Jenny Bowker quilt from TCQC 02-11-24

I have long admired Jenny's work and have several small quilts.  I took a class from her some years ago at Road to California.  Great teacher, I enjoyed the class.  

"Hot Water - Dead Sea" 2009 Jenny Bowker - Canberra, ACT, Australia 

50 cm x 150 cm (19.7"W X 59.2"L)

"As the waters of the sea increase in temperature the sea will become more acid. Corals and molluscs will be unable to form shells and the reefs will die. For a while at least, coelenterates like jelly fish will fill the seas."

Cotton fabric, wool mix batting, layered appliqué, piecing.

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Thank You, Anne 11-28-23

If you look back at my post on 11-22-23 and check the  comments you will find a lovely note from Anne in the UK.  Much thanks to Anne for this comment which cheered my day and all the days that follow.   Just to think that a fellow  quilter half a world away finds something worthy in my ramblings gives me SUCH a lift. And it causes me to remember my first face-to-face meeting with Jenny Bowker when I took a class with her at Road to California in Jan 2008 - so many years ago. It was early in the home computer era, but I had been reading blogs and started my own in 2007.  My favorite blog was Jenny's and I knew a lot about her and her life in Egypt where she lived at the time.  So, I was completely flummoxed when she greeted me as stranger!   It was an eye opener - of course I was a stranger, one of thousands of people who read her interesting blog.   I doubt I had ever left a comment for her. This experience gave me a greater reason to comment  on the few blogs I currently read. Only a few readers ever comment on  this blog  and they are usually friends I hear from by other means. Therefore, I REALLY  appreciate  Anne in England  -  Thank You, again. 

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Jenny Bowker quilt in TCQC 03-02-14

DETAIL The sort of thing found in the desert, once a seabed.

"Desert Finds" Jenny Bowker - Canberra, Australia 2013 12"X12" This was another purchase at the SAQA 2013 online auction last October.

Exhibit at Visions Art Museum 11-02-13

After spending the night at an HIE near Sea World (ate TWO cinnamon rolls for breakfast), I drove back to the museum for a few photos while things were quiet - as they usually are in the morning. 
I enjoyed giving a little tour to a few ladies who came in, but I was very disappointed that the Gallery Guides have not arrived from the printer.  What a let down when we worked so hard to make them exceptional.  Hope they arrive by the opening next Saturday. 
Here are three views of the gallery showing only nine of the 28 quilts on exhibit.

On the left is Terry Grant's "Judith's Garden:, in the background is "Lizard Lock" by Charlotte Patera, "Gravida" by Karen Rips and just the side of "Flowers Grow in Stony Places" by Karin Franzen.

 

Far left is Ruth B. McDowell's wonderfully expressive "Street Corner". then "Strip Tease #1" by Mary Leakey, and on the right "Structured Chaos #14" by Beth Carney.
 

Jenny Bowker made the quilt on the left "Hot Water, Dead Sea", "Red Wave" is by Dianne Firth, and Carol Ann Waugh made "Allegro" on the right.

These happen to all be somewhat subdued quilts, one of the comments I heard several times last night was how bright and cheerful the exhibit is.   But for some unknown reason I photographed mostly calm quilts today.  I rarely see so many TCQC quilts hanging together, I can only hang one large quilt in three of my rooms - too many windows and doors.  Arranged in the gallery I appreciate the interspersed "quiet" quilts, although I doubt many people would count "Red Wave" as calm.  But with the rhythmic repeat of the lines and the limited color palette, I find it is almost hypnotic..

Happy Mother's Day and stuff 05-07-11

 
I hope you all have a lovely Mother's Day.

Yesterday's foot belongs to Elizabeth Barton.   I have some other "famous feet", but the pictures were taken before I had a digital camera.  Someday I will resurrect those pictures and scan them into my computer. 

I don't take many magazine these days.  Not just because I'd like to reduce the amount of trash I add to the world, but because I can't seem to part with them.  I still have full years of QNM, American Quilter, Threads, etc., which I rarely even dust anymore.  But last year I started taking the Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine and have enjoyed it a lot.  The newest issue, for May 2011, is full of great article by quilters I respect and admire.  I especially enjoyed the article by Jenny Bowker about her "Starter Scrap Quilting".  But there are also articles by Joan Sowada, Eileen Doughty, Carol Taylor, and others.   Editor Kit Robinson is doing a good job - Thanks!

Oh, I forgot yesterday to say that it was my 1300 post on this Blog.  Amazing.

Quilt Show Winners 11-04-10

Two sets of winners from two large, well attended quilt shows.

Road to California doesn't take place until January, but the winners have already been posted.

This quilt was also at PIQF and one of my favorites.

"Crazy Sheep" Winner of $150.00 for 1st Place: Innovative, Wall, Other

Sponsored by Material Possessions Studios

Entered by Debora Konchinsky (Breinigsville, PA United States) 53" x 49" Made by Debora Konchinsky

Quilted by Debora Konchinsky Started in 2008, Finished in 2009 Design basis: Original

Artist statement: I designed Woolly Sheep in cottons in 1998 for my company, Critter Pattern Works.

The concept for this version of the pattern came together when I combined suiting weight wool, sheep's wool, felting and hand embroidery. Check out all the winners at: http://www.road2ca.com/2010winners/road/winners.html

Also online are the winners from Quilt Festival - 2010 taking place now in Houston: http://www.quilts.org/winners.html
Since I am a pledged fan of Jenny Bowker I am amazed that her wonderful quilt was only awarded Honorable Mention.

Honorable Mention in the category Art-People, Portraits, and Figures

"Sandstorm Over the White Desert" by JENNY BOWKER of GARRAN, ACT, AUSTRALIA

Jenny Bowker quilt in TCQC 05-23-10

I have admired Jenny Bowker's work for years having seen her pieces in magazines, at Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) and, more recently, online. When I had the chance I took a workshop with her at Road to CA - she is an excellent teacher and it was a great class. Last August we were again in touch and I looked at the quilts she had available to sell. This one is beautifully made and a wonderful example of monochromatic work, so I bought it. And it has been hanging on my wall ever since - a daily delight.

"Hot Water - Dead Sea" Jenny Bowker - Australia 50 cm x 150 cm (19"W X 60"L)

"As the waters of the sea increase in temperature the sea will become more acid. Corals and molluscs will be unable to form shells and the reefs will die. For a while at least, coelenterates like jelly fish will fill the seas."

Cotton fabric, wool mix batting, layered appliqué, piecing.

This detail shows that the outside edge is the blue binding and gives a closeup of Jenny's imaginative quilting. The patchwork is typical of the pieces she has made in the past and gives a connection to the origin of 'art quilts'.

Check her website at: http://www.jennybowker.com/ You might also look at http://www.canberraquilters.org.au/galleries/2008/Bowker_73.html which shows Jenny's quilt that took Best of Show at Canberra and http://www.quiltgallery.co.nz/exhibitions/achangeintheweather.php showing the exhibit in which this quilt appeared. If you are interested in traveling in Egypt you should read the archives of Jenny's blog: http://jennybowker.blogspot.com/ Jenny has been conducting group tours of sights in Egypt - contact her.

More tentmaker panel 01-23-08

When I posted about the tentmaker panel on January 21, I didn't tell you the size and several people have asked. Hossam Farouk, the maker, is a man. Only men do this work and all belong to a sort of guild of tentmakers. They sit all day working on the applique and reportedly work very fast. Almost all of their work is traditional Arabic designs. This piece is made of cotton fabric, measures about 46" square and was the smallest one Jenny had with her. I just liked the color in this one.

Cairo Tentmaker hanging 01-21-08

Appliqued panel by Tentmaker Hossam Farouk, Cairo, Egypt

This is the piece I purchased from Jenny Bowker yesterday. She had brought three of these panels from Egypt to show the wonderful work of the Cairo tentmakers. There are three layers - top w/applique, a heavy canvas and a solid fabric backing - but they are not quilted together. The applique stitches go through the applique, the background and pick up just a tiny thread in the canvas. The dark blue backing is attached only at the edges.

This detail shows the workmanship which is amazing, but not perfect enough for a quilt show judge! Considering all this handwork the panels are incredibly inexpensive. I chose this one because of the three it has a greatest range of colors. The pictures are not great and the color is dull, because this has been a dreary grey day w/periodic showers. But I wanted to share this fabulous work of textile art and couldn't wait for a sunny day.

Class w/Jenny Bowker Cont'd 01-20-08

I have been reading Jenny's blog since early 2006 http://jennybowker.blogspot.com/ , so I know something about her family, her quilt making and her experiences in Cairo. Which, on some level, makes it seem that I know her, but, of course, I don't. That gave me a feeling of disconnect when I met her on Friday. It was almost like meeting a fictional character from a book I enjoyed reading. Jenny is friendly and sharing and interesting, but I was disconnected from the Jenny I know on her blog. Interesting feeling.

I had never seen a picture of her and she didn't match my unconscious image. Does it ever work that way? Here she is with one of her most recent quilts which depicts her Cairo friend Hashim. See her blog post for 10-01-07.

Jenny is not a teacher who gives you a assignment and then checks to see that you are doing it correctly. On Friday she had us do some design exercises which helped me get my mind into what she was teaching and also gave me some ideas on what to work on in class. This is the yet to be sewn background for my triptych which will be divided vertically into three panels and will also have some horizontal sections inserted. The tree in the picture in yesterday's blog will be enlarged and applied over this background, so parts of it will appear in adjacent sections. Jenny kept an eye on what each student was doing, but didn't interrupt with suggestions and ideas unless the student asked her to do so. The comments she made were not to impose her ideas, rather to guide the student in finding her own 'voice'. I enjoyed the class immensely and will take another class with her if I ever have a chance.

I spend very little time looking at the quilts in the show and even less looking at the vendor's wares. After class I looked up those vendors I know, just to say hello. By then the crowds had gone home, so there was lots of room to walk around and stand around without being buffeted around. I was simply exhausted by the time I got home, so I emptied my class stuff from the van and crawled into bed for a long nap - four hours! It was heavenly uninterrupted sleep.

Class with Jenny Bowker 01-19-08

As you can see I am, as usual, not getting very far, very fast. I am terrible in workshops as I find it hard to work with fascinating creations going on around me, plus I always seem to find reasons not to be in the classroom! I didn't take a design board because I thought we could stick pins in the walls, but they are too hard. I needed to get the squares up where I could move them around for a good color/value arrangement. So, at the beginning of lunch break I went downstairs to the vendors to find some batting, thinking I could be back in less than half an hour to attend Jenny's lecture on Egyptian textiles. WELL, was I ever wrong! There was almost no room to move with all the people, requiring some wiggling and sidestepping and butt bumping, but I finally located Hobbs booth and bought a 60" square of unbleached cotton batting. Then I had to retrace my steps back to the lecture room - this little jaunt took me 50minutes! So, I missed the first 20minutes of the lecture, but I'm glad I didn't miss the end because Jenny held up some gorgeous tent maker's hand appliqued ..I don't know what to call them... wall hangings, I guess. I will post one soon because, of course, I couldn't resist adding one to the TCQC. Later in the afternoon while I was chasing around the Convention Center looking for a Xerox machine I ran into so many people that I know, some that I haven't seen for years, that I spent way too much time getting hugs and updates. And that is why the above picture is all I have to show for two days work. This is the beginning of a triptych, but I'm not sure it is the direction Jenny intends her students to go. Guess I will find out tomorrow, eh? This evening I am in Long Beach with the Poodle Prince whilst his parents go to a symphony, but I'll be home in time to get some sleep before 6am rolls around again.

Road to California 01-18-08

Today I attended the first day of a three day class with Jenny Bowker at Road to California. http://www.jennybowker.com/ The class starts at 8:30am each morning, which means I have to leave the house sometime between 7:15 and 7:30am! Practically the middle of the night to this night owl. I can't post pictures of the class or the show w/o permission; besides, I never quite got around to picture taking today. I met Franki Kohler and her sister Christy Cutting for a lovely dinner at the Marriott before I drove home and now it is 10:15pm Pacific Time and I am too tired to think of any other pictures I might post! I'll try to do better tomorrow.