Spring 2024 Exhibits

Well, it's been a few months since our last post.  Hope you've been having a productive start to the new year!  Here at PGFiber2Art we are pleased to share 2 opportunities to visit quilt exhibits if you are local to the DC area or just traveling through.  First is quilts Inspired by the Nation's Capital, an exhibit and accompanying book by Donna DeSoto that is now on display at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville, VA through April 27,

Sue's quilt of Gunston Hall is part of the exhibit and she was excited to see it along with the other quilts that are so much more impressive when seen in person as opposed to photos.  There are so many details and textures that simply are not picked up by a camera.

All the quilts are excellent but here are a few other favorites.

Smithsonian: Mary Livingston Ripley Garden by Diane Herbort

Lorton Reformatory by Etta McFarland

US Capitol by Miki Willa and Wahington Monument by Susan Bynum

Riverbend Park by Anna Wilard

National Mall Area by Barbara Kauffman

The book showing all the quilts also serves as a tour guide for Washington, DC and is available from Schiffer Publishing and also on Amazon.

The second exhibit is called Sew to Speak by SAQA Regional groups (Studio Art Quilt Associates) on display at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Md through April 21.  In this exhibit, 32 fiber artists from the Mid-Atlantic area show how they express themselves in their textile art.  Sue also has a piece in this exhibit. 

Untold Stories is a tribute to her father's World War II service.

My Mother has Alzheimer's. These last five years. is by Carly Mul.

Winter is by Sarah Entsminger

Sailing Under Watchful Eyes is by Suzette Coppage

The catalog cover features Anxiety No. 12/Traumatic brain injury by Judy Kirpich.  The catalog is available on Amazon.

Take some time during the warming spring days to visit either or both of these exhibits!

An Old Friend Returns

 

Today Sue's quilt from the OurStory: Human Rights Stories in Fabric exhibit returned home.  After nearly 6 years of travel to exhibit venues around the US, it is like getting reacquainted with a friend you haven't seen in years.  Remembering the creative processes and techniques used (and experimented with) to create a piece of fiber art and realizing - oh yeah, that's how I did that! 

This piece is called Women's Voices Matter and represents the Women's March in Washington DC on January 21. 2017 after the inauguration of the former President.  While that march had a particular focus, it's sad to say that all it represents is just as relevant today as it was 6 years ago, if not more so. 

Above is a detail shot of the center portion of the quilt.  The background is quilted with stitch writing made up of two phrases - "This is what democracy looks like." and "Respect my existence or expect my resistance."  To make the Washington Monument, I got an image of the constitution from the Library of Congress and had it printed on fabric by Spoonflower.  (digitally printed fabric) The posters are representative of those seen that day on the mall.

Above is a close-up of the stitching under the image - you might need to enlarge the photo to read it more easily.  But what it says is "Women's rights are human rights.  We march to protect our civil rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, right to education and environmental justice, workers' rights, right to freedom of religion, LGBTQIA rights, and disability rights, and affordable healthcare for all."  Wow.  How many of these rights have improved in the last six years, and how many have lost ground?

The OurStory exhibit and book was curated and authored by Susanne Miller Jones.  You can learn more about Suzanne and the exhibit on her website.