Facade Exhibit

Studio Art Quilt Associates Regional NC/VA group is concluding an exhibit at the Petersburg Area Art League, Petersburg, VA.  The theme was "Facade", which could be interpreted in multiple ways from architectural fronts, to the portrayal of emotions, or the masks we wear.  The quilts in this exhibit covered the gamut.  Sue's submission to this juried exhibit is "Beyond the Door", a realistic portrayal of Midhope Castle in West Lothian, Scotland.

This piece was painted on a midweight canvas fabric using a variety of textile paints, walnut ink, and Inktense paint sticks. The grasses and ferns around the steps and door are Thermofax screen prints. This was a unique project for Sue in that it was all done with paints rather than pieced fabrics.

Here are some other outstanding quilts in this exhibit.

Facade 1 by Kevin Womack

Alaska Glacier by Karin Tauber

My Mask by Sandy Curran

Reality Reflections by Paula C. Dean

Seduced by a Digital World by Jayne Bentley Gaskins

Visitor by Sharon Carrier

Silenced by Paula C. Dean

Kracken by Frances Bents

Painted Ladies by Sherry Watkins

Unfortunately, the show will be coming down on Thursday and there are no plans for additional venues. I do hope you enjoyed this glimpse of the exhibit.

Sacred Threads Travel Exhibit 2025

WOW.  We have really neglected our blog!  I guess it's something we need to be more intentional about.  The Sacred Threads travel exhibit has come to the greater DC area, showing at Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, VA, where the main show was based for a number of years.  Due to new leadership the show has moved to Indianapolis and will take place late October/early November. The travel show premiered at the Houston Quilt Festival last fall and continues travelling until it joins the main exhibit this fall.  Sue has a quilt called "Insight" in the exhibit, one of 39 in the group.  Susanne Jones, who is a member of the Sacred Threads committee and also of Floris, has done a stellar job of arranging the quilts for display in the church's art gallery space.  If you are local, take some time to see the exhibit.  The church is open weekdays 8-5 and Sunday mornings.  The stories behind the quilts are truly moving.  Here are some overall shots and some of Sue's favorites.  

Flagged by Patty Kennedy-Zafred about WWII Japanese internment camps.

Innocents by Paula Straw about Hungarian Jews who met their fate in Auschwitz.

Left: Grief is the Price of Love by Julie Brandon on heart wrenching end-of-life decisions. Right: Spirit Chairs - Blue Welcome by Maggie Vanderweit, the welcome chair awaits you. 

 

Left: A Quiet Oasis by Christine Vinh showcases Smithsonian gardens.  Right: Sit Under Your Own Fig Tree, Unafraid by Susanne Jones, be unafraid in the face of challenging times.

Healing Broken Hearts by Karen Kuranda depicts how heart cells grow in response to different sound frequencies.

Life's a Stitch x 4

If you live in or near Northern Virginia, you can visit the "Life's a Stitch" exhibit at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center through October 13 in the McGuire Woods Gallery.  Four quilt artists show 4 different ways they use stitch and fiber sculpture to express themselves showing both humorous and serious topics. 

The Workhouse is housed in the renovated campus of the former Lorton Reformatory which was set up as an agricultural work camp and housed prisoners from Washington DC beginning in 1910 through 2001. It was sold to Fairfax County (Virginia) and approved for use as a cultural arts center; it opened with this new mission in 2008.

The current exhibit features work by Holly Cole, Susan Lapham, Susan Callahan, and Linda Strowbridge. Each has their own distinctive approach to fiber art. Holy Cole uses her background in theater and costume design to create 2D and 3D pieces reflecting her love for animals, particularly endangered species.  Using upcycled canvas army tarps as a foundation for her drawing and painting skills she creates amazing animal portraits and sculptures.

Susan Lapham's approach is abstract and intuitive, reflecting memories of family and fun.  Some pieces are precisely pieced angular compositions while others consist of more organic and playful shapes. 

Susan Callahan's pieces draw on her experience as a chef and reflect a lifetime of feeding people that are both humorous and reflective.  She uses painting, printing and fabric collage in her compositions. Who knew that stove top burners could create such interesting patterns?

Linda Strowbridge's architectural approach uses abstract expressionism and collage to explore her love of old buildings. Her skillful use of line, color and shape make for unique compositions.

This is just a sampling of what you will see in the exhibit - each artist brings their own unique perspective to their work.  It is an hour or more well spent, do try to see this exhibit if you are near the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC.  If you have more time to spend, you can also visit the working studios of the artists who have space at the workhouse.   They encompass all aspects of artistic endeavor, not just fiber art.  Check out the Workhouse Arts Center!

SAQA Benefit Auction

It's time once again for SAQA's annual Benefit Auction. (SAQA = Studio Art Quilt Associates) Members have donated 12" square art quilts that go up for auction as the organization's main fund-raising effort.  Funds raised support SAQA's exhibitions, publications, and educational outreach.  The auction opens on September 13 and runs through October 6.  It is a reverse auction format.  On opening day, all artworks are available for $1000 each.  For the following 3 weeks, the quilts are divided into 3 groups with 1 group available each week at decreasing prices.  Read more about the auction here and view the quilts here.

You do need to create an account on Handbid in order to bid on quilts.

Sue has donated a quilt again this year, a screen printed and hand stitched piece called "Hope".

Do take a look at all the beautiful artworks available and bid if you are so inclined.  It's an opportunity to own a small artwork by well-known and upcoming artists in the world of art quilts.

Etsy Shop Open and Discount

 Our Etsy shop is open again after a few months break due to problems with our Thermofax machine.  

Since these machines are "old technology" (think 1960s!), finding repair services is not the easiest task. Initially, the lamp that provides the flash to burn the screens stopped working so a replacement lamp was needed.  The first challenge was finding the correct replacement and installing it.  That took some time.  The installation was also a challenge, and after installing the new lamp and putting things back together, it ran but no flash.  All this took several weeks.  

Then the task became finding someone who might be able to fix it.  After some internet searching and inquiries to various online groups who might have resources, we contacted a repair service in Florida. After some messaging it was determined that it would be necessary to send the machine off for repair.  A few weeks later it has returned and we were able to open the Etsy shop again.  

To thank our customers for their patience, we are offering a 10% discount through the month of August on everything in the Etsy shop.  Use code SAVE10 at checkout for the discount.  We also added 3 new screens shown below.  Visit the shop for photos of prints of these screens which include a bird seen from above, wisteria, and a tickseed (coreopsis) flower in 3 sizes.  

We also are happy to make your custom screens and hope you will visit the shop soon!

Sacred Threads

 "Sacred Threads is an exhibition of quilts exploring themes of joy, inspiration, spirituality, healing, grief and peace/brotherhood. This biennial exhibition was established to provide a safe venue for quilters who see their work as a connection to the sacred and/or as an expression of their spiritual journey."

This biennial exhibit has most recently been held in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC but has now moved to Indianapolis due to a change in leadership.  Sue has had quilts juried into this show several times and her 2022 quilt is part of the traveling exhibit from that show.  Due to the change in location, the next exhibit will be in 2025, but the traveling exhibit will debut this fall at the Houston International Quilt Festival and will travel for 3 years.  Sue found out recently that her submission titled "Insight" was accepted to the traveling exhibit.  How exciting!  

This quilt tells the personal story of her healing journey through an autoimmune disorder that has affected her eyes.  It has caused chronic inflammation, severe photophobia and scar tissue and resulted in numerous eyelid surgeries to prevent eyelashes from scratching corneas.  Visual acuity has also suffered, but through it all, she has continued to make quilts and pursue creative endeavors whenever possible, which is as much a part of the healing process as the medical treatments.  

The raw edge strips represent the rawness of emotions, and the screen prints are from photos at various stages over the last 2 years.  The story is written with Fabrico fabric markers.  Hand stitching over the words on darker backgrounds helps with legibility.  Cross stitch embroidery was used in areas where the strips didn't overlap enough.

After 2 years things finally seem to be on a good path and getting back to "normal" seems more possible. Making this quilt was very much part of the therapy on the road to healing.

I'm a Cover Girl!

Exciting news!  Sue here.  I'm honored and thrilled to announce that my quilt, "Red Bird and Berries", is on the cover of the summer issue of Quilting Arts magazine!  

It is a detail of the full quilt which appears in the Invitational Readers Challenge published in this issue.  Below is an image of the full quilt.

The Invitational Challenge was a special challenge to artists who have been published in Reader Challenges in the last 2 years.  There was no particular theme, just submit your best work.  The piece includes cyanotype prints, indigo dyeing using shibori techniques, thermofax printing, machine and hand stitching.  I was thrilled to be selected to be published; never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate being selected for the cover!  

There is a page up on the Quilting Daily website with more info about the summer issue and there is also a video interview I did with Kristine Lundblad, Managing Editor of Quilting Arts.  Digital copies of the magazine are available now at the link above or print copies will be available on newsstands June 18.  If you have a subscription, your copy should arrive about mid-month.  Looks like lots of great articles to dive into.  Enjoy!