Pacific International Quilt Festival is an annual show presented by the Mancuso brothers in Santa Clara, CA, near San Jose. I used to attend every year, but for several years have had scheduling conflicts and have missed it. It is quite a good show with hundreds of quilts in the judged competition and many, many special exhibits, from the World contest down to people like the ArtStream group from San Diego. The Art Stream group has only eight members and we have been working on this exhibit challenge for about two years. Some members finished their quilts well over a year ago and I finally finished mine last month. There is always a poky person in every group, isn't there? Anyway the quilts were finished and I drove them up here on Tuesday and was there when the guy crew hung them and I pinned up the labels. Easy job.
I had some trouble editing the pictures I took, but I seem to have succeeded at last and post them below with titles, artist, etc., This is our first exhibit in a quilt show, although we have shown quilts at San Diego galleries. These quilts plus a companion piece from each member are scheduled for an exhibit at Visions Art Museum in 2019 from April 20 to July 7.
The theme is "Urban Elements" and each quilt is 24" wide by 36" long. I think the reason they look different lengths is where the sleeves are put on. The area they are hanging is on the outside perimeter of the room and it bends, so they are not all visible at once. Here is the beginning on the left hand side.
And here is the other end. The labels are hung at different distances because behind the drapes is a storage area that needs to be accessed where the drapes meet. So, I hung the labels so they are close to the quilt and not on a place where the openings are.
"Checker Cab Company" Deb Mackay Hand-dyed (by artist) fabrics, linoleum cut printing with acrylic paint, machine quilting.
"My grandfather owned stock in Checker Motors Company, but sold it after the October 29,1929, stock market crash. My dad would tell me that we would be wealthy people if only his dad had kept the stock. I have always had an affinity for Checker Cabs when I am in the city. They have been an important moving element of the urban setting."
"Glass Ceiling" Ellen Spellman Hand-dyed (by the artist) and commercial fabrics, machine piecing, machine and hand applique, machine quilting.
"Contemporary architecture brings modern art to life in urban settings. Frank Gehry's iconic buildings unfurl, bend, twist and soar from their urban roots, flaunting unusual materials and assembled in collage-like forms. They stop me in my tracks and make me smile. My quilts honors one of his ceilings, full of windows and curved to meet the sky, a ceiling to look up to in wonder. I took liberties with the design, but the intent was to capture in some way the beauty and surprise of the original."
"Summer in the City" Andrea Bacal Hand-painted (by artist) canvas mixed with canvas reproduction of artist's hand-painted canvas, hand-dyed (by artist) and commercial fabrics, machine piecing, fused applique, machine quilting. "I had previously painted a canvas with textile paints, and wanted to use the images from it. I had several images printed by Fabric on Demand. I used this new fabric to create the piece, recreating the feeling I always have when listening to the 1966 Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the City."
"Birds in the City" Del Thomas Commercial, batik, and hand-dyed fabrics, fussed applique, machine quilting. ""Since I am not an urban dweller and avoid cities, I tried to think of something in a city I do enjoy. Sitting in a park and observing the natural environment surrounded by birds, trees, flowers, and water sources is my first pick. So, all these are shown in my quilt."
"Reflections" Carol Sebastian-Neely Commercial fabrics (painted by artist), hand-dyed (by artist) fabrics, fused applique, painting on paper fused to organza to create mono print, machine quilting. "Reflections was inspired by a photograph of buildings looking down at the cool flowing waters moving below them. Lights glowing under the surface. Linear elements reaching skyward. Tiny windows keeping life secrets within.
"Rockefeller's Flags V - Atlas" Nelda McComb Commercial fabrics, embellished with ink, machine applique, hand quilting. "Trips to NYC have inspired a series called Rockefeller's Flags. The Center is lined with beautiful flags, hence the birth of six quilts extolling Rockefeller's flags."
"Midtown Massif" Judy Warren Tippets Commercial fabrics, embellished with pen,ink and specialty thread, fused applique, machine quilting. "My inspiration comes from a photo my husband took in the High Sierra. The massive granite ridge of the Minarets more than hints of a great city rising abruptly at water's edge. Midtown Massif transforms the multi-pinnacled Minarets into a fantasized urban skyline."
"STOP" Michalee Sloan Commercial batiks and over-dyed fabrics, machine applique, machine quilting. "I am always thinking about my art projects on my commute in the Southern California traffic. Images of stop signs and stop lights became part of the graphic shapes as they are traffic icons. Windows and scaffolding appearing in layers. Red to emphasize the brake lights and stress often present in urban life."
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PIQF ends tomorrow and I will spend the day looking at the quilts and trying to find places to sit down to rest once in a while. When the show closes at 4pm I can take down the quilts and drive back to Mary's. Then I will drive home to Placentia and my KoKo dog on Monday.
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