Trip to England, part two

My second stop in England was the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. I was teaching there 2 years ago and decided to go back again because it is really a fabulous show. I had 2 days of visiting before my 2 days of teaching so I had time to look at the quilts and… of course at the vendors. The general exhibit is so well hung, with wide rows on very light carpeting and black backdrop. It really sets off the quilts beautifully particularly since the lighting is quite good. One thing I found rather odd and did not like: each quilt was labeled with its title and its entry number but not the name of the maker. I assume that the goal was to “encourage” visitors to buy the catalogue but I thought it really was stealing each entrant of her/his moment of fame. In my opinion, the name of the maker should be displayed with the quilt even if the statement is kept to the catalogue.
I took a number of photos of my favorite quilts but I will not post them here since I could not request permission from their makers.

The merchants were numerous and very varied. It was possible to purchase just about anything related to quilting, either traditional or contemporary and surface design. I had the surprise to meet again with my friends Margrit and Josef from Hungary. Their business is called Foltvilág KFT. Margrit, a fiber artist and teacher herself, dyes the fabrics and some threads that they sell at shows and they also sell the brand of dye powder they use. Her fabric is cotton but feels like silk. Quite beautiful! You can find them in some major European shows, their next one being the European Patchwork Meeting in Sainte Marie aux Mines (Eastern part of France, close to Germany) in September.

But I think the best feature of the Festival is the group of the galleries showcasing individual artists or special exhibits by various groups. The “galleries” actually have solid walls (probably plywood) painted a very light grey. The signage and lighting are very professional so the quilts really look as if they hung in separate “real” galleries. It is quite impressive. Many of these exhibits were beautiful and very exciting but there is one, which really blew me away: the work of a Swiss artist, Jacqueline Heinz, who now lives in Germany. Her panels are “simple” in composition, usually two or three large areas of fairly solid color (mostly light hand-dyed colors) separated by a thin meandering line of small designs made of wool roving attached to the surface with different quilting than on the rest of the quilt. The large fields of light colors are covered with extremely dense and very interesting and unusual machine quilting, which creates amazing textures. The textures are very obvious because the fabrics are solid. Her elegant quilts brought me a strong sense of balance and peace. It is of course impossible to convey the beauty of these pieces with words and I hope that Jacqueline will soon have a website, where we can see her work.

Trip to England, part one

I am finally getting over jetlag and able to think back about what I saw in England. When I arrived, I went to Wolverhampton, not far from Birmingham, where my friend Janet had arranged for me to talk to her embroidery and quilting groups. The next day Janet took me and another friend to Wightwick Manor. The house, built at the end of the 1800 was meant to look much older.

As you can see from these few pictures, the building itself from outside is an incredible experience as far as lines, textures and proportions are concerned. Inside, the house is decorated in the style of Arts & Crafts Movement and many of the well-known artists from area are represented: wall-papers, rugs and textiles by William Morris, tiles by William de Morgan, stained-glass windows by Charles Kempe. I could go on and on. There are also a number of paintings by members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood such as Gabriel Rosetti, Edward Burne-Jones just to name only these two.

"Love among the ruins" by Edward Burne-Jones

It was such a treat because I am so partial to the Arts & Craft style and seeing the artwork in person was really something else! On any given day, selected rooms are opened to the public and they alternate to preserve them better. The rooms we could see that day had so much history, so much to see that I really wanted to be able to come back and see all the other rooms.
The gardens are also in the Arts& Craft style and very beautiful. The weather was on the cool side and somewhat rainy (which I really enjoyed after the heat-wave and drought that we’ve had in North Carolina this summer) and there again, there was so much color and textures all around that it was difficult to know where to look.

So I am just sharing a few images with you. If you are ever in the Birmingham area in England, make sure you stop by the Wightwick Manor, which is situated 3 miles west of Wolverhampton and part of the National Trust.
And I hope that one of my future pieces will have been inspired by what I saw there.

Musings

I have spent the last few days getting ready for my teaching trip to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England. I am really looking forward to this, both because of the teaching and visiting. I am going first to a town close-by to present a lecture and this will allow me to meet again with a student I had first encountered in France. I hope to see the piece that she started in my class , which had really impressed me. It will also be so nice to see her again and discover what her group does.
The Festival of Quilts is a fabulous event. The exhibits are truly inspirational, there is a huge merchant's mall. But what had most impressed me when I taught there 2 years ago was the personal displays of individual artists or groups: their booths were build with hard walls (plywood) painted a light grey color, so when you entered the booth, you really had the feeling of entering a real gallery. Both signage and lighting were excellent and it did so much to showcase the qualities and originality of each artist and the mission of each group. I can't wait to see the work of artists featured this year.

Of course, because of all that preparation, my work on the new piece has not progressed very much. The piece is in my mind all the time, I think about it, try to solve problems and find creative solutions for them and design the parts that still need to be created. Of course, since this is all in my mind, who knows if it will work when I physically try to implement these ideas. However, that stage, when thoughts become reality, is what I love even though it can also be a very uncomfortable time.

I did take the time to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. All political and economic considerations apart, I was really blown away by the artistry and the combination of art and technology. I thought it was quite magical and almost made me feel that I was entering another world and dimension. One thing though that is at the edge of my consciousness and that I am not sure I can put into words: some of the elements of this production were so powerful because of the sheer number of participants. So where does that leave the individual participant? Doesn't the "person" disappear? Again, I am not sure that I can explain my feelings but there is something here that bothers me slightly.

Back in the studio

It has been a while since I have worked in the studio or been able to post anything but for a few days now, I have been working on a new piece. Once I decide on what style I am going to base a piece, it is so much fun and so interesting to do a bit more research about that particular style: lines, colors, symbols...Not that I am trying to remain perfectly faithful to the elements of that style but they serve as a basis for me to go on and create my own design. For this one, the Taj Mahal is such an incredible building and provides inspiration on so many levels that I decided to base my new "Offerings" piece on art from India. I searched on the Internet and also have been reading Sheila Paine's book "Embroidered Textiles" (I had mentioned it in an earlier post). I have found so much valuable and interesting information, for example on symbolism of colors (red background and the various colors used for the embroidery), of shapes (tree of life, carnation, pomegranate, birds...), all symbols that are relevant to the thoughts I want to express in my piece (and which I will talk about when the piece is further along or finished). So, I dyed the silk/coton fabric and some of the threads (the other threads were hand-dyed by my friend Nancy) and I have embroidered the first little panel (10" x 4 1/2"). And yes, it did take a number of hours. But I am quite pleased so far...except for one detail I am not sure I like: I don't know if the lines symbolizing the tree should remain black (black is one of the colors in my palette) because I feel as they are, they add too much weight to the rest of the embroidery. I will try other colors in the next panel (I don't know which yet). Any idea?

Quilt Fest in Jonesborough, TN

I am getting ready to go to Jonesborough, TN, charming little town, to teach at Quilt Fest. This is a yearly event organized by the quilt store Tennessee Quilts and lots of fun. Workshops are now held in a convention center in Johnson City. I am teaching some of my favorite subjects (hand quilting, crazy quilting with a modern twist) and the other is how to draw quilting designs. I know there are computer programs but for me, holding the pencil, drawing lines freely and seeing what happens when I reverse-combine-multiply the image with tracing paper, is such a pleasure and one of the design steps I enjoy the most.
So for now, the new piece I have in my head and just started working on has to wait! I have done some drawings and I have started building the structure that will be covered with embroidered/quilted fabric but this is really not much.

It's done!

My new "Offerings" piece is finally finished. I called it "Essence" and I will let you find your own interpretation. All I will say is that it was not a random choice. I am still not sure if I am completely satisfied with the piece or only with parts of it. Most likely if I have doubts, it is because something in my brain knows what I consciously can't put my finger on. I will see what other people have to say. Any comments on your part?
Here are some images (just snapshots for the moment!
"Essence", closed

And a close-up

And guess what is inside?

A beautiful little lampworked vial that I commissioned from glass artist Teresa Brittain of Oak Ridge ,Tennessee.

Fiber exhibit at Cloth Fiber Workshop

I found out this weekend that my piece "Reliquary" was accepted for the "Exploring Surface Design: Surface Design Techniques in Clay & Fiber" exhibit at Cloth Fiber Workshop in Asheville, NC. The opening will be on Friday, August 1 from 6 to 9 pm and will run to the end of August. If you have not been at Cloth Fiber Workshop before, this is a wonderful opportunity to see a great exhibit as well as check out this venue, where cool classes are offered and where you can purchase difficult-to-find natural fabrics. Check out the website, www.clothfiberworkshop.com, for more information and directions.
In the studio here, my new "Offerings" piece is just about finished. At this point, I think I am pleased with it but I will need a few days to decide for sure! Do you also have that feeling, after you have worked intensively on a piece, that you really don't know anymore if you like it or not? It is difficult at that point to have a fresh, objective perspective!