Fall Into Art Exhibit - Charlotte Art League

This composite e-vite features my piece, Winter Fruit, as the piece on the right in the series and the upper left side. Blew me away.

The opening was Friday night and was quite delightful with both the juried exhibition on view as well as lots of open studios of the resident artists. A number of the artists had free snacks and even wine to lure viewers to their studio areas. Much to be learned in this process.

Charlotte Art League, at 1517 Camden Road in Charlotte, NC

Hours are:

Tuesdays to Thursdays - 11 - 3

Fridays - 11-3, and 5-8

Saturdays - 11 - 3

Sundays - 1-5

Winter Whites - A Seasonal Exhibition of Texture

Winter Whites, Ciel Gallery Nov 6 - Jan 9 Receptions: Nov 6 and Dec 4 - 6-9 PM

This exhition has many different media artists from six different countries: Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, Monaco, as well as the United States.

The gallery owner, Pam Goode, is a mosaic artist and with her international contacts, has a number of tile mosaics in the show. The softness of my three winter pieces contrasts beautifully with the hard textures of the mosaics. All of the art work in this small gallery has an appropriate intimate feel.

The theme held the show together beautifully. There are paintings, photographs and numerous mosaic tile pieces including several from a Canadian mosaic artist used a number of white shells and hard shelled marine animals in her work .

Here are details of two of my pieces in the show. I forgot to take the camera, but will try to get some gallery shots to post later.


Winter Confection III detail

Reclamation - detail

If you are in the area, hope you can see the show. It is well worth the visit. It is right next door to the Charlotte Art League on Camden Road.

Contact pam@cielgallery.com for gallery hours.

Keep Quilting

Nancy

My Love Affair - And My Husband Approves

American Beech Tree Seed Pod and Seeds


I have fallen in love with tree seeds.
Isn't this American Beech seed pod funny? I love the little curly spikes on the outside of the pod and the exquisite little three-sided seeds. A pair of seeds is in each pod, just waiting to fall to the ground. I used this seed pod for inspiration along with leaves and stems in two quilts that can be viewed on my website http://nancygcook.com/ under Seed Play. One is Summer Split and the other is Parallels.

Juniperus

This interesting plant has a cone that does not look like a cone at all. The stems and needles are covered with triangular scales. This is a ground cover dwarf found in front of the local Barnes and Noble. Creating these scales with thread and stitch was a great deal of fun. My quilt, Juniperus, was inspired by these features.

A Branch of Crepe Myrtle Seed Pods

These seeds are just about my favorite. Their wonderful forms are so lovely, with great shadows and curves. And check out the cap on the top of the seed pod. They are a delight to work in fabric and threads. My quilt, Late Summer Dawn, was inspired by these curious little seed pods.

The many strategies that trees have developed for reproducing are fascinating. Spores, seeds dispersed by wind or animals, fruits, all depend on another force to help disperse the next generation. Many of the forms are intricate and as beautiful as flowers. In the case of trees, the seeds may be more interesting and at least more visible than the flowers.

These are three of my favorites that I have used in quilts.

I hope that you enjoy these lovelies.
Nancy

Contest Results and Three Deciduous Holly Branches

Three Deciduous Holly Branches

Thanks to Sue Andrus and Karoda for entering the contest. Sue wins for getting the best entry in first. And Karoda wins a second place for adding to the explanation of how this piece conveys the economic driver that separates people in the city of Charlotte. Sue gets the hand dyed shibori fabric promised and Karoda will get a second prize of another piece of hand dyed fabric. All I need are addresses of where to send. You folks did such a good job that everyone else must have been scared off from entering. Thanks for taking part. And to others, check out their excellent blogs and websites. I guarantee that they are fascinating.

I finished the piece, Three Deciduous Holly Branches, and delivered it yesterday so it becomes the property of Crossroads Charlotte. Will be interesting to see what they are going to do with the art completed by the 12 artists.

Right now I am drooling over the Cheap Joe’s Art Supplies catalogue dreaming about what to do with the $150 gift certificate that each artist got from Cheap Joe’s. Inks, paints, easel, canvases, sketch pads? Yummy!

Keep Quilting
Nancy

500 Art Quilts - Doing the Happy Jig

500 Art Quilts is coming out in March 2010. The cover features this wonderful piece by Nancy Murty called Love, Honor and Cherish.

Doing the happy jig tonight. Just got word that 2 of my entries to the book, 500 Art Quilts, were selected to be published. Here is a peek at details of the pieces. You can see the full size pieces on my website.


Summer Split (detail)


Spring Rhapsody (detail)

Wow. With all the great art quilts out there, I feel really honored and humble to be included.
Keep Quilting

Nancy

Hot Rainy and Beautiful – Festival in the Park Update

This week I am restoring my studio to order and drying out. The weekend had it all in the way of weather. Hot and muggy on Thursday and Friday, Saturday drizzled with a down pour that closed the Festival early. Sunday was gorgeous and loads of people came out. But loads of fun overall. Met some really great people and had a chance to catch up on some artists I have met before.

Economics - Crossroads Charlotte

I worked on a new piece for Crossroads Charlotte and finished the inking process. It is a piece on Economics. It is worked on a Heidi Stoll Weber hand dyed cotton sateen with Tsukineko inks.

Contest: A prize is offered to the person who leaves a comment with the best explanation of how this piece conveys economics and how economics divides people in our communities – by October 10, 2009. In case of tied entries, the first date and time stamp will win.

Win what you ask? A yummy piece of hand dyed shibori by yours truly in blues, maroon and red. It is a cotton fat quarter.


One of my personal goals is to help educate the public about quilts as art and work that is displayed on walls. Most of the viewers at my FIP studio were totally unfamiliar with quilts as art. It was a good opportunity in furthering this goal.

Several folks left cards and I will have lots of follow-up to do this week.

Keep quilting
Nancy

Festival in the Park Charlotte NC

Since 1964, Festival in the Park has been bringing good music, good art and good times to Charlotteans and visitors from around the world. The sounds of "big band music" drift across Freedom Park's lake whose still surface reflects the lights strung from Camelot exhibit tents.

A new element to FIP will be a tent with twelve emerging artists creating work and talking with Festival goers. I will be one of the 12 artists setting up a studio and gallery of our work. We cannot sell our work and compete with 154 paying artists from all over the country. I am really excited about the opportunity for this exposure.

This is the design I will be creating in my FIP studio. It will be on Heidi Stoll-Weber cotton sateen and inked. It is 3 branches of deciduous holly. Our finished work will be auctioned off by Crossroads Charlotte to help future emerging artists.

Festival runs from Thursday 6pm Sept 24 through Sunday afternoon Sept 27.

My hours at FIP are:

Thursday 6-10 pm

Friday 10 - 2

Saturday 10 - 2, 6-10

Sunday 2- 6

If you are in the area, come take a peek at my booth and see my work in progress.

My head is spinning with making lists of what to take, updating marketing materials, etc. The piece we make is inspired by one of six elements that separate people in our community. The Emerging Artists' Colony is sponsored by Crossroads Charlotte, a program designed to create bridges between different groups, races, ethnicities in our community. My driving force is: Economics.

Anyone with similar experience, what are you glad you did, and what do you wish you had done? Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.