At right our Best of Show winner:  On the Wings of a Dream by Caryl Bryer Fallert.

See the complete listing of the Award Winners & Entries here.

This exhibit is sponsored by:  Quality Sewing & Vacuum.

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December Closures:  We will be closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. We will be open Monday- Friday, December 26-30, but will be closed on the 31st.

January Closure:  January 1-10, 2012 We will be closed in early January for our annual indoor maintenance. See you on opening day, January 11.

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Together is a collaborative project between pairs of Canadian artists – one working in fibre and the other in their chosen media. This exhibition has brought together a group of textile, quilt, and fibre artists working in a wide range of styles and paired them with painters, woodworkers, mixed media artists, potters, and glass artists. Each pairing of artists chose their own  theme and their themes are as diverse as their media. 

Some of the artists began with a word or words as inspiration:  “Orchid”, “Stone Threads”, or “Runes, Wings, & Keys.” Other artists were working from an inspirational photo or painting. Many artists sought inspiration from the world around them:  organic and abstract patterns found in nature and landscapes. The issues facing nature also appears in some of the work:  “What’s happening in the oceans”, “Pine beetle devastating the forests”, and “Clear cutting of forests.” While many of the artists are working in their own media, some of the pairs have decided to work on one project using their combined talents to interpret a theme.

All in all, a well-rounded grouping of artistic works made by an eclectic group of artists working in their respective media to bring you a brilliant collage of works.

Vivian Kapusta, guest curator.

Above:  Woods on a Snowy Evening Fiber Art by Coreen Zerr

Right:  Spring Thaw Painting by Sari Spenser

Ann Fahl is a prize winning quilter and author from Racine, WI. Her new book about her cat is “A Black and White Tale.” “Dancing with Thread” is about free-motion quilting in a free-spirited style. Her first book and DVD, “Coloring with Thread” covers every aspect of machine embroidery and use of decorative thread.

She has been interested in the fiber arts all her life, and first discovered quilting in 1978.  As a beginning quilter, she started out with traditional patchwork and appliqué, her quilts have evolved into heavily embroidered pieces over a patchwork background. They have been exhibited in quilt competitions, solo and invitation exhibits across the USA. Many private and corporate collections include her quilts. Quilting enables Ann to combine the things she loves; color, fabric and sewing. She finds the entire process of quilt making an enjoyable creative experience as well as stimulating and challenging.

Ann’s joy in working with color, texture, and fiber is reflected in her quilts. They emerge from her life, surroundings and childhood memories. Much of her work includes four themes:  large birds, fans, botanic imagery and the geometry of triangles. She enjoys mixing machine piecing, appliqué, embroidery, and quilting with hand beading. Using a combination of these techniques gives her great freedom and flexibility to create a variety of effects. Her quilts convey her positive outlook on life and her love of nature, color, and fiber.

As she teaches and lectures across the country, she encourages quilters to be creative by using subjects that are important to them.  You will find Ann’s quilts pictured in many quilt publications, books, calendars and her website. She has a line of patterns based on her prize-winning designs, and can be seen on TheQuiltShow.com and Simply Quilts.

Ann works in her studio at home.  She balances home, husband, 2 grown children, a cat, and her art.  She lives in a naturally wooded area, with many birds and wild flowers.  These surroundings are an important part of her work, and can be found in many of her quilts.

Above: Coneflower Fiesta by Ann Fahl, © 2011  62.5 x 45.5 inches.

For more about Ann visit http://www.annfahl.com/

December Closures:  We will be closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. We will be open Monday- Friday, December 26-30, but will be closed on the 31st.

January Closure:  January 1-10, 2012 We will be closed in early January for our annual indoor maintenance. See you on opening day, January 11.

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Spirit of the West Featuring the work of the Association of Pacific West Quilters.

Over thirty APWQ members have been invited to create in fabric their interpretation of the phrase Spirit of the West. The artists were given this as a guideline for their creation: We live in a marvelous part of the world, full of diversity in folklore, history, and natural wonders.  Let your imagination soar and create a quilt that speaks of the West from Alaska to New Mexico, Saskatchewan to Hawaii, and all points in between.  Feel free to mix images, techniques and styles from traditional to contemporary.  Individual expression and construction techniques of unlimited variety are encouraged.

The Spirit of the West exhibit will travel to major quilt shows and museums and will be auctioned at the 2012 Pacific West Quilt Show Gala & Auction.

Elaine’s quilting career included teaching an after-school quilting program; beginning her longarm business, Unfinished Dreams; and serving as president at Quilters Anonymous, based in Snohomish County, WA.

Reception:  A Tribute to Elaine Colvin, Saturday, August 20; 5-8pm. Join us for a evening reception in Elaine’s honor.

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Smiling Tigers by Elaine Colvin, 60″ x 72″, 2010. Pattern ”Borealis” by Pamela Dimdorf.

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A collection of quilts and fiber art inspiring viewers with the guild’s signature artistic creativity and sustainable earth, global footprint message. “Mixed Greens” is a celebratory project exhibition, offering a diverse perspective of regional and local Northwest efforts to re-use, re-purpose, and recycle, while continuing to honor “America’s favorite pastime.”

The collection, composed of some twenty-two individual offerings is organized to satisfy the senses while respecting the environment. Each piece, though uniquely special, compliments the collection like a freshly tossed fine summer salad, or a combination of mixed kale and mustard greens. The title piece selected for the exhibition: “Carbon Footprint” (seen at left) by quilter Marilyn Wilson Hanseling sets the pace. It conveys a sense of “earthiness” and respect for “Mother Earth.”  “Paper or Plastic” by creative quilter Annie Harper is a mixed media piece that utilizes plastic bags and wrappers, fabric trimmings, threads, ribbon cuttings brought together to demonstrate a personal interpretation of “proper recycling technique.”

Viewers will come away from “Mixed Greens” inspired, and full of new possibilities to explore. Simple and functional “idea gifts from the earth”, like preparing beets, other varieties of vegetable dyes and teas to color or hue fabric as offered by the inspirations of traditional hand quilter Johnnie Miller, who learned from her family farming traditions as a young girl, rotating crops and the conscious behavior to recycle their bounty to the fullness thereof.

Mixed Greens: Saving the Earth One Quilt at a Time brings back to conscious the social responsibility we share to protect and preserve “Mother Earth” for generations to come. This exhibition presents the evolution of the art form from traditional/utilitarian quilts to contemporary abstract fiber art.

Exhibition curated by Deborah Boone – quilter/fiber artist and member of the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters, “Mixed Greens: Saving the Earth One Quilt at a Time”, June 29th – Oct 2nd 2011.

-Deborah Boone

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Website of the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters Association.http://www.pnwaaq.com/

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Carbon Footprint by Marilyn Hanseling. Materials: Cottons, flannels, dryer lint, and dryer sheets.

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Quilts by Cathy Erickson & Poetry by Margaret Chula

What started as two people, a poet and a quilter, creating a single poem and quilt for the Visual Verse project by the Contemporary QuiltArt Association, has changed and grown over the past six years. Many hours were logged doing research before the first word was written or the first piece of fabric was cut. The challenges of two people working together have been revealing and rewarding. —Cathy Erickson

Collaboration is like a mirror that shows each artist not just a mimicry of her work but reflects a subtlety that she was not able to see before. The words of the poem allow the quilt artist to look deeper into the fabric of her creation to see the layers that were not visible before. For the poet, words take on texture, color linear rhythm—a rhythm of lines and shapes rather than iambs. The sum of the piece becomes more than itself. -–Margaret Chula

In the 1940’s over 120,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned in internment camps. From the newborn baby to the aging grandfather, all their lives were changed dramatically. Now only photos, stories, and rock rubble remain of the time. The art quilts and poetry in this series attempt to capture the spirit of what remains over sixty years later.

Art Quilts and Poetry Event with Cathy Erickson and Margaret Chula.  June 11, 2011; 1pm. Click here for details.

For more information about these artists, please visit their websites:

http://www.cathyerickson.net

http://www.margaretchula.com

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Mary Lou Weidman discovered Story Quilts quite by accident. It was through this discovery that she realized that quilters have the opportunity to tell the world who they are and what and who they love. These quilts will surely be the ones to be studied in the future as they tell about people today and the details of their lives.

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For those of you who like to follow Mary Lou’s blog, the page has been changed. Here is the new link:    http://marylouweidman-marylou.blogspot.com/

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Sponsored by Earthenworks Gallery and Hotel Planter.

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Textile Explorations and the Development of the Artist, lecture by Gail Harker of Gail Harker Creative Studies. Friday, January 21, 2011; 1-3pm

Artists and Their Creative Lives, a Panel Discussion with the Four Embroiderers, moderated by Anita Luvera Mayer. Sunday, March 13, 2011; 2-4pm