Quilt Show–Traditional or Modern?

These last quilts meet some tradition and some modern criteria. Sometimes it seems thinking in a continuum instead of in categories makes more sense. There were a couple quilts in the second show post that I thought also had some features of each. If I’d planned ahead to this post, I’d have saved them for it.

I think I remember others having distinguished between contemporary quilts and modern quilts that follow the “modern aesthetic.” In that classification, these would perhaps be contemporary quilts. There is no doubt in my mind that future historians would look at them and know they were made early twenty-first century.

Jan Laus’ “Calypso”; quilted by Robin Hill

“Calypso” design comes from Smith and Milligan’s Simple to Sensational Batiks.

Darlene Miller’s “Radiant Suns”

“Radiant Suns” is a pattern by Cara Gulati.

There are those who question whether modern quilts can be made with batiks. I’ve heard other such absolutes be modified in a year or so.

Carol Brown’s “Suitcase Quilt”; quilted by Carol Parks

Carol’s design source is “Trip X 2,” […] Designs. Alas I cut off too much of the right side of the label to read the full name.  This quilt won the Linda Tamlyn award for best use of color. Well deserved, don’t you think?

Jackie Putnam’s “Splat”

Jackie followed Bethany Reynolds’ Stack and Whack method. Sometimes I wonder at the source of a quilt name.There must be a story.

Charel Walker’s Quilt of Valor; quilted by Colleen Barnhardt

Charel’s design came from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. Quite a few guild members  make quilts of valor.

And I remembered quilting shots on this one and the next one.

Kazumi Peterson’s “Orange Parfait”

Kazumi modified a Fons and Porter “Easy Quilts” design. Her award is for the small pieced quilt category.

I just want to say again that what category I place a quilt into (or that others do) has nothing to do with how much I enjoy a quilt.  This is the last show post and I look forward to the next show.

 

 

 

Quilt Show–Second Installment of Modern

Now for the modern quilts (in my eye) that were not so labeled.  In some cases it may have been a factor of size–big bed quilts have to hang on big frames (and the committee has the right to change categories). First the biggest, the queen sized quilt:

Tam Gardner’s modification of Elizabeth Hartman’s “Aviatrix Medallion”

Tam’s quilt was quilted by Jolene Knight of Good Knight Quilts–I apologize for not having photos of the quilting–or of any of the quilting for this group.

Maureen Orr Eldred’s “Just a Little Too Much For Me” quilted by Kathy Morrison.

Maureen used “It’s a Plus” pattern by Brigitte Heitland of Zen Chic.

Marjorie Rhine’s “Red Sunrise,” an original design

Marjorie Rhine reappears via her pattern, “Rotini.”

Nikki Schoeffel’s Bali-tini

Kathleen E Schmidt’s”Polka Dot Com 2016″

Kathleen used a Freddy Moran pattern, Dot Con, and the quilting is by Jolene Knight.

Sharon Bishop’s “Wonky Baskets”

Sharon took a workshop with Kristen Shields but produced her own free form, liberated baskets and layout design. Kazumi Peterson did the quilting.

Pieced and quilted by Kathy Morrison

My photograph of the label doesn’t show Kathy’s title; it does show that the pattern came from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

These quilts each struck me as modern in some way or another. I am always interested in definitions and would welcome comments about the degree of modernness that you see or don’t see in them.  Although I can get caught up in discussion of criteria, it doesn’t inhibit my quilting style or appreciation.

 

 

 

Quilt Show–Quilts Labeled ‘Modern’

This is the first year my local guild has had a modern category, and there were a good number entered in it.  There were also modern quilts in other categories. Today I’ll share some of the self-labeled modern ones. Not all of them, though.  I took photos on two days and got two of some quilts and none of others. I need to become more methodical.

The show is not juried, but each category does have one quilt that gets a ribbon. Here is the modern one.

Colleen Barnhardt’s “Reach for the Stars”

No question why this is the one with the ribbon; isn’t that quilting wonderful? And the asymmetrical design. Here are some close ups.

The quilt is original design using traditional blocks; one of my favorite quilting designs is the ghosting of a block.

Here are more:

Karen Nelson’s “Bedtime Stories”

Karen attributes this one to a Rachel Kerley “Splat” class–unfamiliar to me. She says it is a way to showcase special fabrics. I didn’t get a detail of the quilting, though it would have deserved it.

Chelsea McLennan-West’s “Delightfully Deco”

The quilt was part of a quilt-along led by Christa Watson. Several people helped paper piece the quilt, and it was quilted by Debbie Scroggy.

Etta Gordon’s “Hearts and Points” from Elizabeth Hartman’s pattern, “Pointy”

Christine Jiun Li’s “Triple Play,” an original design

Dianna Miller’s quilt from Elizabeth Hartman’s “Sparkle Punch” pattern; quilted by Jolene Knight.

And I got a quilting detail shot of this one.

Of course, I also took the chance to get upright photos of my two quilts.

Skyline

Without Orange There Would Be No Blue

Quilts can be put for sale at the show, hence the red sign. There are not many sales as most viewers are quilters who can make their own. The quilts with green signs are from the treasure hunt, a gimmick to entertain the younger set who may not willingly have come to the show.  Another feature for the young ones (and adults) is Build-A-Block. Parts are set out and folks can design blocks that fit the 9-patch construction format.  Blocks are sewn as turned in and eventually assembled into charity quilts.

Tomorrow I’ll show some modern quilts that were not so labeled, and the post after that will be of traditional quilts.

 

NW Quilters Show

I was thinking about posting some winners, but why reinvent the wheel.

Enjoy the post from WonkyWorld.

A couple other quilts that caught my attention and my camera.

I can see that weeping willow block in my future, and the wind-blown fir.

Quilt info:

And a variation on Storm at Sea

I am totally intrigued with what changing the values and sizes of segments can do to a traditional pattern. Even after reading it was Storm at Sea, it was hard to see the traditional block.

A detail shot and the identification

One week old isn’t very archival, but it seems to be the only show I’ve posted about with photos. So linking with Tuesday Archives.

 

Cracked Ice Is Ready to Travel

Cracked Ice was finished in November. If you are new to my blog or if you have forgotten, you can catch up here.

I’m excited to tell you it was juried into the AQS Quiltweek, April 22-25 in Paducah, KY.

It has its hanging sleeve.  I almost didn’t look at the directions for the hanging sleeve because “I know how to make those.” Good thing I did. They want it  made just a little bit differently. There is a label with my address, just in case it gets separated from its box (heaven forbid!). The quilt is in plastic just in case it gets wet (Let’s hope not). And all the labels and numbers and index cards are just like the directions say. Not for nothing did I go to grade school and learn to follow directions.

So tomorrow I’ll send it on its merry way. And chew nails and check the tracking info daily till it arrives.

It would be fun to be going too, but back when it was time to make decisions about which shows to attend, I hadn’t even thought about making a quilt to enter anywhere.  On one of those sleepless nights (of which, luckily I have very few) I got the idea. (Designing quilts is more fun than counting sheep.) I checked the time table–I think deadlines were a month or six weeks away, something like that. So I’ll be happy with photos friends take and with seeing it in the book published with quilts in the show.

Just had to link to Show Off Saturday, button on sidebar. Sorry the photo didn’t come through on the link, but you can get there from here

A Few More QuiltCon Quilts

Are you tired of QuiltCon posts yet? I’m not tired of reflecting on the show.

I enjoyed Casey York’s lecture on Art History and Modern Quilts. I’m not sure I’ll follow in her footsteps, but I liked thinking about bits that can be abstracted from art earlier than modern. Then it was fun to see in person one of the quilts she had shown in her lecture, Grand Canal.

Grand Canal

Then as I wandered through the show I saw an example not in the lecture, Luke Haynes’ The American Context #16: Christina’s World.

The American Context #16: Christina’s World

In spite of the clothing change, I recognized Christina immediately. I had to read the description to see that Haynes had  kept the value pattern of the painting in his quilt. (ETA link to Wyeth’s painting.)

Did you read all the comments? I always start out a show reading them. Then it depends on how much time I have and how many quilts there are, whether I continue. I do like to read artist’s reflections on their work. And quilters’ as well.

Sometimes I take a lot of photos, sometimes I don’t even take my camera. I find the presence or absence of camera creates two quite different ways of looking, and I like both. I’m not sure there is a rhyme or reason to the rest of the photos other than the response of the moment.

I especially liked the Spring Cotton Couture Fabric Challenge quilts because when I saw the challenge fabrics, I couldn’t come up with an idea. So it was great to see what others had done. I got only one photo of them: Katherine Easterling’s Mondrian with Munsell’s Values. 

Mondrian with Munsell’s Values

I’m not sure I’d have been brave enough to put black with the pastels–but I really liked the effect.

Sometimes it was the quilting I looked at, as in the matchstick above and Linda Theofoldt’s Modern Mojo 2.

Modern Mojo 2–detail

I doubt I’ll ever get to this level of quilting, but no harm in trying. I did note that not all quilts were so closely quilted–I thought I had some sample photos, but I can’t find them. While I love detailed quilting, there are some designs that ask for less.

Sometimes it was the piecing that caught my attention (whether or not it was in the “Piecing” section): Welcome to Colorful Colorado by Katie Larsen and City Center by Angie Henderson were; Shifting Impressions by Marianne Haak and Chess on the Steps by Krista Hennebury weren’t.

Welcome to Colorful Colorado

City Center

Shifting Impressions

Chess on the Steps

And of course the use of color in all of them drew my attention.

After this post, I think I’ll return to real life and routine programming.

QuiltCon, Negative Space, and a Puzzle

I will start my reflections on QuiltCon with the categorization system itself, and then my thoughts on Negative Space. The categories are problematic in that they are neither consistent nor exclusive. Some categories are about method (piecing, applique,improv, bias), others about design (minimalist, use of negative space, modern traditional)–immediately creating overlaps. That within the design categories a quilt can feature negative space and be a minimalist design adds to the confusion. Even though the categories were confusing, it was frustrating not to be able to choose which one to enter a quilt in. It seems they could have let quilters say their preference and still move a quilt if they felt it filled an empty spot elsewhere. It would have been nice to know that the first glance was where the quilter preferred.

I especially enjoy seeing creative uses of negative space. I have a few photos of quilts I especially liked and a couple that show I need more information. Only a little off from the judges who gave it a third, I would have given first place to Stephanie Ruyle’s Read Between the Lines.

The narrow red accents crossing from the design to the negative space appealed to me on this one. (And the negative space fit with my understanding of the concept.)

Also appealing to me, and with understandable negative space, were Cheryl Brickey’s Pikes Peak and  (I think I have the name right–my photo of the tag isn’t clear) Amy Dame’s Wake Up, Wake Up.

Pikes Peak

I have a fondness for flying geese, but even without that, the overall design impact would have caught my eye. The quilting that emphasized the lines moving toward a point with its varied widths added interest. There was a clear unity between the piecing and the quilting, something I strive for but don’t always accomplish.

Wake Up, Wake Up

I was drawn to the upper half circle “calling” to the two rows and to thinking of various wake-up scenarios: parent to child, sun to plants, and so on. Again the quilting seemed appropriate to the piecing. That the quilting echoed the lower rows and not the upper half circle placed the emphasis on the waking more than the calling.

You can see that both of the above could easily also have been placed with minimalist design (something I like almost as much as creative use of negative space). And Pikes Peak could have been placed with Modern Traditionalist.

Now to the two that raised questions for me. Phoebe Hamel’s (another unclear photo of tag) Transmission and Heather Pregger’s Tuning Fork #12. (Remember, the quilters did not choose the categories.)

Transmission

Where is the negative space? It all looks like design to me. Or does each row take its turn being design and then space? Or instead of seeing six rows am I to see four rows and space? Inquiring minds want to know.

Tuning Fork #12

I really like all that I have seen of this series (three in person, several in photos). The controlled busyness appeals to me as does the subtle color variation in the background sections. The energy. My questions are these: To what extent is “background” synonymous with “negative space”? How much design can negative space hold and remain negative space?

Now it would be lovely if I could ask the judges directly, but I doubt they read my blog. So I’ll link up with Nina Marie’s Off the Wall Friday (button in sidebar) in the hopes that readers there will comment to clarify the concept of negative space.

Thoughts on a Rejected Quilt

Cracked Ice will not be seen at QuiltCon.

I thought it had potential (of course I did, or I wouldn’t have submitted it), but it will stay home when I go to view those that had more than potential.

About a day before getting the rejection email, I read an interesting blog post about confidence and art by Elizabeth Barton. (Here is a link to the whole.) The short version is this: there is correlation between confidence and marketing skill, but not between improved confidence and improved art. When I read her “If it’s getting easy, it is probably getting trite,” I thought of how quickly the idea of Cracked Ice had formed, and I had a moment of wondering if it was “oh so last show.” That may have been my only moment of self doubt.

I had a flashback to college teaching days, to students who had been at the top of their high school classes and to their surprise that in college freshman writing they were only average. Their peers had shifted and so had their rank. My quilt had had a similar shift from being admired by friends and followers of my blog to being one among many that had been so admired.

Not having a smart phone, I missed the discussion of the judging on Instagram, but I enjoyed the analysis Elizabeth Eastmond provided and ensuing discussion.(Here is a link to the whole.) Among other things, she mentioned not limiting the number of entries per person and the ambiguity of definition of modern quilt design. And comments pointed out the difficulty of defining an evolving moment. I rather agree. If modern quilting becomes easy to define, it will become trite. “Follow the rules and create a modern quilt” is not where we want to end up.

Other bloggers pointed to Latifah Saafir’s discussion of the jurying process, which I think is a must-read piece (link here) for anyone entering any juried show. One year at Quilt National a process similar to the one Latifah describes was presented. Off in the corner was a video screen. The audience was to pretend to be a juror.  Quilts were flashed on the screen for a very limited number of seconds, and we were to say “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe.” Then go back and discuss our “Maybe” category with others who were watching at the time. I can never look at juried shows or at my own quilt entries the same after having participated in that demonstration.

Am I disappointed? Of course I am. Do I like my quilt any less? Not one bit.

 

The Outdoor Quilt Show at Sisters, OR

The second weekend in July and I was at the outdoor quilt show in Sisters, OR, for the third time. A repeating exhibit is the Stichin’ Post shop wall with quilts made by employees. This year the challenge theme was “Streams of Color.” There are charts at ground level so we can identify who made which ones–this is the first year I’ve noticed that. Firemen help hang them–I wasn’t there early enough to get a photo of hanging action this year. It is hard to believe that 38 years ago, the show began with 12 quilts; now there are over 1000.

Jean Wells Keenan is in charge of placement of quilts, grouping them so they look good together. Last year when by a blue building with blue quilts I was convinced that she considers the colors of the walls as well as the colors of the quilts. This year I didn’t happen by the blue building, but still am convinced.

   Note the red quilt just under the red sign!

And note the warm browns against the brown wall.  These quilts are also all animal related in theme.

My first year at the show, I simply wandered along any street and enjoyed whatever quilts I found.  At my second visit, I noticed that there were special exhibits in addition to the hanging of individual quilts. Both times I frequently retraced my steps, saw quilts over and over, and also missed viewing different quilts. This year I had time to plan, read the list of special exhibits, chose those I wanted to see and noted their location on the town map. Thus I covered more territory and saw more quilts.

Of course I visited my Portland Modern Quilt Guild area!

PMQG Logo quilt and Michael Miller neon fabric challenge quilt

PMQG exhibit, other wall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another interesting special exhibit was of the Hugo quilts by the Cover to Cover group of quilt artists who choose two books a year to inspire their quilts.

I always enjoy book themed quilts, but even more when I know the plot.  The creator, Linda Reinhart, of this one, “Gears,” was standing near her quilt and gave me permission to post its picture here. (I must admit I’d been  glad to have been saying nice things when I realized the artist was in earshot!)

I loved the overall design and the detail.

The embellishment with small gears and red glass beads was just enough.

 

 

 

Using some light and some dark thread for quilting was a very effective design decision. And the quilter had enough skill to handle the contrasting colors. Toward my goal of being able to quilt like that, I attended a class in machine quilting with Barbara Schapel. I will write later about classes.

 

 

 

link to photos of Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Around photo 90 the rains begin to fall.