Quilting Inspiration from the Old [and New] Masters

Following on the heels of my quilt guild's Challenge exhibit, I was extremely fortunate to have an opportunity to visit the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. If you're looking for inspiration, go see a quilt exhibit... or visit a museum—especially one focused on the fiber arts!

"Vases with Fruit" by Jane Dunnewold
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Exhibits at the National Quilt Museum
There are always several concurrent exhibits at the National Quilt Museum. This time, the pieces included contemporary quilts and art quilts [a Studio Art Quilt Associate (SAQA) 25th anniversary trunk show], vintage quilts, miniatures and a Quilts of Valor—50 State Salute to Old Glory patriotic collection. Some quilts were by current quilt artists, some by renowned quiltmakers no longer with us, and some resurrected quilt tops by anonymous quiltmakers were finished by 21st century quilters [from the Old Glory collection curated Mary Kerr]. All the quilts were amazing and the exhibits were impeccably displayed.

A New Master is inspired by the Old Masters
As I wandered through the exhibits, I came upon the museum's "The Corner Gallery" exhibit. The bold colors, complementary color scheme, and a somewhat "painterly" look of one of the front-facing pieces caught my eye. As I approached, it became apparent the piece was mixed media, collaged and incorporated vintage textiles and needlework. Then I saw the placard... the artist was Jane Dunnewold!

Having taken a workshop with Jane in 2018, I was thrilled when I saw she was the artist featured in this exhibit! The exhibit is called, "Inspired by the Masters—Jane Dunnewold."

There are 14 pieces in this exhibit. Going from piece to piece, things clicked for me. I saw and was reminded of all the techniques Jane shared with the workshop participants through our week-long experience with her. In this exhibit, Jane cohesively blends multiple techniques and materials into beautiful, thoughtful and playful compositions that are inspired by works of the Masters—such as Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo and Mary Cassatt.

Mixed Media with Vintage Needlework
My favorite part of these pieces was the incorporation of the vintage needlepoint, hand embroideries and miscellaneous hand stitched pieces by "anonymous" needlewomen. I am a rescuer of vintage needlework and have a small collection of embroidered dresser scarves, pillow cases, orphan quilt blocks and the like. Do you see the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt blocks in this piece?

"Grandmother Matisse's Flower Garden" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Detail: "Grandmother Matisse's Flower Garden" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

 These are details of "Vases with Fruit," shown above.

Detail: "Vases with Fruit" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

The filet crocheted edging is left to dangle freely from the table and beyond the edge of the composition.

Detail: "Vases with Fruit" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

The vintage textiles are seamlessly blended with the painted areas. It's difficult to see where one starts and the other stops.

"View of the Harbor" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Sometimes Jane uses hand stitching to bridge different elements

Detail: "View of the Harbor" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

The "Still Life with Cat" incorporates a needlework canvas with longer, bargello-like stitches.

"Still Life with Cat" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Detail: "Still Life with Cat" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

In Jane's artist's statement, she describes herself as "the bridge between fine art and craft—linking them inextricably together in a dance of old and new—paint, thread and intention." In the list of materials, she includes, "Techniques are all my own—based on 25 years of fidgeting, fudging and making do."

Jane's work is truly inspirational!

Trunk Show and Space quilt exhibit at Birdsong Quilting

"Mother Earth: Her Face Evolving"
by Christine Schramm Cetrulo. Celebrating the art of
quilting at Birdsong Quilting, Embroidery and Crafts.

There is a wonderful art quilt exhibit at Birdsong Quilting, Embroidery and Crafts, featuring the work of members of the Quilt Artists of Kentucky (QAK), an auxiliary group of the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society. The exhibit has several pieces from "Space: The Final Frontier Challenge" and other art quilts by members of the group.

While at the exhibit, I met Christine Schramm Cetrulo, a member of QAK. Christine was teaching a fabric painting class at Birdsong—introducing quilters and sewers to fun and exciting techniques for embellishing fabric. Here is one of Christine's quilts, "Mother Earth: Her Face Evolving" that is on display at the shop. Amazing work!

A Trunk Show: quilts and wearables

As part of the month-long celebration of quilting and quilt artistry at Birdsong Quilting, Shannon, the owner, asked if I would come and do a trunk show of my work. 

It was a pleasure to be included in the celebration and fun to share my quilts and wearables with the Kentucky quilters that came out to see my show and tell. It's been a while since I've shown "finished" pieces, so it was good to be able to show how the quilting adds to the design and composition of a piece. (We did a lot of looking at the quilt backs.)

Examples of the diversity of fabrics available at Birdsong:
ikats and yarn-dyed textured cottons from Diamond Textiles, knits from Art Gallery,
batiks from Majestic Batiks, and art panels from Frond Design Studios.

I had a sampling of quilts, guild Challenges, art quilts, free-motion quilting and apparel (jackets, blouses, knit tops and pants). A few of the attendees said that this was their first trunk show so I hope they got a good dose of inspiration and a broad range of possibilities and ideas for new projects.

My trunk show included examples of quilts and wearables.

The dialog with the attendees at my trunk show was lively. Their questions were thoughtful and inquisitive. Questions spanned a range of topics including: free-motion quilting, the whats and whys of bobbin thread, quilt facings, sewing machine needles, yarn-dyed vs. printed cotton fabrics, patterns for garment sewing, and the different fabrics—knits, canvas, rayon, etc.—that are now available to quilt shops from fabric manufacturers of quilting cottons. Birdsong Quilting has a great selection of fabrics for quilting as well as sewing. The store also offers classes and events to support these endeavors.

Quilting cottons, ikat, textured wovens, batiks, hand-dyed, shibori
can be used for wearables and garments

Thank you to Shannon for the kind invitation and to the staff at Birdsong that helped with the set-up and logistics of the trunk show.

If you are in Georgetown, KY (Lexington, KY area) in August, stop in to see the art quilt exhibit at Birdsong Quilting. Shop Birdsong's wonderful selection of fabrics, notions, books and supplies and take your next quilting or sewing project to another level... or out of this world!

My guest quilt artist exhibit at Murray Arts Council

I am honored to be the featured artist at a lovely exhibit of quilts and vintage sewing machines at the Murray Arts Council [MAC] in Chatsworth, Georgia. My husband, Larry, and I attended the opening reception this Saturday and were warmly greeted by the staff, volunteers and visitors to the exhibit.

My quilts at the guest artist exhibit at the Murray Arts Council quilt exhibit.
October 14-15 and 21-22, 2017

Nine of my quilts are on display this weekend, October 14-15, and next weekend, October 21-22 along with quilts from local quiltmakers and a wonderful selection of vintage and toy sewing machines from the collection of Debbie Vick Davenport.

"Sidewalk Surprise" (left) and "A Feather Runs Through It" on display
with a vintage featherweight sewing machine.

"Your art quilts set the tone for the exhibit," said Debbie Vick Davenport, my exhibit liaison and one of the exhibit's coordinators. Lori McDaniels, one of the MAC directors, indicated there was an overwhelmingly positive response to my pieces and the Guest Artist exhibit, and just the first day's visitor attendance had far exceeded past shows.

Visitors at the annual quilt exhibit at Murray Arts Council, Chatsworth, GA.

The exhibit has a sampling of quilts from several quilting genres—art quilts, traditional, memory, vintage/antique and patriotic—that are complemented by an exhibit of antique featherweights and vintage toy sewing machines. Here is a preview...

Art quilt (left) by Miriam Duncan and "Flowers for Peyton" by Brenda Bowling.

Debbie was on hand and talked about the history and stories of the acquisition of her vintage sewing machines. She gives each machine a name—usually in honor of a family member that was a seamstress or quilter. It was amazing to see the toy machines and realize how small they really are. (Having one as a little girl, they seemed so much bigger!)

Debbie Vick Davenport with a vintage toy sewing machine.
Right: a model 221K White Singer from 1964. Notice the hard carrying case.

The background for this Cathedral Windows quilt is linen. The colorful patches are fabric swatches from a mail order fabric club. Pre-internet days, fabric stores would mail groups of fabric swatches to home sewers so they could select fabrics for mail order purchase. 

Cathedral Window quilt with linen and cotton fabrics.

The exhibit included appliqué quilts featuring the traditional—and always recognizable—sun bonnet characters. These motifs go by names such as Sunbonnet Sue, Dutch Doll, Parasol Girl and Sunbonnet Sam. I wonder if the alternate blocks of the novelty fish fabric were paired with a collection of vintage Fisherman Sam quilt blocks to make this quilt (below left).

Left: Fisherman Sam with novelty fabric.
Right: "Little Dutch Girls" by Mabel Beavers.

One of my favorite quilts in the exhibit was this scrappy "Pinwheels and Stars" quilt by Clemmie Jones. The checks and stripes gave it an energy that spoke to me. And the mix of prints florals and other prints tells me this quiltmaker was not timid with her choice of fabrics. I think this block pattern would be fun to use in a modern quilt. Modern quilters—what do you think? Can you envision a modern version?

"Pinwheels and Stars" by Clemmie Jones

The quilt exhibit continues today (Sunday) and next weekend. If you want to make a full day of it, the Black Bear Festival is also happening October 21-22. Quilts, crafts, music, food and beautiful scenery of the foothills of the Appalachians... enjoy the day!

A note about directions to MAC:
When you get to Chatsworth (if you've not been), look for the Murray County Courthouse building on N 3rd Avenue with the flags out front.

The Murray County courthouse is right across from the MAC entrance.

The Murray Arts Council location is in the middle of the block right across the street from the courthouse. Look for the red MAC logo on the window. They had a "Quilt Show Today" sign outside on the sidewalk.

Murray County Arts Council with the quilt exhibit.

At some point in the conversation between my husband and the quilt exhibit hosts, it came out that yesterday was our wedding anniversary. So, in addition to being the guest artist at the Murray Arts Council quilt exhibit, I received many compliments on my quilts and well wishes for our anniversary. Last night, we celebrated with a special anniversary dinner at Alleia downtown Chattanooga. It was a very good day.

End of summer respite in Paducah

What better place is there for a quilter to spend a few days at the end of the summer than in Quilt City, USA—Paducah, Kentucky??? My friend, Cathy, lives in Paducah and I decided to get away for a break to meet up with her, take advantage of a less-crowded time of year to visit the quilt museum, and enjoy the sites of downtown Paducah and the Ohio River riverfront. 

The National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY.

This year, the National Quilt Museum is celebrating 25 years! In addition to the rotating exhibit of quilts from the museum's private collection showing in the main gallery, there are two special exhibits currently running. The quilts from the museum's permanent collection—winners from previous AQS shows—are a sight to be seen as you can get practically nose-to-nose with them to see all the details. This time, a piece by Michael James was on display and I learned that Michael James got his MFA at my Alma Mater, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) where I got my MS. (The world gets smaller all the time.)

The two special exhibits are "Art Quilts of the Midwest" which runs through October 11, and "Here and There: Works by the Manhattan Quilt Guild" which is on display through November 15. Both of the special exhibits were of particular interest to me as they included art quilts and work by quilters pushing the quiltmaking and patchwork boundaries in creative and exciting ways.

The special exhibits included work by quilters you may be familiar with such as Susan Shie, Paula Nadelstern, Beth Markel and Victoria Findlay Wolfe, but the other exhibits introduced me to the work of artists such as Ludmila Aristova (and her dimensional cityscape that incorporates prairie points, pleats and pin tucks), Shin-Hee Chin (who does amazing threadwork pieces), Barbara Schneider (who uses stiffened fabric pieces to create sculptural fabric art) and Diane Núñez (who incorporates metal rods and other non-fabric elements from her training as a jeweler). Quilts from the "Art Quilts of the Midwest" exhibit are also in book form, written by Linzee Kull McCray. (If you can't see the show, get the book!)

Italian Grill on Broadway, Paducah, KY.

On a previous trip, Cathy recommended the Italian Grill on Broadway. I had eaten at the Grill on a previous trip, but that was quite a while back so a return visit was in order. We arrived 10 minutes before the restaurant opened so got a table before the crowds moved in. By the time we finished our Margherita artisan pizza, the place was hopping!

Cathy suggested we "walk off" dinner by heading down to the riverfront. Passing the shops, art galleries, boutiques and eateries down to the river, we noticed several street-level renovations in progress in a few of the buildings. No doubt, other small businesses will soon be part of this eclectic historic downtown. 

View of the Ohio River nearing sunset,  Paducah.

The riverfront accommodates car and pedestrian traffic. There are plenty of benches beside the sidewalk for sitting, conversation and enjoying the view. While we were there, a few cars pulled up and parked along the water's edge—presumably for a bit of recreational fishing before sunset. The gentle breeze along the water made for a bug-free evening but there was a hint of Fall in the 75-degree evening temperature.

It was a lovely visit with lots of inspiration. I'll write about two other stops during my visit in my next post.

"Layers: quilt as form" exhibit

"Layers: quilt as form" exhibit poster
outside Ball Hall at ETSU.

This past Thursday, I made a whirlwind four-hour drive from Knoxville to Johnson City and back to see the "Layers: Quilt as Form" exhibit at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). The exhibit (on display through October 30) was curated by Patricia Mink, the head of the Fibers Program at ETSU's Art and Design department.

The impetus for me making this trip was to hear Joan Schulze present her lecture, "The Restless Explorer" at an evening reception on October 15. I took a workshop with Joan a few years ago at Shakerag that was fabulous. But once I tell you the full line-up of artists whose work is featured in this exhibit, your jaw will drop.

I spoke with Pat Mink, the show's curator, at the reception and expressed my awe of the work and the caliber of the artists that were included in the exhibit. "I made my Wish List," she explained, "and they all said, "Yes!""

"Layers: quilt as form" exhibit.

So, whose work is there?

• Let's start with internationally known pioneers of the studio art quilt movement, Nancy Crow, Michael James and Joan Schulze.
• Contemporary fiber artists Susan Brandeis, Dorothy Caldwell and Judith Content have pieces in the exhibit.
• And work by regional emerging artists Jeana Kline and Aaron McIntosh is also included.

If you are near the ETSU campus or can make a special trip this month, go and see this exhibit. The work is extraordinary and innovative. The digital technology juxtaposed with the hand techniques and hand stitching—while still reflecting on the traditional disciplines of stitched layers and quiltmaking—I found to be quite interesting and inspiring.

Limited edition program from the "Layers" exhibit.

About her presentation, Joan Schulze says, "I put together what I think is an interesting presentation that reflects how I work, where my inspiration comes from, share a few poems and illustrate what motivates me to keep going into the studio." She adds, "Hopefully the audience will come along for the ride and take home something that may inform or inspire."

Gee whiz… after seeing this exhibit, I have an in-progress guild Challenge piece that I'm thinking about bagging and starting again from scratch...

Quilts grace church; support hunger relief

With the quiet backdrop of stained glass church windows, over 120 antique, contemporary and art quilts were gathered together and exhibited this past Saturday in a local Quilt Show at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Hixson, TN. Donations collected at the show will benefit hunger relief efforts for Hamilton County and surrounding communities.

In the midst of the serene reverence of the sanctuary, antique quilts from early- to mid-20th century draped the pews and railings.

Sun Bonnet Sue, Log Cabin, and Grandmother's Flower Garden were among the patterns of pieced and appliquéd quilts lying contently beside the hymnals and prayer books tucked in church pew cubbies.

Left: many modern day quilts were on display.
Right: King size bed quilt showcase a collection of T-shirts.

Modern quilts from the 1980s and 90s hung in entryways and were displayed in other rooms along with art quilts and other quilts made in the first decade of the 21st century.

Left: hand quilted appliqué quilt.
Right: contemporary log cabin quilt.

Examples of stunning hand quilting and machine quilting hung side by side.

Left: A mix of vintage quilts blocks and contemporary pieced blocks, machine quilted.
Right: hand quilted chains and feathers.

Contemporary and art quilts.

Each quilt in the show had a typed label with the name of the quilt, the name of the quiltmaker, and a descriptive story about the quilt. Here (right), a contemporary, quilted wall hanging is seen beside a collection of framed miniature machine pieced quilts. The miniatures have pieces as small as 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch.

Three fundraiser "Opportunity Quilts" were also on display. These quilts were comprised of a donated collection of unfinished quilt blocks and fabrics from the estate of a local woman. These bits and pieces were combined with fabrics from personal fabric stashes, then pieced and quilted by members of Trinity Lutheran— a creative and collaborative community effort resulting in three beautiful bed-sized quilts.

I am especially proud to say that several of my Beginning Quilting students submitted their first Churn Dash quilt that they completed in my class! I know they are as proud of their accomplishments as I am of them, and I'm glad they had the opportunity to share their beautiful work with the community.

The team of organizers accomplished no small feat in planning, coordinating and putting on this show! For a first time event, I can say that the entry process was easy and thoroughly documented and the show was very professionally exhibited. Well done, Ginny, Penny, Kathy, Sandy and your team!

"A Page from my Journal" quilt challenge

This week my quilt guild, the Choo Choo Quilters, revealed the results of its annual Guild Challenge. From a small guild of about 18 members, there was an excellent response—including an entry from a visiting quiltmaker. The 9 journal quilts on display illustrated memories of people, special occasions, and trips to places far and near in a variety of fabrics, stitches and trims.

The Challenge, entitled "A Page from my Journal," asked participants to take a page from their life's diary and document it in a 16" x 16" quilt. With a reference to the crazy quilt era in which fragments of clothing, decorative stitching and other embellishments were incorporated into quilts, entries were required to have at least 5 different woven or non-woven fabrics, 3 different decorative trims and include hand or machine embroidery in the composition. The quilt style could be pictorial, abstract, collage, pieced or appliqué.

Congratulations to all the participants and Challenge winners! Here are their "stories in cloth."

"Bad Hair Day" by Kim H.

"Pennsylvania Snow Day" by Deb H.

"Julia's Girls do the Town" by Cristy C.

"Ireland's Treasure" by Mayrelou S.

"Memories of Gram" by Veronica H.

Best Workmanship award
Viewers' Choice/Best of Show award

"A Travel Journal" by Vista M.

Most Variety of Fabrics and Trims award
Best Use of Embroidery and Embellishments award

"A Day in the Garden" by Sherry B.

"Birthdays" by Delores D.

"Pink is my new Favorite Color" by Ginny M.

A beautiful blend of tradition and contemporary fine art

My good friend and quilt group "sister," Tari Ristorcelli, sent me this video link of the "Rooted in Tradition" and "Sew—It's Art" quilt exhibit currently on display at the Florida International Museum at St. Petersburg College, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Tari's wool log cabin quilt was one of about 40 quilts juried into the "Sew—It's Art" Best of Pinellas County quilt exhibit. (Look for the orange, yellow and red quilt above the blue and purple star quilt.) She designed her piece in response to a guild Challenge.

Other quilt artists whose pieces are included in the exhibit are Yvonne Porcella, Carol Bryer Fallert, Pauline Salzman, Ann Johnson and Richard Schultz. See how history and tradition have influenced today's quiltmakers through these exquisite quilts.

Congratulations, Tari, on your beautiful quilt!

Guild Challenge quilt—Take Flight

The 2008 Choo Choo Quilters Guild Challenge was called the "Open Door Challenge." (I finally got around to taking a picture of my entry.) Among the guidelines that were issued was the incorporation of a door somewhere in the quilt. Here is my response to the challenge. It is an art quilt entitled "Break Free. Take Flight."

Various hand-dyed fabrics, including my shibori hand-dyed pieces, were used to create this piece. It is 39.5" x 39.5", machine pieced and free-motion machine quilted. I used my Janome 6500 domestic sewing machine to quilt it. It won the Best Workmanship, Viewer's Choice and Best Door awards. I was very honored.

"Break Free. Take Flight" detail.

My "door" is the bird cage door that is machine quilted into the composition.