My Family Is Safe...

Sometimes I become so immersed in what I'm doing I become unaware of much else going on around me.  That's sort of where I've been this week but, of course, the outer world has forced itself into my consciousness with the insidious act of violence perpetrated on the marathon runners and innocent bystanders.  I was out and about town chasing down more fabric for my most recent project when I became aware of the turmoil "in town." (That's what we, who grew up in the Boston burbs call metropolitan Boston.)  My first thought was my son, Mark. I knew he must be there.  And he was - right there in Copley Square - but quickly at the end of my cell phone so I knew right away that he was fine, just trying to get home. Another ten minutes and he would have been right there where it all happened.  Another mother's son was not all right.  Neither was she or her daughter, and then another mother and another....this is NOT ok.  I hurt for them.  I pray for them.

My children are safe. My family is safe.  I am thankful for that!

True Expression

I want to know if the artist of this next piece reads science fiction.  She must - this shouts sci-fi to me - a beautiful, bold universal landscape.  Another painted piece, along with piecing, this draws you straight to it!

Two Thousand Seven, Elizabeth Busch

 This quilt speaks to me as a collage artist.  In the book, it's vertically arranged but this horizontal layout is how it was exhibited, and I believe, how it was meant to be.  Also, the colors in the book do not do this piece justice!  It's quite alive and very appealing to look at.

Desert Study Maryline Collioud-Robert

 Again, this next piece was upside down in the book if I remember accurately.  It's a textural master and a color spectacle!  Must be seen with your nose right up to it to thoroughly enjoy it.

Gold Canopy Gris, Tim Harding

 Night Rain, below, speaks to the inner me.  It's evocative of old and new meeting, colliding, integrating, remembering, experiencing - I love this!

Night Rain In Venice, Fenella Davies

One of the main themes that really took my breath away as I viewed this display is the raw bravery of experimentation and true expression. I aspire to be able to do this...at least I'm working toward it, in small but strident steps in my fiber art.

Up Close

The Forest is the first quilt you see as you enter the exhibit and it is truly a treat to see in person,  The entire quilt is hand stitched and there's something about how each applique billows and falls with each stitch taken and so, as a whole, the piece becomes alive with color, texture and movement as in a symphony!

Close Up of The Forest, Misik Kim

The Forest, Misik Kim

  Town News is the funniest!  It depicts a small town in California by its police log in a delightfully quirky style of illustration.  I love the little eyes with legs on the lower left!

Town News, Linda McDonald

 This is the one piece I thought looked better in the books and photos than in person.  It just doesn't appear to be as cohesive in real life as it does in print.

Woman With Two Gents, Leslie Gabrielse



And this next piece is striking in its real up close and in your face craftsmanship!  Each stitch is lovingly taken and each thread expresses the artists natural affinity to the subject and the medium!  A joy to behold!

 



Cherished Times, Carolyn Crump



   



 

I feel so inspired...

...I hope it doesn't wear off before I produce something!  We visited the Lowell Quilt Museum this afternoon and took in the Masters II exhibit - WOW!  It's one thing to see pictures of these quilts - I have the Masters books, but to see them in person is such a thrilling experience.  To see up close the texture and weight of the materials, the colors, the stitching, the luminescence, the layers, the varied sheens and sheers - well, I feel full, like after a good meal but with a buzz too!  

Here are a few of the quilts I saw.  Some photos of some of the quilts that I loved were way too blurry to post, although I chose to show some that are a wee bit fuzzy just so you could see what's there to see if you make it there before the exhibit closes on April 13th!



A Time To Dance, May 17th, Karin Franzen
this a lovely layered construction that HAS
 to be seen to be fully appreciated!

Waiting For Rain (close up), Margery Goodall
Incredible craftsmanship in this piece! Some of these strips
appear to be only about and eight of an inch wide.

Urubamba (close up), Jan Meyers-Newbury
When you see the whole quilt, it's gorgeous!  The colors and
textures of the hand dyed fabrics undulate even as they are
bound by geometric forms.



Frision Sky, Dirkje van der Horst-Beetsma
This is stunning in its' simplicity with some
amusing surprises in its construction.



I'll post more of these in the next few days, but before I go, lest you think I'm slacking off,
 here's one of the tasks I've been working on:

 

I'm trying to line them up according to value. Some of these groups of strips are 10 to 20 thick

and vary in length and width, although most are 1.5 inches wide.

 

 I really don't yet know how these strips will be incorporated into a quilt, but I'm in the process....

 

 

Quilted Espresso

I finally quilted this one!

 

Tree Study

A favorite old tree at Saint Mary's in Barnstable, MA

taken sometime in the eighties on an old SLR

 and scanned in.  These hardwoods were  indigenous 

to the Cape but now all we inherited

are mostly scrub pines.

 

Image Of The Day

Image of the day: