Southern California Comtemporary Quilts Part 2 12-16-20

Charlotte Bird's multi-panel work is in the center of the large gallery.  It is fascinating and deserves extra time to look at all the details.  She covers the scenes of SCalifornia with great artistry.  18" high X 22" wide for each panel X a total length of 102"

I always admire the work of Kathleen McCabe and there are several of her quilts in TCQC.  This one is soooo California.  48"L X 32"wide

This detail of the flowers in the foreground shows her fine control of her quilting. 

See the people and the light poles out on the pier - just shadows. Color isn't very good in this photo, it is much  brighter. 

Nancy Lemke's quilt is another salute to the coast.  21"L X 32"W

Notice the crocheted doily representing a sea star and there are hand embroidered sea urchins scattered throughout.

And tiny white fish flowing across the tidepool. I like the borders only top and bottom, leaving the water to flow out on each side.  

#   #   #

Quilts from the 2019 SAQA Auction 12-04-19

Here are the final three of the eleven quilts I purchased from the SAQA 2019 auction.   I have included the comments made by the makers on the auction page.  You can see all the quilts listed alphabetically by maker's name at:

http://www.saqa.com/auction-quiltviewALL.php

"Whimsy"  Cathy Heeter - Granger, Indiana   12"X12"

Random pieced black and white background. Improvisational raw edged collage of commercial fabrics.

Del sez:  I love the whimsy of this very original quilt.  Such verve!  Black and white with ORANGE and blue, how could it go wrong. 

"Bike in Belize"  Kathleen McCabe - Coronado, CA     12"X12"

Machine pieced and appliquéd, fused, then raw edge appliquéd and machine quilted. 

Del sez:  Kathleen told me this is inspired by a picture taken by a relative visiting Belize.  The color is so exciting and the slightly out of line trend is so interesting. 

"Butterflies on Bush Clover"  Karen Miller - Corvallis, OR

Katazome with artist's hand cut stencil, rice paste resist and indigo dye.
Del sez:  There is another Karen Miller quilt in the Collection, you can click on her name in the sidebar to see it.   I am so impressed with her skill at Katazome, each fine line she has cut into mulberry stencil material gives an individual mark unlike what anyone else could do.  And working with her own indigo dye is an art all of its own.  I like to include different techniques in TCQC.  

#   #   #

Quilt & Textile Museum in La Conner, WA 07-31-19

Last day in this area and Mabel and I drove to La Conner to see the exhibits at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.  They have rearranged their rooms and the gift shop is on the main floor with exhibits on the second and third floors.  The stairs are difficult for me, but I hung on to the bannisters and made it up and down.  The main exhibit currently is SAQA's  "Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth" (June 28th - September 29)/  Quite a nice selection juried by Ann Johnston.  Here are a few pictures to tempt you to see the exhibit when it is at Visions Art Museum in San Diego in Jan - Apr 2021.

Del Thomas and Mabel Huseby in front of Mabel's favorite quilt. 

I am an admirer of Kathleen and her quilts.  I recognized this immediately as Kathleen and her husband - even from the back.  Lovely quilt. 

 

Leaping flames and burning trees.  WOW!

Unusual and intriguing.  I kept going back to look at this one several times. I do wonder about the zippers which are not mentioned in the materials or the explanation.  

#   #   #  

Friday Feet 11-04-16

I always find it interesting what shoes ladies wear to an opening.  Be stylish?  Be comfortable?  All these pictures were taken at the Visions exhibit opening at Visions Art Museum on Oct 15th. 

 

I urge you to see the Visions exhibit at Visions Art Museum in San Diego.  It is outstanding and the catalog is also outstanding.  The exhibit runs through January 8th. 

Kathleen McCabe's "Crow at the Crater" received the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection Recognition award.  And, while I was there, I purchased her quilt.  It is mostly commercial fabric with a few purchased hand dyes.  You will see it again some Sunday with some detailed pictures.  

 

#   #   #

Quilt by Kathleen McCabe in TCQC 04-05-14

"Liberty" 2008 Kathleen McCabe
Cotton fabrics.  Machine appliqued and quilted.

This quilt was part of the SAQA 2009 Auction, but it has not been displayed due to the small size.  It doesn't quite fit into a wall of 12" x 12" pieces because it is only 10" x 11.5". 



Kathleen is very adept at this fused, raw-edge "tiling" technique, similar to what Gloria Loughman used as background.  I like the musical reference next to Liberty's ear.

Here you can see more clearly the technique used.

The back would be an interesting quilt on its own.  The pieced striped sleeve covers more than half of the back creating a striking design.

A basic, fused-on label giving the necessary info: title, artist, year and a contact where she can be reached.  As a collector I appreciate the size written on the label and add it to most of the quilts in TCQC. 

"Liberty" by Kathleen McCabe - Coronado, CA 09-10-11

This quilt was purchased for the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection at the SAQA 2008 online auction.  It is only 10"W x 11.5"L, so smaller than the standard 12x12 auction quilts.  When bidding on auction quilts it is important to check the size and also if the quilt is mounted or framed - in case those things make a difference to you! 

Remember that the SAQA 2011 online auction starts on Monday, Sept 12th. 

Check out the website:  http://www.saqa.com/saqa-u.php?ID=1791

To learn how the auction works see  http://www.saqa.com/news.php?ID=1186

"Liberty"  Kathleen McCabe - Coronado, CA  2008  10"W x 11.5"L 

Cotton fabric, machine applique, machine quilting.

Kathleen's original technique uses small rectangular "tiles" to create the texture on her portrait quilts.  In this quilt I especially like the G-clef used to show a curl in Liberty's hair.

This is a wonderful collection of black and white fabrics. 

There is some net in the upper left of this closeup - I have never remembered to ask Kathleen about it when I see her.  I don't see her often, just when I get to San Diego where she is very active in Visions.

 

Both black and white threads are used for the quilting.

 

www.kathleenmccabecoronado.com

More April Program for Surfside QGuild 04-15-11

 This is pretty much an arbitrary selection of small quilts from the Collection.  I tried to select pieces that illustrate various techniques and styles.  I believe I have talked about all of these in my Blog on various Sundays - check for the artist's name in the sidebar for more information.

Top row:  Calla Lilly - Aileyn Renli Ecob 2009, Liberty - Kathleen McCabe 2009, Amidst the Fire - K.Grace Howes 2009,  4 fiber artist trading cards, Pomegranate #2 - Dijanne Cevaal 2006, Blue Butterfly - Bonnie Sabel 2009.

Middle row: I Know a Rhino - Ami Simms 2006, (below) Red Nest - Claire Fenton 2006, Tillamook Rooster - Terry Grant 2009, Oregon Junco - Terry Grant  2007, Fantasy Flowers 1 - Julia Zgliniec 2010.  

Top row: Boundary Waters #30 - Virginia Spiegel 2007, Checks & Bars Jumble - Sue Benner 2009, House - Sally Sellers 2007, Night Fire -  Elizabeth Barton 2007,

Bottom row: Vest Pocket Tour II - Joan Schulze 2001, Gentle Reminder - Linda Colsh 2008, Don't Piss Off the Fairies - Ruth Powers 2008, Happy Birthday, Del - Judy House  2003.

You might notice that all of these small quilts have been created since 2001.  Prior to that, artists did not make many small quilts and, to be honest, I wasn't interested in such small pieces.  Realistically, selling nine 12x12 quilts at $100/each is much easier than selling one 36" square quilt at $5000.  I would like to support as many quilters as I can, so I started buying smaller quilts that fit within my selection parameters. .     

This is the folding design board that Mabel Huseby created for me and I have enjoyed it and use it whenever I can.  It was an "ha-ah" moment when I discovered that the small quilts could be pinned up before I left the house and the board simply unfolded at a meeting to display the quilts.  I also pin up a short description of each piece.

The two slats slip out and then fit in the horizontal sleeves to hold the board rigid.  

Here is the board folded with the handle and the closing tabs on the left, fastened with Velcro over the edge.  If you are interested in the pattern for this Portable Design Board you can contact Mabel at mabelh2@msn.com