The subject of this art quilt, now in progress, is a “Biker in the Oregon Rain.” I am making it for High Fiber Diet’s Diversity Show. I am hoping to finish it, and the green one, by the end of April. Progress has been slow, but I am getting there.
I just returned from a wonderful month in India. My husband and I were on a Rotary Friendship Exchange. We spent one week with a family in Aurangabad and another week with a different family in Solapur.
While with these families I was able to visit places where fabrics were made, dyed and printed. I was also able to purchase some great fabric scraps from a shop, and am thinking how I might use them in my art work. The beautiful saris and the use of vibrant colors everywhere in India are a feast for the eyes. There is color everywhere!
I have posted some pictures – one of place where fabric is made, and one with me digging in the scrap pile in a shop. That was an experience, as the shopkeepers couldn’t understand why I wanted the scraps.
Fabric with camel
I thought I would give you an update on the Oregon: State of Diversity Exhibition which SAQA is involved.
The 2010-2011 SAQA Oregon show, Oregon: State of Diversity, is featured at the Heritage Station Museum in Pendleton, Oregon from February 15th through April 9th. The museum is located at 108 SW Frazer, Pendleton. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm. Museum members are invited to an opening reception on Tuesday, February 15th from 5:30 to 7 pm. For further information, contact the museum at 541 276-0012 during those hours.
I am also involved in another show at Maude Kerns Art enter in Eugene, OR.
Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR Presents
Fiber “High Biber Diet” and “Loosely Bound”
February 25 – March 25, 2011
Gallery Hours: M-F, 10-5:30pm; Sat. 12-4pmm
For information: (541) 345-1571 or Maude Kerns Art Center
Another show worth seeing is Back to Nature by High Ïiber Diet. This card give you all the information about the show.
The new news is that the manhole quilts have been shipped to Tokyo, Japan. As I mentioned before, they will be on display during the Japan Ground Manhole Association’s 10th anniversary celebration, and ultimately will be given as presents to special guests. The Association has offered one of the quilts to Alice Gondenker in consideration for her efforts on this project. She is the journalist who wrote the article on manhole covers entitled, SO, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? She responded that she would be very pleased to own one. Alice has an interesting web site dealing with Japanese topics and a new post on the manhole cover quilts. Since I lived in Japan for four years, I really enjoy reading her articles.
Three of the quilts – Uncommon Will, Tamari and Kamaishi City were featured in my book, Treasures Underfoot. A forth quilt –Surface Tension– was remade in a smaller version, quite similar to one in the collection of the LaConner Quilt Museum, in Washington. All four can be seen in the About section of my web site.
This is a close-up look at the latest art quilt in progress. I had some paper towels that were used to mop up paint, and had very interesting patterns, so I saved them. I am incorporating them in this piece. It seems to be working out pretty well, after applying two coats of gel medium. They are still very flexible and workable. If you look closely, you can see them. Stay tuned for the finished result.
More art quilted placemats have been added so take a look. They are under New Placemats on my web site. Hope you enjoy them.
I am excited that the Japan Ground Manhole Association has asked me to take part in their 10th Anniversary celebration.The have purchased four quilts featured in my books, Quilting With Manhole Covers and Treasures Underfoot, and will be showing them at the event.
The interest in my quilts came about because of an article written by Alice Gordenker who is a writer for The Japan Times. She wrote a great piece entitled, “So, What the Heck is That? Manhole Covers.” Click here to read the article.
You can also visit the Associations site, although it is in Japanese. Click on the buttons and you will find many wonderful manhole cover designs. On the site, you will find a description of the organization, lists its member companies (and their websites), provides basic information on what a manhole is, and links to related sites. There is also information about deaths due to uncovered manholes and unsafe manholes. The colorful box on the bottom right side links to a Q&A about manholes and manhole covers including history, design, etc.
I have been making more placemats, and have posted several on my site. Look under New Placemat in the Placemats. I will be putting more in as I complete them, So, stay tuned!
Now for the final chicken quilt. This is the second quilt created for the Tactile Expressions “Full Circle” challenge, the intent of which was to see what happens when an image is passed from artist to artist.
The challenge rules for the first quilt required a fixed-size 35″ X 28″ piece. I was presented with a picture of a tea pot. But what I saw in the picture was the outline of a chicken, and I elaborated on that theme in the two resulting quilts required for the challenge. I traced the outline of the image based upon the teapot chicken. With the first quilt, I got carried away and made it a bit too large.
The second quilt came out more in line with the size requirement. Once again, I assembled the chickens with many tiny pieces of fabric. and applied fused applique and yarn in the rest of the work. I stamped the background fabric, and machine-quilted the entire piece.
I now have a name for both quilts: Scratching I and II. You are looking at the second effort, Scratching II.
I would like to share a little of what the students accomplished in my Buenos Aires workshop. The students were very enthusiastic, and good quilters. We made placemats using various design methods and ideas. They played around using Broderie Perse, then moved on using shapes in different ways. In the end they experimented with using Notan as a possibility for designs. These designs were used place mats. All produced wonderful, creative designs. Here are some examples.
Shapes and Notan in progress
Estela Loitegui and her Notan shapes
Maria Giardini and Gladis Vega with their shapes and Notan almost finished.
Estela Loitegui and here work
Teresita Leal and her work
At last the chicken art-quilt is finished! It was created as part of a challenge put forth by Tactile Expressions, wherein the participants take an image, interpret it in a different way, and pass the interpretation along to the next in line. It is kind of like the game in which a message is whispered from one person to another in a group, and inevitably the message changes as it is passed along. What came to me was a picture of a tea pot. After a while, the image of a chicken appeared, and thus the chicken quilt.
I need a name for this piece of art, so if you have any ideas please let me know.
Below is the chicken quilt followed by a picture of the original picture.
Time is flying and I am getting ready to travel to Argentina where I will be teaching classes. This has been a very busy summer, so I thought I would let you know what has been going on in my art quilt world.
The INTERNATIONAL WOMENS ARTISTS EXHIBITION USA – AUGUST 2010 at the Littman Gallery – Portland State University – Portland OR, was the biggest event for me. I have said things before about OWCA before but thought I would mention it again.
Here is a little history. “HER PRESENCE IN COLOURS” exhibitions were founded and directed by the guiding vision of Dr. Yuen Chee Ling of Malaysia. Dr. Ling believes that, “The artworks of these exhibitions reflect a cohesive spirit of the women artists and their visions for peace and harmony which will surely contribute towards building a better tomorrow for our future generations.” This exhibition marks the 17th anniversary of HER PRESENCE IN COLOURS, a series that began in 1993 in Beijing. At that time, seven women artist participated. This year, 90 women artists from 24 countries participated in the 9th exhibition. Previous shows were staged in Thailand, England, Canada, Australia, South Korea, and China. This was the first in the USA. There were 93 women artists of various nationalities who presented their works together at the Littman. Among the 93, 69 were from countries foreign. The theme was, “Reflection on Oneself: Self-portrait” The art works were either literal self-portraits, or one reflecting the individual’s feelings and ideas.
Three other highlights of the summer were presentations of my work at four Portland-area venues:
The Poster Garden “1st Thursday in the Pearl,” a monthly art event in Portland’s Pearl District where. I had one large wall for my creations.
Six Street Gallery “Fiber Arts Festival” in Vancouver, WA (just across the river) where three of my pieces were juried into this show.
The Albina Bank Exhibition, also in Portland’s Pearl District, and held in conjunction with OWCA show, where two of my pieces were juried in.
The Geezer Gallery show Portland, with three pieces juried in.
The Oregon branch of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Association) is having an exhibit of OREGON: STATE OF DIVERSITY. This exhibit will debut at NW Quilting Expo on September 23rd and we hope you will be able to fit it into your plans. http://www.nwquiltingexpo.com
This is a juried show and the first for SAQA Oregon. The Oregon: State of Diversity exhibit will be traveling throughout 2011. I am thrilled that my quilt Bike Oregon is a part of this exhibit.
The Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. is a wonderful association dedicated to art quilters. They are having a fundraiser for the 2010 SAQA Benefit Auction which is starting September 20th
http://www.saqa.com/news.php?ID=1423 Take a look at the beautiful art quilts.
To learn more about Studio Art Quilt Association visit their web site. http://www.saqa.com
What a wonderful week we had with OWCA (Oregon Women Caucus for the Arts) “Her Colours,” and with the international artists who participated.
This is the first time anything like this has been in the United States of America. I am pleased to have participated in this event. Here is a link to nice article by Kate Loftesness of the Oregonian, our local Portland newspaper.
http://www.oregonlive.com/art/index.ssf/2010/08/psu_hosts_first_her_presence_i.html
I have so many good pictures it is difficult to decide which ones to use. Therefore, I’m including just a few of the opening ceremonies at Portland City Hall, with the mayor Sam Adams and one of the artists involved in organizing the program.
Mayor Sam Adams opening the ceremony at city hall.
I am thrilled to be able to return to Buenos Aires, Argentina to teach some quilting classes. I was there last March and took part in their quilt show at the Romulo Raggio Museum, in Vicente López, just ousted of the city. I had a wonderful time and met many nice people.
I will be teaching a two-day Placemats class using a variety of methods, as well as a one-day class showing my students how to transform shapes into interesting designs. I will also talk about Notan–is the dark – light principle of design or negative and positive space–and how it is used.
Take a look at the Buenos Aires web site http://www.buenosairesquilting.com.ar/ Even though it is in Spanish you will be able to see some of their work. Click on the red INGRESAR AL SITIO to enter the site you will see a slide show. After that just click around and discover things.
I have been very privileged to be included in some wonderful shows. I just want to share these events with you. The Albina Bank Gallery, Six Street Gallery, Littman Gallery and the Geezer Gallery are the places where my work will be showing in August.
The Albina Bank Gallery is sponsoring a show for Oregon Women’s Caucus for the Arts OWCA. I am pleased that I have been juried into this show. It runs from Aug 5-30th in Portland’s Peal District. The Reception is Aug 5th 6 to 9pm.
The Six Street Gallery in Vancouver, Washington, also has accepted a piece for August. The reception is Aug. 6, 5 to 9pm. http://www.sixthstreetgallery.com
The Oregon Women’s Caucus for Arts (OWCA), in partnership with Malaysia-based, International Women Artists’ Exhibition, and Conservatory of Fine Arts are sponsoring the exhibition, “Her Presence In Colours/ Reflections of Self,” presented Aug 5 to 27. I have one piece in this show, also. OWCA is hosting this significant event, and working hard to make it a success. The Reception is Aug 5th at the Littman Gallery, Portland State University, from 5 to 7pm. www.oregonwca.org
I have also been juried into the Geezer Gallery for August. This is exciting for me because it is open to an exceptional group of artists. Check out their site, http://www.geezergallery.com
Having work in all these show has kept me very busy, with little time for anything else. I have been making progress on my “fiber art challenge,” with the chickens now planted in the background. I will soon post a picture to show you how it is coming along. I am also in a design concept phase with another bike piece. Read the rest of this entry »
I finally had a chance to see the Bird’s Eye View show and I was be very pleased at the results. The Camas Library is a beautiful building, with a nice gallery on its upper floor. The lighting is wonderful that really show the quilts off. Below is the schedule of where Bird’s Eye View show can bee seen. I have put several pictures of the art work in the show. I am pleased to be part of this show. The Camas Library show finished the end of July.
- White Sturgeon Gallery Vancouver, WA , July 10 to August 28, 2010, (reception not set yet)
- Pacific International Quilt Show, Santa Clara, California, October 14 to 17, 2010
- Stitches in Bloom, Silverton, Oregon at the Oregon Garden, January 28 to 29, 2011
• If you are interested in booking “Bird’s Eye View” email Mary Arnold for information.
Diane Born Christina Brown
I was lucky to visit the Studio Art Quilt Association (SAQA) international traveling show in the beautiful gallery at the Grants Pass Museum of Art. http://gpmuseum.com/ The show called Transformations ’09 is outstanding. The quilts are wonderful and very diverse. I recommend a visit to this show.
Here is a quick look. The quilts from left to right are by artists Chiake Dosho, Brooke Atherton and Fenella Davis.
August 1-7, 2010, the Oregon Women’s Caucus for Art, in partnership with the Malaysian based arts organizations, International Women Artists’ Exhibition and the Conservatory of Fine Art are sponsoring the exhibition, “Her Presence In Colours / Reflections of Self.” This significant international multi-cultural conference and exhibition will feature 84 women artists from 24 countries. This is the 9th bi-annual exhibition that originally opened in Beijing in 1993. Since then, Her Presence In Colours has been held in Thailand, England, Canada, and South Korea. The 2010 exhibition will be held in the USA at The Littman Gallery, Portland State University, Portland, OR.
The OWCA has been working hard during the past year to make this a successful cultural exchange. Seminar presentations, artist gallery talks, tours of local attractions, the exhibition opening, and a gala banquet to be held at the PSU Native American Center are scheduled.
