Quilt Festival - Long Beach 08-03-11

A perennial exhibit at all venues of the Quilt Festival, "Celebrate Spring" does indeed celebrate Spring!

http://www.cynthialvogt.com/index.php 

So simple, so elegant - the silk gives a glow that can only be seen when viewed "in-the-fabric".

Doesn't this just make you smile?  Hiroko has created such a realistic image it is hard to believe it is not a photograph. 

Great thread painting makes Ponta's coat look like actual fur.

What a cutie!  Having Natsumi wearing pink makes the blossoms even pinker.  Notice the rhythmic quilting in the background over Natsumi's head.
 

 
http://www.sharonlschlotzhauer.com/

The details make this quilt a standout.  36.5"W x 44"L

I think Sharon may use the same method that I do - quilt the background first, then do the applique.  The flowers are fused and the edges stitched then quilted.  Embellishments added as the last step.

This is the perfect fabric for the flower - did she paint it?  Or is it a commercial print? 

Wonderful thread painting - I wanted to reach out and pet this little guy.

http://www.mckieart.com/

 
44"W x 52.25"L
This handsome guy is another marvellous piece from Barbara McKie who made the puppy I posted last night.  She has refined her technique to fade out the background and accent the bird.  There are applique edges, but she does them so skillfully they are very difficult to find.

More thread painting for the feathers.  I believe I saw more thread painting this year than ever before.

Quilt Festival - Long Beach 08-02-11

I don't know if there were more than the usual number of quilts depicting animals, or if I just noticed them more this year.  Here are some I think are outstanding.

Barbara McKie has developed her technique to amazing perfection.  There were quite a few of her works in this show and each is exquisitely thread painted.  Barbara does commissions and shows several of these special works on her website:  http://www.mckieart.com/ 

 

This is a photograph of Preston printed on fabric and thread painted using very fine threads.  33"W x 27.5"L

I hope this detail will show you some of the stitched lines.  Click to enlarge.

I suppose that "stitch painting" is the same as "thread painting".  Approximately 30" square.

http://www.fibreartnetwork.com/artists-gallery.php?artist=5

The right side of the quilt is actually squared up - the angle of my photo distorts it.  The group of sheep in the lower right corner are done with fusing - interesting effect of using various greys for these figures.

The rectangles in the background are fused. 

A disembodied wing with wonderful feathers drawn with the quilting lines.  Approx. 30" x 18"

 

This is a different sort of batik work that I am not familiar with.

Notice the little hand stitches in the eyes for the "glint".  Both hand and machine quilting was used.

http://www.goddu.com/carol.html

Another great owl quilt.  Hard for me to decide which owl to show as a detail.  All are amazing.

 

What a personality!  Click to enlarge.

Quilt Festival - Long Beach 08-01-11

I don't remember in past years a Special Exhibit of quilts with text on them, but I don't remember a lot of things these days.  I enjoyed this exhibit and am intrigued by the way the artists used the text to develop their idea.  

This beautifully made quilt definitely deserved better lighting.  The stem stitched used for the text is perfect

There are many fascinating details and the pastel swirlies give just the hint of color needed.

I have not always been a fan of Therese May.  I don't know how many years (decades) ago she broke all the rules and starting putting paint on her quilts - puff paint!  Horrors!  As a traditional quilter I was quite honestly appalled.  But as she has developed her style over the years it has grown on me (and a lot of other people with more art "taste" than I have) and now I enjoy her quilts very much.  On top of that I have myself used puff paint on quilts!  If it gives the effect the artist is looking for, perhaps anything goes. 

With the exception of the square in the middle, the entire surface of this quilt has om-ma written in puff paint.  It gives a rich, baroque look to the surface and draws viewers in to see the details.

The center is like an entirely different work of art, although a few "om ma"s sneak in.  The little dots that look like regularly spaced beads are all puff paint and the "eyes" are made of polymer clay. 

The dots along the left edge are actual beads sewn on.

A lot of thought and a lot of work went into this fascinating statement about the vagaries of truth.

Between the horizontal sections are dowels - painted and imprinted with "read between the lines".

Each of these op art squares (from Lunn Studios, I think) has a stitched saying.  This one is "Promise Me".

"Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire"

Deb and Kris are a creative partnership that zings with new ideas and ways to apply images to fiber.  At the SAQA conference in Denver I enjoyed a very short introduction to their class on Photoshopping images for quilts.  I hope to someday take one of their classes - maybe they will set fire to my creative spirit.

 

These are not individual strips of fabric, but strips of text that have been been combined, Photoshopped and printed in groups on fabric.  Very effective.