Help!! Need a Name for New Quilt

I am entering three quilts into the Quilt National Competition and am brain dead in thinking up a name for the third one. They are all in my Seed Play series.

The first is of deciduous holly berries and is named Mockingbird's Larder.

The second is of the Asian Kousa Dogwood that is being used to replace our native dogwoods that are succumbing to a viral infection. It is called Kousa: A New Dogwood's in Town.

The last one is of a shattering seed cluster of the tulip poplar and several insect eaten leaves. I am showing a small version above. Obviously, it is not the actual design and piece for required security reasons but gives some information to help with naming it.

Please, put on your thinking cap and help me name it. Names I am considering are: Summer Shattering; A Different Tulip.

All suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks a batch,
Nancy

Best of Show - Woo Hoo!!

Pelton's Rose-Gentian

Just found out today that I won Best of Show for the Aullwood Audubon Show in Dayton Ohio this summer with Pelton's Rose-Gentian. You can read about all the work in the show on Lisa Broberg Quintana's blog. She has covered all the work and has photos of them that are luscious.

This gives me a chance to talk about this piece, as it is dear to my heart. I found the inspirational photograph for this piece in a Nature Conservancy magazine. I tracked down the photographer, John Pelton, and interviewed him on how he found it and how he knew it was a new species. Then I purchased permission to use the photography for inspiration for a quilt.

Turns out that this little flower was found early this 21st century by John Pelton,who is an amateur botanist, a professional photographer and a retired engineer from Alcoa. He specializes in photography of Arkansas wildflowers. Out one day, John saw a flower that he knew had to be a rose-gentian, but it was growing in a spot that no known rose-gentian grew. It was growing right next to and in a fast flowing stream in a broken shale valley.

John came back later and examined the plant more carefully and keyed it out. He was convinced that the flower was a totally new species, so he called in other experts on the plant species to help determine its origins. After sending a specimen to a Canadian botanist, the world's authority on rose-gentians, it was confirmed to be a brand new species. Subsequently, as is traditional, it was named for its discoverer.

Now, I was enthralled to learn that John is in his seventies. I love where people of great years are still making substantial contributions to the world. And, it is wonderful that the world still has room for scientific discoveries made by amateurs.

I selected fabrics for this piece to covey some of the environment and mystery of the plant. John discovered the plant growing in broken shale right on the edge of a stream. The shibori dyed fabrics by Lunn Fabrics on the bottom of the piece recall the broken shale. The shibori fabrics at the top, recall the running water of the creek.


Pelton's Rose-Gentian (detail)

I started with the background fabric, dyed by Judy Robertson. Most of the fabrics are hand dyed, the pinks were hand dyed by Janet Lasher, specifically to create these flowers. I used the piecing techniques of Ruth McDowell to construct it.

It was my last pieced quilt. It is large, 50" x 45".

Okay, I know you folks who have done bed quilts are laughing and think that it is small. Everything is relative.

Nancy

Quilt Motif for Architecture of Harvey B Gantt African American Art Center

DH and I went to the Harvey B Gantt African-American Art Center yesterday and were mesmerized.

The architect used the patchwork quilt to develop the architectural motif for both inside and outside of the building. This is a small cultural and art center by US standards, but very user friendly for seeing the work in an afternoon. There are three galleries in the building. One is devoted to the John and Vivian Hewitt Collection of African-American Art collected by a couple over decades and purchased by the Bank of America and donated to the AA Center.

While all the art in collection was well worth seeing, we found several pieces in this collection that were stunning. I especially loved a piece called The Sisters by Ernest Crichlow (1914 - 2005). The gray, black and white graphic design consisted of angularity throughout except for profiles and hands. The piece consisted of 4 women in a building and garden in white head dresses, and gray and white uniforms. Three of the women were holding their hands behind their backs and the expressiveness in the bodies, the arch of neck, tilt of head, angle of shoulders gave very distinct personalities to each of the women. It is amazing how much was conveyed with such economy of color and and detail.

In addition to the permanent collection, there were two other exhibitions that were very strong. One exhibit, Romancing the Eye, had a series of delicate, strong wooden bowls, boxes and vases that were exquisite. The artist, Charles Farrar, is from Concord NC. I look forward to seeing more of his work.

The other gallery contained a solo show: Spirits & Spaces by Michael B. Platt, this exhibition is a delight especially for those interested in fiber.

Platt is a print maker, many pieces were printed in editions of 3 and gallery wrapped. Using photograhy in layers, his work was evocative and story telling. In the center of the gallery, he built a "shot gun" house, and a woman's shape was printed on thin gauze and hung in the door. Behind the house were 5 panels again printed on gauze. The combination provided a narrative for the viewer that the viewer and artist were jointly involved in telling and remembering. I will look for more of his work.

Quilters' Attic Sale at Guild

Several husbands lent a hand

On the hottest night in 3 years, a number of guild members and a few happy-to-help-us-get-rid-of-stuff husbands put on a quilters' attic sale at the July meeting of the Charlotte Quilters Guild.

I rented 3 tables at $5 each to help move some of my stash into other hands. Rent money went to support our guild library.


Jeri setting up

After bringing our supplies in, we tried to set up our sales in appealing ways. Folks used different approaches and had quite a variety quilt related items to sell. Always fun to see what others are getting rid of.


Wish I had seen the Elna Press

I wish I had spotted this press in my quick circle around the tables. That might be a very nice addition to my studio equipment.


Yummy hand dyes

And I am always a sucker for beautiful hand-dyed fabrics.


Color coordinated bundles in zip lock bags

This was my set up, easy to put together and remove again.


Organized on bolts

Thank goodness my stash is in smaller amounts, lots of different fabrics, but little that would go onto bolts.


Colorful bins and neatly folded fabrics well labeled

Some of the folks knew how to make a very inviting display.


Magazines and books

Conversation over quilts for sale

Lots of conversation and fun around the room. More talking than buying was the reality.


Conversations and fun amidst the hunt

Probably the most accurate comment of the night was made by one wag: "A quilters' attic sale is like holding open bar at Alcoholics Anonymous."


Most of us at least paid for our tables. I made enough to pay for an artist assistant for a couple more afternoons. I will now donate all the fabric, patterns and tools to continue moving stuff out. That will give me 9 drawers that are empty.

And that moves much out of our garage, which is my reserve space for my studio overflow. Would love to be able to put at least one car in the 2 1/2 car garage this winter.

Anyone with experience in donating lots of fabric, please share what you learned in the process.

Also, what do you think about a press?

Happy Quilting

Nancy

Edges and Finishes by Campbell-Harding

Edges & Finishes by Valerie Campbell-Harding, Quilters' Resource publications

Campbell-Harding's book is full of design and embellishment ideas that will be enough inspiration for years.This book is full of eye candy for the art quilter and embroiderer.

Chapters include multiple examples and high level how-to information on a variety of ways to use different finishes. Chapters include: fabric edges, stitched edges, fringes, cords and braids, tassels and suppliers, including on line suppliers.

Examples of the use of the techniques include 3 dimensional pieces, book covers, purses, and journal pages. Most of the work is done on a standard sewing machine, but one with fancy stitches can be used to create wonderfully imaginative work, including doing one's own decorative tapes to be used as finishes, and embellishment. I could use all those 100 + stitches on my Pfaff with these ideas. Several of the ideas include patterns.



Beaded Book

This book caught my eye. Loved the colors, the decorative beading and the beaded cord ends. Directions for the beading are included. This book is art itself, even if nothing is inside. But wouldn't it be lovely for an artist's portfolio? Be still my beating heart!!


Purse

Here is a purse showing a number of the techniques, edges, cording, raw edge fabric, embroidery, tabs, etc. While there are a number of finished works, including bowls and sculpture, there are many more small examples and sketches of ideas in progress and with great variety.

If you are looking for detailed projects and instructions, you may be inspired and frustrated at the same time. If you are looking for something new to do, want to increase your finishing techniques, or want to explore personally creative uses for those pretty embroidery stitches in your machine, I would recommend this book heartily.

Nancy

New Museums All Around

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art; Mario Botta architect

This is a very exciting time, there are lots of new and renovated museums opening this year.

Carol Miller, Quilt University, has great pictures of the reopening of one of my all time favorite museums, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond VA. I grew up in walking distance and took my first art classes there during elementary school. Several of Monet's waterlilies were in the downstairs hallway next to student classrooms, to give you some idea of how long ago this was. Currently they have an exhibition on Tiffany windows and glass. This fall they will have an exhibition on quilts from the Winterthur Museum collection.

In Charlotte NC we are blessed with 2 new or upgraded museums, one is The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. It is a marvel of architecture housing an incredible multimillion dollar collection of early 20th century art donated by Andreas Bechtler. He and his parents collected the art over the last 75 years from artists they knew personally. I was delighted to see a variety of fiber pieces by very well known artists. They were not fiber artists, but painters who had translated their art into fiber.

Another time I will write about the new Harvey B Gantt Museum of African-American Art + Culture. It is another wonderfully, expanded and upgraded museum in Charlotte. The architect used design motifs from the quilting tradition for the outside walls.

Have you visited any new museums or expanded museums? Any fiber art represented in them? Please share.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Nancy

1st Place Mixed Media at Mint Hill Arts

After The Frost

The quilt above won 1st place in mixed media at the juried and judged art show at Mint Hill Arts last night. Nice to know that what I am doing holds up in a really good art show.

It was particularly exciting because the judges were Regine and Josephine Bechtler. They are part of the Bechtler family who recently gave a $5+ million collection of 20th century art and founded a museum here in Charlotte for the contemporary art collection to reside.

The show will be up through July 1. I regularly have art in this membership gallery. For a small community outside of Charlotte, the quality of shows produced is quite excellent. I have been very pleased with how well my work is received in this gallery.

As one of my goals is to increase the awareness and acceptance of quilts as an art medium, this award feels really special.

Nancy