"Indigo" Goes Up Tomorrow

Mountain Rill detail

Mountain Rill

Tomorrow my art quilt group, Sisters in Cloth , will hang our annual exhibit at the Guilford Free Library.  The major part will be dedicated to "Indigo" inspired work.  A smaller portion will be reserved for our small works inspired by a talk by Jane Davila and US postage stamps.

These three I made from fabric that I had actually dyed myself.  The top detail I include because I was so surprised with the complex makeup of the commercial indigo dye that I used....brown and pink(!) Who knew?

I have a couple of others that I will take just to see what pieces work with the other members' art.  As I got all my indigo together, I realized just how inspired I must have been....there are five to choose from.

I will photograph the entire exhibit and post some of the images in the next few days.

Next Saturday is the regular meeting of SAQA/CT and we have invited everyone to the library to see the exhibit and have lunch with us.  We are calling it "Soup's On for SAQA".  Should be fun.  Stay tuned.

They Rode the Sparks to Heaven

Miyajima Nocturne

Open Studios Over

This is how the Shoreline ArtsTrail pictured me in their pre-weekend write up.  I can tell you that's not how I looked on Sunday evening at the end of the weekend!

Okay, I might have smiled a bunch, having sold five (!) pieces, but I was totally spent.  I had moved my studio to the Guilford Art Center, nearer the center of town, along with five other SAT members.  Having a 'nest' of artists certainly increases traffic...and, heck, it's fun to talk to your buddies on those few off-times when the studios are empty.

The other equally exciting news is that one of my Color of Place series has been juried into PAQA-South's ArtQuiltsWater!  I am so psyched that one of them is going on the road!  The exhibit opens in Cary, NC January 4 and is up until March 24.  Cary happens to be very near where one of my children lives :^)  Goodness, the two of us might be able to attend the Artist reception together.  That would be especially nice for this child...he 'gets' what I do and would enjoy it.

Now off to Thanksgiving preparations.  We are hosting a cast of thousands...okay...an overstatement...only 13.  But one is a newly minted, very mobile two year old...so that makes up for the exaggeration.  We are getting the six cousins together, ages 14-2, four from FL and two local.  They are all SO excited.  (as are their grands).  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Sacred Secrets/Fiberactions Reveal Day

Today is Fiberactions REVEAL DAY for the current challenge:  Neutrals.  Check them out!

Sacred Secrets

Continuing my secrets series, I am using the same format as the last two reveals, seen below.  This time the challenge issued required the use of black, brown, gray and white.  

Using vintage zippers as a metaphor for concealed secrets, my interest here is in the use of secrets in religions.  For example, in some traditional indigenous religions, information is held closely, revealed only to the initiated.  Well, on second thought...it's certainly not exclusive to traditional or to indigenous.  Because of my interest in Aboriginal Art and my supply of fabric designed by Aboriginal artists, it was a natural to explore this branch of religious secrets.

Sacred Secrets detail

 Sacred Secrets, as the previous two, combines machine and hand stitching, zippers (of course) and rick rack (there are those friends of mine who would also say "of course").

Let the Sun Shine In

Pesky Little Secrets

SAQA Auction Collection

Without intent, initially, I've started a nice collection of very interesting 12" square art quilts.  This past week at the SAQA booth in Houston at the International Quilt Festival I became the proud owner of two (!) new pieces.

Joining four others that I 'won' in previous SAQA Benefit Auctions, are Cathy Smith's Twins with Matching Hats, from her marshmallow hay bale series, and Vivien Zepf's Chilean Chair Whimsey.  I feel SO lucky to have such a wonderful sampling of art from five very talented fiber artists!

Twins With Matching Hats/Cathy Smith

Chilean Chair Whimsey/ Vivien Zepf

Happy Anniversary #2/Lutgard Gerber-Billiau

Collections #3/Debbie Bein

Leaf Litter/ Sandy Gregg

Waiting for Roasting/ Cathy Smith

Home Again, Home Again.....

I almost lost hope in making it to Houston's International Quilt Festival this year.  Hurricane Sandy had other plans for the day I had chosen to fly.  After several canceled flights, I finally, at 2am (!), arrived at my accommodations that I was sharing with my buddy Martha Wolfe whose gorgeous piece Stockholm Winter was included in the Seasonal Palette exhibit. (check out her blog to see it)

It was SO worth the harried hassle and worry to travel there!!  Friends...new and old!  Quilts!  Art! Vendors!  Photo Ops!  Food! ;^)  Oh, my, we had fun!

I have to say the SAQA exhibits were WONDERFUL!  Understandably, we couldn't take pics...even better there are catalogues....beautiful catalogues too.  (be sure to order yours from SAQA) I especially liked the added feature of the artists' process journals available to peruse at the Seasonal Palette exhibit.  Unfortunately two or three of the participating artists' journals had gone missing and were, therefore, unavailable...but those that were there were a REAL plus.

I took hundreds of photos and it's hard to choose which to post as favorites.  These three happened to get photographed more than once on subsequent meanderings in the exhibits.  That must mean something.

Next time I'll post the SAQA Benefit Auction 12" Square Art Quilts (yes, that's plural) that I 'won'.  I told you I had fun.

Amsterdam Alley by Leslie Tucker Jenison from San Antonio TX

Cold Winds by Takako Ishinami from Yamaguchi Japan

Moon Sisters by Stacy Hunt from Orange CA