April 7, 2011 Art Quilt Meeting and Art Quilt Explorations

First, the coming meeting:

1. The next meeting will be Thursday May 5, 2011 at 6 pm at the Art Center Ukiah at the corner of State and Church Sts. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the challenge will be to make or bring any Latin American-themed item, possibly with some revolutionary component. Of course we will have show and tell of any other fiber things also.

We’ll discuss the upcoming show (#4 below)

As always, anyone interested in in fiber art is welcome. Please bring $2 cash for the room rent.

2. Future meeting:
         June: Japanese themes/memory quilts. Bring or wear any Japanese-themed item. Japanese street fashion is a possibility. Bring a quilt related to a memory.

3. Other ideas that may be incorporated:

your first work
your worst work—or alternatively the piece you like the best
demonstration of your favorite technique or cool material. The demonstration may inspire a workshop later
fabric and material swap meet
presentations by members

4. Show at Art Center Ukiah

We have tenatively scheduled a show for the month of August, at Art Center Ukiah of course,  to be up by the first Friday August 5. The cost will be $200. We can offer art for sale; the Gallery will take a 40% commission on any items that are sold. Should there be a theme?

5. Art Quilt Explorations II followed the small group meeting (more on Ann’s presentation at the end of this letter). More planning is needed to continue these explorations. A small group will form including some of our members and some MQA members. Please send any ideas you may have regarding goals and possible activities for the larger group. Virginia Hanley, Genie Dietz and Catherine Reed will represent our group, others are welcome also.

 6. Ann Horton of Mendocino Quilt Artists showed 32 beautiful quilts and described her experience over 28 years of quilting. Each quilt showed a new technique, type of image or approach. Ann has made both traditional and contemporary quilts, and some of her most successful pieces combine two or more techniques, including piecing, machine embroidery, photo transfer, beading and other embellishments, and applique. She has used a variety of fabrics including cottons, Thai silk, Indian embellished fabrics, Guatemalan handwovens and old shirts. Her themes include history, both national and personal, spirtituality, nature, and experiments with color and technique.

Ann has won over 100 ribbons, her quilts are shown all over the world, and she has a corporate sponsor (Husqvarna, supplying her with top-of-the-line sewing technology). How did she become so successful? She attributes creativity to both an inner spiritual force (the creative voice within) and to life experience. The hobbyist who wants to upgrade to professional must stake out her territory, make a space to work in, invest money in decent equipment, and protect her work time. She must get her work out there: the elation of success overcomes the disappointment of rejection.

Thank you, Ann, for your thoughtful and inspiring presentation.


Catherine Reed