Heading to Houston

I'm heading off to Houston tomorrow for the annual Quilt Festival.

I have mixed feelings about where I belong in this show.

It is predominantly a traditional quilt show, and the majority of attendees appear to be looking for quilts recognizable for use on a bed, and they're looking for fabrics, threads, patterns, and gadgets that they may not have seen at their local quilt shops. That's not to say that art quilts are not represented. SAQA always has a large exhibit space and at least one more special exhibit has art quilts for inspiration. But it's a quilt show, and that's very different than a museum or gallery show. That's not a bad thing, it's just that as I personally see my work fitting in to more of the latter, I wonder why I'm so attracted to the former.

As I move beyond just looking at the exhibits to hoping to have work in them, or maybe even to finding other textile-related ways to share my talents, I see many of my peers gravitating less towards the Festival, but to the Quilt Market where new fabrics and other products are introduced to shop owners and the like. It seems more and more to me that's where the real networking and opportunities happen. But I don't think it's where networking for textile art exhibits like I imagine for my work happens.

So what am I looking forward to this weekend? Inspiration! I love a good quilt. I love to see what people do with fabric. This year I have a quilt in the annual Dinner@8 exhibit. That's reason enough to go, as I like to see my work "in situ." I thoroughly enjoyed the year the Twelve by Twelve group I belonged to had an exhibit (photo above). It was great to see our work together and it was fantastic to get to know these internet friends in real life! I'm looking forward to the socializing. I get to spend time with a good friend and experience the show with her. I also enjoy meeting other enthusiasts who I may only know from our mutual blog reading or work admired in other shows. Shows like this one in Houston are also a good chance to volunteer for the organizations we benefit from. I always spend some time at the SAQA table where I not only get to meet other SAQA members, but I get to share it's benefits with potential new members or simply those who admire the variety in SAQA's exhibits.

Even though a quilt show may not be the best venue for my own work, I hope to return energized about textiles in general. And I hope to have made some new connections because you never know what might lead to something interesting.

Portfolios

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Smart phones and tablets have made it much easier for us fiber artists and art quilters to show people what it is that we create, rather than relying on imaginations that too quickly jump to underwater basket weaving and grandma's feed-sack quilts. I have photos of my work on my phone and am all too happy to pull up a picture when anyone shows any amount of curiosity. But my phone is small. So, I've taken to bringing along portfolio books whenever I think I might be in a situation where someone might want to see my work.

One of the best things about these books is that I can make one for each series of my work, or the different facets of my work. I don't have to worry about confusing my fabric collages with my bed quilts. I can choose to show one portfolio or the other, depending on the audience. My dad complained yesterday that he has to scroll through my blog to show his friends my work when they come to visit, so today I made a brag book that has all my recent work.


 

There are many ways to create these books. I have a Mac computer and it's set so that all my photos download directly into iPhoto. So, I've found it very easy to choose one of iPhoto's project templates, plug in the photos, write descriptions, upload it all to Apple, and expect a shiny book to arrive at my door in about a week. Other online printers and photo services also have similar templates, or you can design your own solution from scratch. The books that I order from Apple are best in small quantities, but I really like the elegant template, quality printing and absolute ease of creation.

Last week I was in Oregon and attended a reception at a gallery where one of my Army Wife aprons  was part of a group show. I shared my Army Wife portfolio with the curator, and she asked if the gallery could keep the portfolio for the duration of the show. Of course! It will be a great ambassador for my series. I also showed two other portfolios at lunch during a quilt show in Portland as everyone sitting at our table was introducing themselves and describing what each of us does. Handy portfolios are now as much a part of my art business as my business cards are.

Monumental Art

As some might have noticed.. I am attracted to huge recycled artworks. Natalya here, reporting this time from MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA. I have heard about this old factory turned museum for years now and finally made the trek to see what's it all about. What enticed me to make the drive? The Phoenix by Xu Bing. Was it worth it? But of course.

The museum itself is a wonderful collection of old factory buildings interconnected to form huge gallery spaces, a fun museum shop and a restaurant. It would be interesting just to wander through even without all the great art. There is a Sol LeWitt retrospective there that I didn't get a chance to see, but no worries, it's there till 2033!

But the Phoenix, actually there are two Phoenixes and they are breathtaking. My pictures do not do them justice, but here's a taste. You can see them at MASS MoCA until October 27th, after which they travel to Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. I am so looking forward to seeing how they will be displayed in such a different space.

to judge the scale look at the tiny 5"2" person in the right corner taking a picture

tail end of the second Phoenix with people for scale

talons of the Phoenix

tail feathers

paper model was so delicate

and made cool reflections in the glass case in a black room

A nice surprise was discovering another installation by Xu Bing, 1st Class. We haven't had a smoker in the family in decades, but boy, was the smell of cigarettes familiar, and I knew what was going to be at the top of the stairs immediately, while my daughters wanted to know what that smell was. The surprise for me was seeing the cigarettes arranged on the floor to form a huge tiger skin that changed shades as you walked around it. It's part of the Tobacco Project exhibit which explores some very interesting ideas.

there is the person for scale and the shades changing in the light

Reduce reuse recycle!!

Traveling Down Under - Inspiration Files

Travel is a most inspiring experience for artists. The memories and photos can provided fodder for years after a trip.

Last month I was fortunate to be invited by Cecile from Unique Stitching to teach at a paper craft and mixed media show in Brisbane and a big quilt and craft show in Sydney. First stop, Brisbane, a charming city with a lot of interesting street art.

The two abstract fern patterns above were metal work on concrete benches on the sidewalk.

The inside of the roof in the expo center in Brisbane had a beautiful pattern in the trusses, below.

After a few days in Brisbane we flew off to Sydney. The show was held in the expo center in Darling Harbor and we stayed in nearby Chinatown.

The wall along the walkway from Chinatown to Darling Harbor was sinuous and undulating.

There were mosaic sidewalk installations in the grassy areas in front of the expo center.

The expo center itself looked like a ship at berth. Sadly the building is being torn down later this year. I hope it will be replaced by something equally elegant and architecturally relevant to its location.

Darling Harbor is a revitalized seaport housing not only the expo center but many restaurants, cafes and shops. It is especially charming at night looking across the harbor at the city lights.

Chinatown had many fierce foo dragons including this massive guy and his twin.

The show was beautifully run, and had a varied, eclectic mix of vendors. Unlike most quilt shows in the states, this was a quilt and craft show so there were vendors selling supplies and finished goods in many, many craft disciplines other than quilting. This might contribute to the fearlessness that I noticed in Australian artists to mix their media and blur the lines across fields. 

The quilt exhibit was extremely inspiring. Not having the rigidity of the tradition of American quilting holding them back (no "quilt police" that I saw at all down under!) Australian quilters tend to experiment more than their American peers and worry less about how things "should" be done, or what's "correct". It was a really refreshing attitude reflected in the finished quilts and the students in classes. Another refreshing aspect of the quilt show was the music that was played all day every day - it really contributed to the energy of the show. There were mostly hits from the 70s and 60s, and each day the show opened with a dance party in the lobby with the vendors dancing (gangnam style, the macarena, even the electric slide) for the patrons waiting in line to get in. What a fun, happy, and original way to start the day!

After the show closed, Cecile, the most gracious host on the planet, treated me to a day tour to the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney that started with a bus ride to a wildlife sanctuary - where, yes, I pet a koala. We  paused for lunch in a chic mountain town, stopped for a ride on the steepest railway in the world, and ended with a ferry ride down the river and past the Opera House (plus even more in between). It was a magical experience.

The flora is so interesting and has sparked all sorts of ideas for surface design.

Crazy steep railroad - slightly intimidating but so so cool. You ride down to the bottom in cars in a nearly reclined position and then return backwards.

An amazing Aboriginal sacred site called the Three Sisters. The landscape was truly breathtaking everywhere we went. At one point we walked down a steep path to an overlook to see the valley and imagine it when the first European settlers arrived and learn about the trees, the periodic bush fires, and the history. The entire day (the whole trip really) was so educational and enlightening.

I came back invigorated and inspired and ready to hit the studio.