The Gallery Walk - Caught Up in the Moment

The West Chester Gallery Walk was last night, and my art quilt group, Layers: Art in Stitches, was invited to participate in the exhibit hosted by Morgan Stanley - it was our BIG night. And, truth be told, I was very nervous. It's one thing to have your quilts on display at a quilt show for mostly other quilters, but it's entirely different to put your work out there for the general public. I'm happy to report the experience was excellent - a confirmation that the general public "gets" what we "art quilters" are doing, the bending and re-aligning of grandma's quilting rules. The response to our exhibit was exceedingly positive by young and old, quilter and non-quilter, art enthusiast and lay alike - we received a unanimous two thumbs up - it was a good night!

And, yes, I got caught up in the moment, I was absorbed in talking with the viewers, and unfortunately snapped very few photos - sorry. Here's a look at the space we were in - we hung over 40 quilts - thanks to Command strips!


We displayed our work grouped by the various challenges we have held within Layers. Here is Illusion #9, my entry in Kelly's "Everything Old is New Again, challenge.
"Feeling Blue", my entry in the Layers' Tweets Challenge was very well received by the attendees. I was asked a number of times during the night to explain my inspiration for the imagery which, if you've been keeping up with my posts, you'll know that it is my toast to becoming an empty nester. It actually brought tears to one couple's eyes as they too could relate to my story - I guess that's what it's all about.

In addition to displaying our challenges we all had space to display some of our own work. I selected to display these three pieces together - I really love the way they look as a grouping - on the top left is "Driftwood", on the top right is "Glinted Moss", and below is "Drizzle". Most of my pieces were not for purchase as I have plans for them. I did however decide to sell Glinted Moss to a friend and am so happy he is the new owner.


Here is a side view of the grouping - I'm showing this so you can see how I mounted "Glinted Moss" on a stretcher frame. It was clear from the response of attendees that they preferred framed pieces - they could relate to the work as something which belonged on a wall - it felt more defined as art vs. quilt. I've had a number of responses from my post yesterday about mounting pieces and framing pieces, so sometime soon I will devote a post as to how I've started to frame my pieces.
I had my TRUTH quilt in the exhibit last night, "Wilde Ideas - Strings Attached" and I was so excited to see the public's reaction to this quilt - actually 34 quilts - check our my website if you want to see the detail on this quilt - and let me tell you, this quilt's got detail. It is covered in "truth" statements. People were locked into reading all of them - it was really a conversation starter.
Many thanks to Morgan Stanley for giving us this opportunity - it was a wonderful evening and they were gracious hosts! Would I do it again - in a heartbeat! Now, I need to get busy - I have a baby quilt due by Wednesday for the guild's baby quilt challenge - I'm running it and it just wouldn't look good if I didn't have an entry. Tomorrow, a peek at my entry.

Something Small for the Exhibit

I wanted to make a small piece for the gallery walk tonight - see Wednesday's post to learn all about the gallery walk - so I decided to play with a simple barn scene. Here it is - it measures 10 x 12 and is mounted on a stretcher frame. I titled it "The Summer Still" and is the third barn in what now could be called a series I suppose.



Here's a view from the side to give you an idea of how I constructed the piece on the frame. I first created the quilted barn, appliqued that to the quilted background, and then finished it with a pillowcase turn backing with a firm bat added for stability. For the frame, I quilted a like-background and mounted it to the stretcher frame. I then, very carefully, sewed the quilted barn scene onto the quilted frame - a bit tricky if I say so myself.

Here's the view from the back. I need to refine how to handle the corners to reduce the bulk, but overall I was happy with the results - thanks to staple gun submission. I really like the use of the frame with art quilt pieces - it give them a destiny - it defines them - it makes it easy for someone to take it home and hang it on their wall.
Big post tomorrow on the gallery exhibit - this is so exciting!

Mark Your Calendars - Special Announcement

Special Announcement

You're invited to attend the

West Chester Gallery Walk

Friday, June 4th, 2010
5:00 - 9:00 PM

Featuring
Layers: Art in Stitches
including yours truly
and Cheryl Lynch, Kelly Meanix, Christine Kamon, Terry Kramzar and Jane Hamilton

Exhibiting in the Morgan Stanley Offices
17 West Gay Street
Suite 200
West Chester, PA

Exhibiting with Layers: Art in Stitches will be
NC, Andrew and Jamie Wyeth
with Discussion Lead by Victoria Wyeth

Delicious Appetizers and Beverages Provided

Please join us for an evening of fun!
We are SO excited!
See You There!

No Excuse

I have no excuse - I've been busy - busy doing a lot of little things, and not much quilting. After finishing "Feeling Blue" I was beat, emotionally. I get that way after reading a good book too - I invest so much of myself into it that I need a break to recover. This is my week to get back on track - and this is an exciting week as well - Gallery Walk Friday - the full update on the Gallery Walk tomorrow.

This holiday weekend was a whirlwind - had my daughters home - so we made the family pilgrimage to Hawk Mountain --- Ahhhhh - my girls!


I snapped a few photos of my beloved moss - I just don't know what it is about moss - I should be a gnome. Moss One.Moss Two.
I found the ever elusive Lady Slipper past it's prime, but I found one.
The mountain was awash in Mountain Laurel - I've always called them tidily-winks.

Sunday was all about relaxing and dinner with family. It was a beautiful day and we started out with G&T's and prosciutto wrapped melon for appetizers.

The squash blossoms were out at the grower's market - I can't resist them. I made my delicious stuffed squash blossoms.
I purchase the blossoms with baby squash attached - to ensure they cook completely I fan slice them.

I make a filling of fresh sheep milk brebis cheese which I buy at my growers market. The contents of the stuffing change all of the time based on what I have on hand. I throw in herbs, lemon juice, an egg, season with salt and pepper.

To stuff the blossoms you hold them open and then, using a small spoon (or pastry bag) fill the blossoms,
and then twist the ends of the blossoms to seal - here they are, ready for their dip in the batter.

I make a simple tempura batter with flour and club soda.

Here they are frying up - I do not deep fry - why - it's too much work. I simply put about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet and fry on all sides.

Here they are, all set to enjoy. My family loves these blossoms! We had minted lamb chops with the blossoms - the lamb chop recipe is easy and excellent!

Yesterday we decided to head up to NYC - what a great day. Saw the latest Shepard Fairey mural, interesting. The mural wasn't 24 hours old when it was tagged by graffiti artists.

We also took a walk to see where my youngest daughter is working this summer, in Soho, on Broome Street, right next door to - - - Purl Soho!!!!! They were closed for Memorial Day but a return visit is in the planning stages. The photo isn't great, but that's Purl Soho.


Movie note - saw a hysterical movie - City Island - what a hoot!!!

I Knew Him When...

I grew up in a neighborhood full of kids - we did everything together. There was one special kid in my neighborhood - the boy you always knew was going somewhere, the one that was going to make it big. For me, that person was Eric Schaeffer.

Eric was the runt of the neighborhood litter - one of the youngest in the crowd, the one that we always had to include for fear of what might happen if we didn't. But from little on up, you always knew Eric had something special - his passion for basically everything was more than obvious to everyone. And, his ability to make you laugh was unsurpassed.

Meet Eric - he's all grown up now!

And, he's director of the hit NYC Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet (also playing in Chicago) playing at the Nederlander Theater. This past weekend I traveled up to NYC to take in the Saturday matinee of the show - IT WAS FANTASTIC! The play is based on a real life recording session featuring Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. The show is full of energy, the actors are uber talented, and the music is electric. My favorite actor is Levi Kreis who plays Jerry Lee Lewis - his performance is incredible. If you are in NYC or Chicago plan on taking in the show.

And now the really big news - the show is up for 3 Tony's - I will be glued to the TV for the ceremony! Eric received a Tony last year for best regional theater - he is co-founder and creative director of the Signature Theater in Arlington, VA. This "kid" was destined for fame - we all knew that!



It was my youngest daughter's 19th birthday and she picked our dinner destination (she goes to Parsons School of Design and lives in NYC) - we had a great dinner at a no nonsense eatery called Mama's Home Cooking featuring Southern favorites including buttermilk fried chicken, slow roasted pork and all of the standards sides - it was delicious.

O.K. - don't laugh at me - I have taken up a great new exercise - hula hooping - I love it - I'm a hooper! I use a weighted hoop - it's a bit painful until you get accustomed to the heft of the hoop - you really need to keep your abs tight to keep it from hurting. It's great for your core. While walking through the streets of NYC we happened upon this troupe of hoopers - my husband had to hold me back from joining in. Gotta go - time for hooping!

What's Going On?

Testing 1 - 2 - 3

Sorry about this but I seem to be losing posts - Please Stand By . . .

A Closer Look at "Feeling Blue"

I incorporated many different techniques and materials in the creation of "Feeling Blue" - here's the laundry list:
1. Fabric dying - the center lighter teal is dyed cotton fabric
2. Fabric painting with Seta paint (over dyed fabric) - I prefer to paint dyed fabric - it gives a much richer color.
3. Ink jet printed fabric - the hexagon stars and the flower centers
4. Water based oil pastels - used for highlighting sections of the bird - I love water based oil pastels
5. Organza and organdy - the eggs - this is the only place I used fusible (Misty Fuse) on the whole quilt
6. Sheers - used for shadowing and for the globe
7. Tulle - used on both birds to soften the edges of fabric
8. Wool felt - bird feet

I want to use this post to talk specifically about the creation of the birds. I made the birds separately and then appliqued them to the quilt. It all starts with the drawing.
I trace the bird onto freezer paper and then draw in my fabric sections.I cut out the paper pieces and use them to cut out my fabric.
It's starting to look like a wing now - there is no fusible used in this method - I do not like fusible.
Fast forward - I continue to build the birds using this process, organizing all components on a piece of foundation fabric. No fusible or glue here - keep the windows closed and the fans off or you'll be picking up pieces off of the floor. Here are the birds all set to quilt. I have added highlights using my water based oil pastels - another class. I've added a layer of batting under the foundation fabric.
I use tulle as an overlay for the birds - it holds the pieces in place while I add quilting, and it dulls the edges of the fabric transitions - I love to use tulle. The birds received an over lay of a deep blue tulle - actually the small bird has a few different layers of tulle. I keep many different colors of tulle on hand to audition what works best.
Once the tulle is anchored down with pins I start quilting - you need to be very careful not to snag a needle or pin on the tulle - it rips very easily. I use free motion quilting to anchor the fabric pieces and add more color and texture in a variety of thread colors.

Here's papa bird all quilted and cut out leaving a 1/2 inch border.
I remove the 1/2 inch of batting in the border area, cutting very carefully.
All trimmed up.
I then hand baster the netting and foundation layer to the back - did I mention this was labor intense???
Here's baby bird all finished and ready to be appliqued to the quilt.
The birds were one of the very last items to be added to the quilt - I machine appliqued them using a narrow zig-zag stitch and matching thread. Whew! Next post - the frame - fasten your seat belt - talk about labor intense!