Yes, this one I LOVE. Jane Sassaman's "Illinois Album"
But ...
I am finishing up my week at the quilt festival, and I have a confession to make. This year, I started wondering if I even LIKED most quilts. I was depressed by the realization. I was dismayed by my judgmental reaction to some (read most) of the work. I was sorry that I had such a realization.
It just seemed as though there were many pieces (especially in the art quilt exhibits, but not exclusively) that had an enormous amount of work in them, and not much aesthetic appeal or emotional power. Now, there were exceptions -- both SAQA exhibits were great with some of the pieces really stand-outs (I hope I didn't think that just because I was in one of those exhibits) and the Dinner@Eight show was strong (ditto, with my involvement) and the tabletop What's for Dinner show was delightful. I even liked the MOO quilts, though they paled with sameness after a few quilts. Many of the traditional quilts seems overly fussy and overly embellished to me, the ones that didn't seem drab and dull. I did like the grand prize winning art quilt, a beautiful rendering of a Chihuly boat filled with glass globes. This was the first year I did not just walk around feeling overwhlemed with admiration. I don't know if I am just getting to be old and cranky, if my tastes have matured and in doing so have narrowed or if I was just tired. And I hope I don't sound unappreciative of the effort of such an exhibit and show -- I still am awed by what it takes to get our tribe together. AND I am sure there are many people who loved the very pieces I dismiss -- it is personal opinion after all.
I do want to share the pieces I loved. AND, thanks to a great workshop early in the week with Lesley Riley, I am going to spend some time looking closely at these images and seeing what they have to saw to me, and to my direction in the textile arts world. I'm not including images of the Dinner @ Eight quilts but you can see them and order the catalog here online (and see if you agree with my assessment of their power, range and interes
"Watching" by Jo Dixey, New Zealand
"Birches" by Marianne Bender-Chevalley
"Breathtaking Bonaire" by Wanda Travis, New Mexico
"Breakfast for Dinner" by Sue Bleiweiss
"New Glory" by Scott Hansen
"Dandelions" by Kathleen McLaughlin, quilted by Debbie Loeser
"Dandelion" detail
"In the Rough" by Janet Steadman, Washington
"Electric Elipses #1" by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry
I liked many of the quilts in this special exhibit., particularly the mathematical and geometric ones.
"Lain Lou" by Rebecca Stewart-Bartell, West Australia
"Carnival Winds" by Ceclia Koppmann (I also loved her piece "Tan Callando"
"Queen Emma's Flower Vase" by Toshiko Kurihara, Tokyo
Detail
"Geology" by Lorraine Hollingsworth
"Bird of Paradise" by Connie Watkins, Waco, TX (based on antique quilt pattern)