEexhsF_eEoc6DF4DY1fA7S3X-2nF1U889_3BPTg%3D%3D

Workspaces of 40 famously creative people,  including Gerrie Congdon’s daughter Lisa. http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/40-inspiring-workspaces-of-the-famously-creative

 

Two new additions to TCQC 12-08-13

This is a Quilt - Part II
I purchased three of the samples from SAQA's 2011 trunk show and showed two at:
http://www.delquilts.blogspot.com/2013/12/this-is-quilt-12-01-13.html
Tonight I am showing the other two pieces.

 
Pamela Allen did not name this piece, but since I have a problem with untitled items in TCQC I have named it "Knotted".  I suppose it could be "depth" or "dimension" or "corded" or "recycled", but knotted came into my head first. 

"Knotted"  2011  Pamela Allen - Kingston, Ontario, Canada   Matted to 8"x8"  11-28-13

I think Pamela's work is amazing.  How does she just sit down with scissors, fabric, and thread and come up with such interesting images and techniques?  There are six or seven of her quilts in the Collection and I treasure every one of them.

DETAIL "Knotted" 2011 Pamela Allen - Kingston, Ontario, Canada Matted to 8"x8" 11-28-13

 

DETAIL "Knotted"  2011 Pamela Allen - Kingston, Ontario, Canada Matted to 8"x8" 
11-28-13

How many times have you heard me say I don't buy quilts that need to be boxed separately - that cannot be rolled?  Well, sometimes I do.  I have another piece by Susan Else which resides in a dedicated box when not on the wall.  Sometimes I can't resist something that "speaks" to me. 

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13
This came from SAQA in the Lucite box - very cleverly held upright by tiny holes in the bottom through which stitches are taken into the lady's posterior.  I will keep her in the box, somehow it seems appropriate.
There are four views here, one into each side of the box. 
 

 "Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

 
"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

Susan is very good at getting realistic body language into her work.   Love the hair.

Visions Art Museum - "Recent Acquistions from TCQC" 12-07-13

I drove to San Diego on Friday so I could be at the Museum for First Friday when there is sometimes a great crowd of people taking advantage of the free admission to museums and galleries.  However, it was very cold and windy and we recorded only about half the usual attendance.  It was fun being in the gallery and hearing the comments of the visitors.  We are still giving out ballots for everyone to vote for their favorite quilt and they all seem to look more closely and ponder the quilts to decide on just one that they like the best.  When the exhibit is over I'll let you know whose quilt gathered the most votes.

I spent the night at a local motel and prepared for my gallery walk/talk at 2pm.  It had sprinkled some in the morning and it was cold and windy.  About 1:15pm I looked out and it was pouring rain and the wind was whipping it sideways at times.  So, I was amazed and gratified that about 40 people came to the talk, which was a fundraiser for the Museum.  They were a very good audience and listened attentively.  I had told them before starting that my voice was not very strong, but I would speak as loudly as I could.  When the talking and walking were over many stayed to visit with friends and with me until we closed the doors at 4pm.  Altogether a lovely afternoon looking at and talking about quilts.  If you were not able to attend and would like a tour, call the museum to see if one can be scheduled.  619-546-4872  I am usually not available on Tuesdays.  


Here are three of the quilts as they are displayed.  Beth Smith, the Museum Director did the layout and it flows beautifully through the gallery.

"Desert Sands"  2013  Dena Dale Crain - Kenya, Africa  33.25"W x 29.25"L
On the left in the picture above is "Desert Sands" by Dena Dale Crain who lives in Kenya and travels to different countries to teach her quilt making methods.  I met her at Quilt National last May and she mentioned that she had some quilts with her.  Of course, I wanted to see them and this one spoke right up and said "buy me"!  It is made from silk tussah and dusted with gold foiling.  

"Quenching Rain"  2007  Melody Johnson - Palmer, TN 16.5W x 16.75"L 
In the middle in the picture at the top is Melody Johnson's "Quenching Rain" made after the end of a drought in Tennessee.  Melody had started using some commercial prints in her work, but for this one she couldn't find polka dots in the colors she wanted, so she cut out the dots and fused them to the background color - the lavender on dusty orange, the black on the orange at top, and the red-orange dots  on the green/yellow on the right.  The little trees are also cut out and fused on and the rain drops are hand stitched.  If you look closely at the blue rectangle in the center you can see a quilted puddle.  Such a colorful representation of welcome rain. 

"Nature's Lace"  2011 Lisa Jenni  Redmond, WA  36"w x 24"L
I apologize for the color here - it is a very green quilt and not as dark as this. Lisa made this for the quilt auction presented by the Association of Pacific West Quilters, but the auction had to be postpone and done online, which was not the original intent.  I was thrilled to have the winning bid because I had been waiting for the auction for over a year.  Her inspiration was a postcard sent by her daughter traveling in northern Australia.  The quilt shows beautifully the light shining through the palm fronds and Lisa's technique is wonderful.