The Ice House Gallery show, in Tatagamouche, went up on Dec 3. All of the wall art conformed to the 6×6 challenge – amazing the diversity of the offerings, the show as a whole was stunning. I didn’t actually get to Tatamagouche but Brandt posted photos of the show and of individual pieces (mine are near the bottom of the posting) – you can get a feeling for what you’d experience were you to walk into the gallery.
The show will get taken down coming week, I imagine. Brandt was pleased with sales in the first couple of days. I have no idea whether any of my work actually sold. Brand will bring my pieces back to town sometime soon.
Friday I took eight quilts and 12 wall art pieces to Parrsboro to show at the Art Labs Gallery. I knew it was a shared exhibition with two women who do rug hooking – but I had been told most of their pieces would be stand-on-the-floor works – laundry baskets, chairs, stools… Well, they were, but several were “hung” which cut my showing space in half. I was able to hang 5 quilts and 4 wall art pieces. A disappointment because the wall art pieces I’d chosen showed the evolution of my “printed on fabric” appliqué technique – the pieces all had people in them which I wanted to showcase.
At Five Islands; Wind Waiting
The most recent piece with one of the earlier pieces. I’m still very fond of the mood of these three guys at Fox River wishing the wind would moderate so we could launch our paragliders.
Escher Quilt
This is the piece you see from the doorway – it’s straight ahead of you as you walk into the gallery space. At that distance you see the 3D illusion clearly.
Diamonds
This quilt also is striking when you see it hung. The shaded border, the asymmetry of the piece, the colour movement are all apparent.
Skyline #1
Skyline #2
Skyline #3
I forgot to take a photo showing the three Skyline quilts hanging side by each on the wall. They make a strong triptych which was my intention when I created these pieces.
Into The Future
Not for sale, but it’s one of my stronger pieces using the fabric photo appliqué technique. I was so lucky that the sunlight on the children blended so well with the setting I put them in – on Spring Garden Road beside the Public Gardens – the photo of the children was taken at the Toronto Zoo!
On Deck
These were all the pieces I had room to hang. I returned home with three quilts and nine wall art pieces. I could have crammed in a few more small hangings but when I stood back I decided less was more.
The show is on until August 19 when I go back to Parrsboro to take down the show and return the art to my closet. I need an agent in Toronto or New York – anybody got connections to someone who might be interested in representing a textile artist in a market that would understand the art and the work required to create it?
Yesterday I drove to Parrsboro (2 hours from home) to hang 7 quilts and 15 wall art pieces in the Art Lab Studios & Gallery.
This is the sixth summer I’ve been privileged to show my creations in the gallery. It’s a small gallery in a small town but it’s becoming known for it’s displays of high quality art. The five resident artists are themselves fine artists who paint, make pottery, fashion textile pieces, along with a roster of other well known local artists who both show and do workshops at the Studios during the summer.
The space is perfect for hanging my lap quilts and other smaller pieces.
When we’re finished hanging the show I look around and think about the amount of work I’ve done in a year – the range of style, the intensity of colour, and the technical improvement the show reveals.
A number of pieces were created as projects for classes I was intending to teach (except they were cancelled due to COVID-19).
Kaleidoscope Table Runners
Other pieces were inspired by fabric in my stash – they called out for me to do something with them.
Then there were the two quilts I started work on at the sewing retreat last fall that turned into quite striking throws.
Grey called out to me this year – last year it was turquoise.
I think I want to return before the show is taken down to photograph everything once more – it’s very difficult for me to hang the quilts, in particular, and photograph them at home – when they’re on the wall, like this, I am able to capture each piece without distortion.
The quilts and wall art will be on display until August 20, 2020.
If you get a chance, the Art Lab Studios & Gallery is a wonderful destination for a day trip from Halifax – leave around 10am, stop at the Masstown Market in Masstown (they make great sugar donuts if you get there early enough). In Parrsboro you can have lunch at either the BlackRock Cafe or what locals call “The Pier” (now called, I think, Harbourview Restaurant), then visit the gallery, schmooze Main Street, and have a leisurely drive back home either through Joggins/Amherst or back through Truro. If you stop for dinner in Truro you can expect to be back home around 8pm. Even fun on a cloudy day.
Drove yesterday to Parrsboro, NS to set up a show of 22 quilts and wall art pieces which will hang in the Art Lab Studio and Gallery until August 30.
I’m always amazed at what my work looks like when hanging together like this – I can see just how much I accomplished in a year. The reaction of the visitors yesterday at the opening was encouraging – people were interested in how I constructed the wall art, particularly those pieces with photo elements printed on cotton.
It seems the favourite pieces, they got a lot of attention, are the modern “flower” appliqué hangings. I thought the “banner” pieces might generate interest but the flowers seem to be winning out.
Until I saw the show hanging, I hadn’t realized how much turquoise featured in my work this year. It shows up in quite a few of the quilts and hangings as a highlight colour.
Last Saturday I travelled to Parrsboro for my 4th Annual exhibition of “Quilts As Art” show at the Art Labs Gallery.
Sign on the Sidewalk
It took about an hour and a half to hang the 8 quilts and 11 smaller wall art pieces. That’s my complete production for 2017/2018 – new since last year’s showing.
Quilts Hung
Hard to believe I manage to get so much sewing/quilting/machine embroidery done. That’s not everything I did make – there were a variety of garments: pants, jackets, tops that I constructed in that same time period – from end of August to mid-July of this year.
Two Wall Art Pieces On Display
There was an “Opening” later in the afternoon – a small attendance because the weather was so hot I’m guessing people in Parrsboro spent the day at the beach. Those who did come to see and talk about the textile art with me were interested and appreciative of my work. Always fun to see how people react to it. The show lasts for two more weeks until August 17. Then I’ll head back on the 18th to bring it all home. I think I’m going to hang Federer somewhere in my place, the rest will be put away in my “quilt” closet (which is getting full).
I’ve already got work for next year under way. I pinned a new quilt this morning – ready to start quilting it. When that’s done I’ve got fabric for some summer pants (almost too late to bother making them this season). I’ll get those cut out and maybe one or two pairs stitched up.
Yesterday the exhibition of my eight quilts and eight textile wall art pieces opened at the Art Lab Studios and Gallery in Parrsboro NS. I have no wall space at home to hang these art quilts so it’s wonderful being able to see eight of them hanging in one location.
The opening yesterday afternoon was great fun – quite a few people were there and it was very interesting to observe visitors’ reactions, discovering the detail that goes into making one of these functional art works. You’ve seen each of these pieces while I was constructing it; I’ve written about each as I worked on it. Here is my production for the past year since I had a showing late August 2016.
Now to start on a new body of projects for a showing next year!
I’ve been spending today getting ready for the showing of eight new quilts and eight new wall hangings in the Parrsboro Art Labs during the first two weeks of September. First I had to write some kind of biographical blurb for the blast email they send out, then I had to write descriptions of each piece with photos of the front and back of each quilt. Yesterday I was at the lumber yard picking up nine 6′ lengths of 3/8″ dowels to hang the quilts (I still have to baste a temporary hanging sleeve on each), I bought some bulldog clips to hold the dowels at the Dollarstore. I still need a package of push pins to mount the clips to the walls. The showing isn’t until September 3 so I still have three weeks to get everything done in time.
I love seeing my art hanging in one spot. I don’t have room to display quilts in my apartment—they live folded over hangers in a closet. To have eight of them fully displayed at once is such a delight. I’m not expecting any of the quilts or wall art pieces will sell (the prices reflect the actual cost of the materials, as well as my labour and creativity, which sets the price well above what people locally expect to pay for a quilt; however, I consider my work to be art and so I’ve priced it accordingly). Nevertheless, these pieces of functional and decorative art will be seen by a reasonable number of people and that makes this extra work worth while.
I’m finally settled into the apartment! There are still a few things to do but for the most part it’s now home.
Yesterday I traipsed to Parrsboro with 10 new quilts and 3 wall art pieces. They’re on show at Art Lab till Sept. 7. We spent the afternoon hanging the exhibition and I was delighted with how well the pieces all show.
I’m having my first art show — Functional Art: Quilts & Garments.
At the Art Lab Studios & Gallery in Parrsboro NS (2 hours from Halifax).
I had a difficult time deciding which quilts to put into the exhibition – in the end I chose 10 showing a range of work over three years. I also included three jackets and two shirts illustrating wearable art.
Although the gallery is small there was plenty of space to showcase the quilts and garments and the room was popping with colour when we finished hanging the works, yesterday.
There’s a story behind each of the pieces. I will get to talk about that tonight when I go back for the opening. I’m looking forward to seeing reactions and hearing comments.
jmn 
