Bits and Pieces Newsletter • October Inside FRCQ presents Denise

Bi ts a nd P ieces News letter • Oc to ber 200 9
Inside FRCQ presents
Denise LaBadie
“The Irish Landscape - An American's Art Quilts”
M
Monday, October 19, 2009 • Westminster Recreation Center
Socializing at 6:30 pm
Business Meeting followed by Show-and-Tell at 7:00 pm
Program at 8:00 pm
y fascinat i o n
with the Irish
landscape and
the stone structures it harbors
began in 1997,
when my husband gave me a
trip to Ireland as a gift on the condition that I come
back with an idea for a quilt. While preparing for my
trip, I opened up a book on Ireland and happened to
see a photograph of three stones known as the "Piper
Stones." I immediately felt a strong connection to
them that I still can't explain to this day. Upon actually visiting Ireland and physically discovering the
Piper Stones as well as numerous other old ruins and
the megalithic stones, I became even more attached to
them and now go back to Ireland every few years to
photograph them for my art. Perhaps one reason for
this mysterious connection, as my Irish friends would
have me believe, is my Irish ancestry; I am descended
from both the O'Dougherty and O’Byrne clans.
Another reason could be my fascination with the mystery of why these stone structures were built in the
first place and what stories they were meant to tell.
Regardless, I seem to have been given a path into my
ancestry that I feel compelled to follow as far as I can.
Unsurprisingly, my quilts usually depict these
Irish megalithic stones and landscapes, featuring dolmens, cairns, burial chambers, stone circles, standing
stones, ancient stone churches, gravestones, and the
like. To best express the moods and textures inherent
in these scenes, I use a wide variety of colors, fabrics,
and threads. I custom hand-paint and quilt each
stone to achieve the most realistic look possible, and
utilize a unique stripping technique that effectively
mimics the intimacy, shadowing, and tones and hues
so common to the Irish landscape in the foreground
and background of my quilts.
My lecture will cover my path of discovering the
stones and the evolution of my quilts.
WHAT’S INSIDE
President’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2
FRCQ Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2
Susan Shie - A Way With Words by Mary McCauley . . . Page 3
Member News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
October 2009 New FRCQ Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
Carol Watkins’ Workshop Registration form . . . . . . . . . .Page 5
Exhibit Opportunities by Christi Beckmann . . . . . . . . . .Page 6
Vintage Bits and Pieces: “The Right Way” by Chris Goble . . .Page 7
Nametags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7
2009-2010 Workshop Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 8
If an FRCQ meeting is cancelled due to inclement weather, a notice will be posted on the website at www.artquilters.org
Page 1 - October, 2009
www.artquilters.org
Bits and Pieces Newsletter
T
Pre sid ent’ss L ett er
BY
M ELO DY RANDOL
here are so many reasons to attend FRCQ meetings, not the least of which
is the program. There is something engaging about seeing an artist’s
body of work, and Susan Shie offers an impressive and memorable body
of work. Beyond the visual treat, there are so many other things I enjoy when
listening to an accomplished artist.
I like seeing the evolution, the unfolding, the transformation of an
artist. Like looking back at childhood photos, you can often find the face of the
adult. When viewing the collective work of an artist, certain themes, techniques, and/or elements of style are present in early works. I look for those
connecting threads.
I like gaining a sense of a person’s work--the look and style of a given
artist. It’s exciting to see their work in books, magazines, at exhibits, or online.
It’s rewarding to recognize it.
It’s always fascinating to learn how an artist works. Traditional quilts
are pieced and appliquéd. Art quilts are constructed in countless ways. Susan
Shie’s process is as individual as her style. Hearing various approaches to art
quilt construction enriches my thinking and expands my toolbox of fiber art
strategies.
I love hearing what inspires people’s work. Where do they get their
ideas? What drives their work? What are their passions? Good art, like good
music, is the result of passion. I relish knowing what excites another artist, and
study how passions are harnessed and conveyed.
I think it’s cool to glimpse the personality and private life of fellow
fiber artists. It’s amazing what some will share in an hour about family, opinions, successes and failures, home, studio, friends, and quirks. We’re all people. We’re all connected.
I always delight in being entertained. It’s fun to laugh, smile, reflect,
and connect to my own journey as an art quilter.
I rarely leave without something to think about…a new idea, another
perspective, a revised understanding. I like to discuss artists and their presentations with friends who were there. And after hearing a speaker, I frequently
(re)visit the artist’s website and published work, looking with fresh eyes and
trying to learn more. There is always something new for my mind to chew on.
Thank you all for being there to experience Susan Shie and her work
firsthand. Those of you lucky enough to spend four glorious days with Susan
and one another in the Rockies are enriched in new and exciting ways. Next
month, we’ll take a personal walk with exceptional quilt artist Denise Labadie.
You won’t want to miss it.
Melody Randol
FRCQ President
[email protected]
2009 FRCQ SCHEDULE
October 19, 2009 • Inside FRCQ
“The Irish Landscape - An American's Art Quilts”
Denise LaBadie, www.labadiefiberart.com
November 16, 2009
Best of 2009: Review of FRCQ Exhibits
Page 2 - October, 2009
www.artquilters.org
Bits and Pieces is the monthly newsletter
of the Front Range Contemporary
Quilters. Submission of art quilt related
articles from members is welcomed.
These should be no more than 350-400
words. The editor and the Board reserve
the right to edit for length, content and
space. Deadline for submissions to the
newsletter is the 19th of the month prior to
the publication. Email or send articles and
items for submission to the publication to:
Cynthia Ehrnstein
5269 South Yampa Court
Centennial, CO 80015
(303) 693-4770
[email protected]
Bits and Pieces is a benefit of membership
in Front Range Contemporary Quilters
and is not available by subscription.
Membership in FRCQ is $30 per year, due
and payable January 1 of each year. Dues
may be sent to membership chair.
Rebecca Fellows
4575 Robinson Place
Boulder, Colorado 80301
Change of Address:
Please notify membership chair, Rebecca
Fellows, for any change of address.
(303) 530-5642
[email protected]
Advertising Policy:
Classes offered by members are printed
for free in the section called “Member
Classes”; business cards of members or
businesses with services of interest to our
members are printed for $5 per issue; 1/4
page, $20.00 per issue; 1/2 page, $40.00
per issue; full page, $80.00 per issue. All
advertising should be submitted along
with payment to the newsletter editor by
the deadline.
2009-20010 Board Members
President:
Melody Randol
(970) 962-9225
[email protected]
Vice President/Programs: Faye Anderson
Secretary:
Kathy Keating
Treasurer:
Cookie Warner
Rebecca Fellows
Membership:
Mary McCauley
Exhibits:
Workshops:
Sharon Freeman
Newsletter:
Cynthia Ehrnstein
Other Contacts:
Web site:
Inside FRCQ:
Yahoo List:
Kathy Keating
Carol Ann Waugh
Diana Smith
Jeanne Lounsbury
Bits and Pieces Newsletter
T
Sus an Shie - A Wa y Wi th Wo rds : Revi ew
he old saying goes, “one picture is worth a thousand
words.” What happens when you put a thousand
words (or more) into one picture? Susan Shie knows,
and now FRCQ members do too. Susan’s amazing art and
her easy humor in presenting made for quite an entertaining
meeting.
Susan’s website (www.turtlemoon.com) provides
an impressive biography that includes an MFA, 10 Quilt
Nationals, Visions/Quilt San Diego exhibitions and many
more credentials – easily another thousand words. But
that’s not the whole picture. To get a small measure of what
Susan is all about, you have to see her many quilts and hear
their stories. Each example Susan showed us came with storytelling. We learned about the personal diaries she keeps,
her interpretations of the Tarot card images and symbolism,
healthy doses of her socio-political comments, astrology, the
environment (especially a kitchen environment), world
views, healing, her family, and running themes of Saint
Quilta and pies.
That might seem like a lot to put into one art quilt,
until you see the magic of how Susan uses words. After
drawing and painting her mural-like images, she uses
BY
M ARY M CC AULEY
markers and “an amazing little gizmo”, the air pen to add a
layer of text that becomes commentary, guide, texture and
line, shadow and movement – a major part of the composition. Each work can be viewed as the large scale image, or
examined closely for the wealth of detail.
Another layer of art emerges when you see and
hear about many of her quilts. Susan repeats symbols such
as the Hindu 3rd eye, peace signs, pies and egg beaters.
Each has a special meaning for her and allows her to paint a
rich story across her works. She chooses a Tarot card and
interprets it to express her views on current events. An
example is the Tower card interpreted as a pressure cooker
to symbolize a situation that not under control. This quilt
was in the 2007 Quilt National exhibit. Similarly, Susan
chose the Temperance card interpreted as a blender to show
how women are the “blenders’ in a family, making everything go smoothly and everyone fit in.
Susan’s FRCQ workshop is this coming weekend.
So be sure to come to the October meeting to see all the
work from this class. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn the technique well enough to write the next review in a Susan Shiestyle image of words?
Member News
Carol Watkins will be participating in Boulder Open
Studios, Saturday & Sunday, Oct 3, 4 & 10, 11. Carol is
offering art quilts at a huge discount this year. Her address
is 3702 Telluride Circle. Directions: Broadway, S to
Greenbriar, W to Telluride, turn R, L, R. During this yearly event, you have the opportunity to visit about 140 artist
studios. Work from each artist can be seen at the Boulder
Public Library, Canyon and Broadway. Carol also had a
mixed media fiber work juried into the Boulder Art
Association's exhibit, "The West".
Newsletter
ts you would
Do you have though
contemporary
like to share about
ger readers?
quilting with 248 ea
article for
Then please write an
r. The more
the FRCQ newslette
expertise
you contribute your
the more
to the organization,
all of us!
valuable it will be to
Page 3 - October, 2009
www.artquilters.org
Bits and Pieces Newsletter
Cindy Allen
10350 W. 55th Lane #203
Arvada, CO 80002
303-421-1791
[email protected]
O cto ber 20 09 New FRCQ M em bers
Sally Broste
6025 Auburn Dr
Fort Collins, CO 80525
970-223-6047
[email protected]
Margie Burns
5000 Butte St. #248
Boulder, CO 80301
303-447-8752
[email protected]
Jane Chamberlain
635 Gooseberry Dr. #1804
Longmont, CO 80503
[email protected]
Vickie Deleon
1026 S. Cook St.
Denver, CO 80209
[email protected]
Page 4 - October, 2009
Diana Dye
2700 S. Coors Ct
Lakewood, CO 80228
303-984-1051
[email protected]
Elizabeth Hoops
7006 Johnson Circle
Niwot, CO 80503
303-652-1349
[email protected]
Kay Jones
1008 Heather Dr
Loveland, CO 80537
970-667-1761
[email protected]
Maureen Lawry
2385 Vassar Dr
Boulder, CO 80305
303-499-3833
[email protected]
Deborah Levin
4965 Twin Lakes Rd #70
Boulder, CO 80301
303-442-2842
[email protected]
Maggie McGlamery
631 Ogden Street
Denver, CO 80218
303-863-8631
[email protected]
Ann Poindexter
343 Montgomery Dr
Erie, CO 80516
720-939-9916
[email protected]
Amy Mundinger
335 Pine Tree Lane
Boulder, CO 80304
303-447-0578
[email protected]
www.amymundinger.com
CORRECTIONS
Karen McHugh
1867 Calera Trail
Longmont, CO 80504
720-684-6609
[email protected]
Chris Mullaney
117 Walnut
Windsor, CO 80550
970-215-6114
chrismullaneyak@
hotmail.com
www.artquilters.org
Barbara Wolf
2610 61st Ave
Greeley, CO 80634
970-330-7456
[email protected]
Liz Kettle
[email protected]
Ruth Chandler
[email protected]
Vee Gray
[email protected]
Make note in
your directory
-
Bits and Pieces Newsletter
C a r o l W a t k i n s’ W i l d Th r e a d s W o r k s h o p • N o v e mb er 6 - 7
enhance a quilt top to using thread as the finished fiber
form. We will concentrate on highlighting free motion
embroidery stitching and painting with thread. The
range of possibilities inherent in machine stitched thread
work will be demonstrated and discussed.
Techniques for thread work, including free
motion zigzag stitching, color mixing, couching,
machine stitching with ribbons and yarns in the bobbin,
and more will give you innovative choices. The opportunities for original design are endless. Also learn the
basics of how to “paint” a drawn or photographic image
by building up layers of threads.
REGISTRATION
Wild Threads:
A Machine Stitchery Sampler
November 6 and 7, 2009, 9:30-4:30
Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont
C
$75.00 + $7.00 materials fee
arol Watkins creates mixed media work using
Carol Watkins creates mixed media work using original
originalimages,
photographic
adjusted
photographic
digitally images,
adjusted digitally
and printed
on
fabric.
Theis carefully
layered
fabric.and
Theprinted
carefullyon
layered
imagery
further enhanced withisfree
motion
stitching. with
In thread
Carol
imagery
further
enhanced
free paintings,”
motion stitching.
creates
photorealistic
images
using
dozens
of
colors
In ‘thread paintings,” Carol creates photorealistic
of thread to cover the entire surface of the canvas.
images using dozens of colors of thread to cover the
entire
surface
of the to
canvas.
Carol
was honored
be selected as an artist-in-residCarol
was
honored
to be Park
selected
as an
ence at Rocky Mountain National
in 2003
andartist-inat
at Rocky
Mountain
National
Parkhas
in 2003
residence
Mesa Verde
National
Park in 2006.
Her work
beenand
many
national Park
exhibitions
and is Her
in thework
collec-has
National
in 2006.
at juried
Mesa into
Verde
tions
of
CU,
DU
and
several
hospitals.
Recently
Quilting
been juried into many national exhibitions and is in the
Arts Magazine published an article Carol wrote on
collections of CU, DU and several hospitals. Recently
Thread Painting.
Quilting Arts Magazine published an article Carol wrote
on Carol
Thread
is aPainting.
committed studio artist and enthusiastic
teacher.
For is
over
30 years shestudio
was a artist
social worker
Carol
a committed
and enthusiand
psychotherapist
on she
healing
strengthastic
teacher.
For overfocused
30 years
wasand
a social
worker
ening the body-mind-spirit connection. This background
and psychotherapist focused on healing and strengthencontinues to inspire her artwork and teaching.
ing the body-mind-spirit connection. This background
continues
to inspire
her
teaching.
See Carol
s work on
herartwork
website and
www.CarolWatkins.com
See Carol’s work on her website
www.CarolWatkins.com
This workshop will provide a comprehensive
overview to free motion machine stitchery. Machine
stitchery runs the gamut from free motion stitching to
Page 5 - October, 2009
Please review current Workshop Registration Policies
on page 4 of your FRCQ Membership Directory.
Please PRINT and include all information requested.
Name____________________________________________
Address__________________________________________
City________________________State_____Zip_________
Phone____________________________________________
Email____________________________________________
______I am a current member of FRCQ
______I am not a current member of FRCQ and am
including a separate check for $15 to FRCQ (2009 1/2
year membership fee)
______I have included my tuition check for $75.00
payable to FRCQ. ($7.00 materials fee to be paid to
instructor on the first day of the workshop).
Mail to: Faye Anderson, 2550 Winding River Dr. #F-2,
Broomfield, Colorado 80023
www.artquilters.org
Email questions to Faye at:
[email protected]
Bits and Pieces Newsletter
Ex hib it O pp ort un ities a nd Reso urc es
GENERAL CALLS FOR ENTRY
October 15, 2009
“Stitch.Design.Art”
SAQA Members-Regions CO, WY, UT
www.SAQA.com
October 15, 2009
“2010 Horse Quilt Exhibit”
Museum of the American
Quilters Society”
Paducah, KY
www.quiltmuseum.org
October 15,2009
SAQA Members Only
“SAQA Frontiers:Art Meets Science”
Premieres at Festival of Quilts,
Birmingham, England
www.SAQA.com
October 17, 2009
“Form Not Function”
Carnegie Center For Art and History
New Albany, IN
www.carnegiecenter.org
October 26, 2009
“Art: Healing Lives”
Textile Center Joan Mondale Gallery
Minneapolis, MN
www.textilecentermn.org
November 9, 2009
“Inside Out”
Textile Center of MN
www.textilecentermn.org
November 14, 2009
“Fabrications Six: A Jewelry
and Textile Exhibition”
Crossings Gallery
Zumbrota, MN
www.crossingsatcarnegie.com
January 10, 2010
“The Rust Tex Collection”
Chicago IQF, festival of
Quilts-Birmingham, England
plus other venues
Email: [email protected]
January 14, 2010
“Celebrate Spring”
International Quilt Festival
Chicago, Illinois
www.quilts.com
January 29, 2010
“GREEN: A COLOR AND A CAUSE”
The Textile Museum
Washington, D.C.
www.textilemuseum.org
Period ic als of In terest
American Craft Council
Art Calendar
Artforum
Artnews
Belle Armoire
FiberArts
Ornament
Quilters Newsletter
Quilting Arts
Selvedge
Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot
Surface Design
Page 6 - October, 2009
BY
www.craftcouncil.org
www.ArtCalendar.com
www.artforum.com
www.artnews.com
www.bellearmoire.com
www.fiberartsmagazine.com
www.ornamentmagazine.com
www.quiltersnewsletter.com
www.quiltingartsllc.com
www.selvedge.org
www.weavespindye.org
www.surfacedesign.org
C HRISTI B ECKMANN
January 30, 2010
“Quilt Visions 2010 No Boundaries”
Oceanside Museum of Art
Oceanside, CA
www.quiltvisions.org
March 1, 2010
“International TECHStyle
Art Biennial (ITAB)”
San Jose Museum of
Quilts and Textiles
San Jose, CA
www.SJQuiltmuseum.org
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
MULTIPLE DEADLINES
(publication)
ALTERED COUTURE
Belle Armoire and Somerset Studio
www.stampington.com
(publication)
SEW SOMERSET
Somerset Studio
www.stampington.com
(Exibition opportunity)
ART IN EMBASSIES PROGRAM
www.aiep.state.gov
Or ga ni za tio ns of In te re st
American Craft Council: www.craftcouncil.org
Colorado Quilting Council: www.coloradoquiltcouncil.com
Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.: www.weavespindye.org
Handweavers Guild of Boulder: www.handweaversofboulder.org
National Quilting Association: www.nqaquilts.org
Quilt Colorado: www.QuiltColorado.com
Rocky Mountain Creative Quilters: www.r-m-c-q.org
Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum: www.rmqm.org
Silk Painters International: www.silkpainters.org
Studio Art Quilt Associates: www.saqa.com
Surface Design Association: www.surfacedesign.org
The Appliqué Society: P.O. Box 89, Sequim, WA 98382-0089
www.artquilters.org
Bits and Pieces Newsletter
V in tage Bits & P ieces: “T
T h e R i g h t W a y”
Editor’s Note: I spend a lot of time considering the technical quality of
my art quilts and I have realized that time spent wondering about the
“right way” is taking time away from actually making art so this article
from the June 1995 issue of Bits and Pieces piqued my interest.
T
heresa loaned me a book last week: The Judge's Task by
Patricia Morris. Notice that I carefully said "Theresa loaned
me a book." I did not say that I asked to borrow it from her.
To be honest, I don't really want to read this book. I will, though.
What is my problem, you ask, with this perfectly innocent
(thoughtful, even) suggestion that I read a book about judging
quilts by an experienced and qualified judge? So I ask myself.
I think it has something to do with my habitual resistance to doing things in a prescribed way. When I was a young
bride, teaching high school, leaning to juggle all the things a
homemaker does as well, I discovered thirty-minute jello. You
make it with one cup of boiling water to dissolve the gelatin, and
then finish with ice cubes, stirring until the stuff thickens, pour it
into a mold and refrigerate it for about twenty minutes, and voila!
It is set! I thought it was a great trick. My husband, however,
sniffed critically and wondered aloud why I never did anything
the way other (presumably normal) people did. Well, there were
a lot of reasons. For one thing, I've never been terrific at planning
ahead for meals, particularly when I was leaving the house at 7:00
in the morning and returning with a stack of themes to grade at
4:00 in the afternoon.
We all know about "the right way." We've all met lots of
people who do most everything "the right way." My family were
poor by comparison to the families of most of my friends, so I
observed early that "the right way" to do things often involved
money, which we didn't have. Our house wasn't decorated in the
accepted fashion; it wasn't decorated at all. It was a hodgepodge
of used furniture and things we made ourselves from fruit crates
and the like. As we grew up, we rarely managed to have the piece
of clothing or the type of shoes that "everybody else had." This is
not a complaint. I do not think of my childhood as a period of
impoverished misery. But perhaps it explains how I managed to
grow up without a firm attachment to "the right way." To further
complicate matters, my dad was an immigrant, and any child of
an immigrant household can confirm that parents from the "old
country" sometimes just don't have a clue about how the neighbors operate.
Moreover, I think I am innately unobservant about a
whole lot of things which are important to other people, and
about some which should be important to me. The summer
before I went to college I got a job in the mailroom of the Swift and
Co. packing plant. The pay was great, and I could walk to work.
Everyday, I walked in the "yard," waved happily to the guard at
the gate, and crossed the paved roadway into the main office
building. After I took this path for about a week, the guard
approached me one morning apologetically and kindly.
"Chrissie," he said,"you're a bright girl, and I thought you would
eventually notice, so I didn't say anything to you before, but you
are not supposed to walk in the roadway. You are supposed to
walk on this marked sidewalk over here, on this side of the yard,
where it says pedestrians." I swear I had never seen that three-footwide sign.
I have learned - slowly I admit - that there are some
"right ways" which are very useful. If you asked me how to hem
a bias-cut skirt, I would tell you that the right way is a herringbone stitch, because it allows for enough horizontal shifting to
Page 7 - October, 2009
BY
C HRIS GOBLE
prevent puckers in the hem. If you want to know how to make
spritz cookies, I can show you some great tricks which have
become the right way for me. My son has shown me the right way
to diaper a modern baby (and believe me, it's different from what
I did) and I do it just as I am told. It's their child, and their diapers, and the right thing is to do as I am told. I am sure of that.
On balance though, I think it is a great blessing to be
unimpressed with doing things "the right way." I think I've had a
lot more fun, and learned a lot of lessons better for not having
done them "the right way." After practicing this way of not looking at the world for nearly sixty years I have become really good
at it. I am so good at it, in fact, that I will read The Judge's Task
now with perfect confidence that even when I know all the nitpicky things judges look for in quilts it won't disturb my messy
and unorthodox quilting ways. It won't take the fun out either.
e're
a member, w
f
o
n
o
ti
s
e
gg
to make
At the su
CQ members
R
F
l
al
g
n
gi
of the
encoura
tags. Think
e
am
n
n
w
o
t!
their
e amazing ar
th
d
n
A
!
!
s
at
possibilitie
g art show
in
k
al
w
a
e
av
We'd h
waste!
reduce our
d
an
g
n
ti
e
e
every m
www.artquilters.org
Bits and Pieces Newsletter
20 09-220 10 Wo rksho p Schedule
October 10, 2009
"Beauties"
Connie Lehman • www.connielehman.com
FRCQ meetings are held at the
Westminster City Recreation Center
7:00 PM
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
November 6-7, 2009
“Wild Threads:
A Machine Stitchery Sampler”
Carol Watkins • www.CarolWatkins.com
March 12-14, 2010
"Fearless Composition"
Brett Barker • www.brettbarkerart.com
September 17-19, 2010
Leslie Gabriëlse • www.gabrielse.com
Becky Fellows
4575 Robinson Place
Boulder, CO 80301