Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Only Child Accepted into National Small Art Quilts Juried Show!

(Above: Only Child, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 16" x 16". Vintage doll's dress, antique quilt fragment, recycled felt, vintage buttons and linens. Hand stitched.  Click on image to enlarge.)

I just received my notification that Only Child was accepted into the 2010 National Small Art Quilt Works Exhibition at The Main Street Gallery in Groton, NY!  The show runs from July 23 - September 5, 2010.  To read more about this little art quilt with additional images, please CLICK HERE!  

This past weekend Steve and I made a whirlwind trip to the Washington, DC area.  We saw an incredible triple bill ballet performance at the Kennedy Center.  It was part of the annual "Ballet Across America" series.  Tulsa Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet danced great modern works.  We caught up with Seia Rassenti and her boyfriend Joseph Watson who now dance for Aspen Santa Fe.  We also ran into Alexandra Tomalonis, the ballet history teacher at the Kirov....who taught both Seia and our son Mathias.

(Above:  Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, Virginia.  Click on image to enlarge.)

On the trip north we visited the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia.  This was once a federal prison for non-violent offenders.  There was also once a "woman's division" that housed suffragists from the National Woman's Party....brave ladies who fought for the right to vote.  A museum in their honor is planned on the site.  Workhouse is now a most amazing complex of galleries, artists' studios, and cooperative groups.  There's a building for dance, pilates, and yoga.  There are studios for woodworkers, ceramists, painters, sculptures, mosaic and glass artists, printmakers......and FIBER ARTISTS!
(Above:  Studio Fiber Arts, a cooperative gallery space at Workhouse Arts Center.  Click on image to enlarge.)

The various buildings are all very, very carefully maintaining as much of the original prison complex as possible.  The interiors have semi-permanent walls that can be moved in order to accommodate individual studios are the large spaces like the one housing the work of approximately ten fiber artists.  This is Studio Fiber Arts.  It is manned by member volunteers.  We met Joan Hutton and had an excellent conversation and introduction to the complex.  Joan was making lovely red roses from needle felted fibers.  Below is a photo taken down the hallway in her building.


We came to Workhouse, however, because I saw an advertisement for "Yard Art - Art at the Yard", a group exhibition by a group called "New Image Artists".  There were lots of techniques applied in the variety of art quilts by people like BJ Adams and Dominie Nash, but my favorite was undoubtedly Candace Edgerley's Talbot Farm Spring House.  I snapped a photo, wrote to Candace, and got her permission to share the work here!  Click on it to enlarge.  It is an amazingly sheer creation hung in front of a piece of equally sheer black chiffon.  The hanging device creates a space between the two layers.


4 comments:

Lynn Cohen said...

Wow, what a wonderful weekend of dance and fiber art! Exciting to see it all.
And your ONLY CHILD piece is beautiful. Had a warm feel to it. Love the smudge of brown on the dress as though a little child got dirty playing outside in it.
Love the stitching over the old quilt too. Whole thing comes together with great look and feel to it. Congrats big time for getting into the show! I am so happy for YOU and your successes!!!!

Connie Akers said...

Congratulations! I stopped this afternoon to show your blog to a fiber friend who came to get fabrics as my destashing continues. We found more of the log cabins and I was telling her about your work. What a surprise to see the quilt front & center. Not surprising, she fell in love with your work at first site.
Continued success with all your work.

Mosaic Magpie said...

More well deserved recognition! Glad you had a fun weekkend away.
Debbie

Julie said...

Congratulations Susan on 'Only child', a well deserved success.