Fly Me to the Moon

The Quilt Show was fun but the spectacular quilts were in the back of the venue in a special exhibit called “Fly Me to the Moon”.  Our friend, Susanne Jones, whom we met at the CABS (Creative Arts Business Summit) is the curator and she has done a great job with the exhibit.  All the quilts are the same size and in some way reflect (pun intended) the moon and the Apollo project to send a man to the moon.  Here is the online gallery of the exhibit.  All 179 quilts in the exhibit will be included in a book that will be released September 28; it is available on Amazon for pre-order.  You can also find the exhibit schedule on her website; some venues will have only a portion of the quilts, while others will show the entire exhibit.

There are so many amazing quilts in this collection that it is almost impossible to pick favorites.  The variety of techniques and artistry is truly impressive.  Suzanne's concept for the exhibit and the book included depictions of the astronauts for the various missions as well as other moon-related topics.  You can explore more fully in the online gallery linked above, but we did pick out some of our favorites. In fact, as with the main show, it's too many for one post, so come back to see more!

The photo above gives you an idea of the size of the show.  There were 3 rows, each with 5 panels that each contained 6 quilts - on both sides!  Having all the quilts the same size and hung at the same height provided a pleasurable viewing experience.  Another nice addition was that you could call a phone number and enter the number on the quilt's label to hear a recording of the maker talking about their quilt. In no particular order, some of Sue's favorites follow.

Wolf Moon is by Timi Bronson of Hartsville, SC.  Her quilt depicts her interest in Native American lore, with the January full moon, the Wolf Moon.

Moonlight Sonata, inspired by Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, was created by Wendy Starn of Alexandria, LA.  I love how she created Beethoven's portrait in the clouds.

Verne's Moon, by Marisa Marquez of Madrid Spain, is a tribute to Jules Verne, who is one of the biggest influences on the steampunk movement.  Click on the photo to enlarge for a closer look at the detail.

Kate Themel of Cheshire, CT, created Moonlight in Vermont.  This is her interpretation of the Ray Charles rendition of the song.  What a lovely moonlit scene she has created!

Leaving Home: Launch of the Apollo 8 is by Tanya Brown of Sunnyvale, CA.  This mission was the first to leave earth, orbit the moon 10 times, and return home.  This quilt is painted with water colors on cotton, and heavily stitched.  If you go to the gallery page you can see what the stitching looks like on the back of the quilt.

Letter From Granny by Diane Wright of Guilford, CT, features a letter written by Diane's grandmother in 1969 after a visit at the time of the moon walk.  In it, Granny marvels that she and Grandpa courted in a horse and buggy and now a man was walking on the moon!

Patricia Hobbs of Macomb, IL, created The Moon in the Classroom.  Not only does it perfectly evoke a 1969 classroom, but the image on the TV screen brings the moon landing to life.  Amazing detail!

Ricki Selva of Arlington, VA, is the artist behind Last Quarter Moon.  She depicts the line between daylight and night, when "steeply angled light rakes across the craters".  The amazing thing here is that Ricki spent almost 2 months drawing and painting the moon with permanent inks, dyes and paints.  You really need to see this in person to appreciate the detail and work involved.  If you didn't know better you might think it was a photograph.

Pseudo Lunar Topography is by Meggan Czapiga of Bethesda, MD.  She was inspired by microscopy imaging which captures a black and white image that is then colored.  This image depicts the topography of the lunar surface; blue areas are the lowest spots, red areas are the highest. 

As you can see, these are some amazing quilts.  But wait, there will be more tomorrow!  None included here depict the astronauts - those are pretty amazing too!  Kudos to Suzanne for conceiving and curating this project!