Embroidered Collage

Give and Take at the Riffe Gallery was the first stop on the QSDS bus tour.  It was work of QSDS students and teachers hanging side by side, but I didn't really feel the discussion that the name implied.  It was simply a very good exhibit of a variety of art quilts.  Many caught my eye, but these three really spoke to me.

Arturo Alonzo Sandoval's Pattern Fusion #8 intrigued me at first because there was some complexity in the woven surface.  Then I stepped closer and could see the microfiche stitched to the metallic lurex bands.  When you got close enough you could almost see the headlines on some of the newspapers.  Then I stepped to the side and was able to really see the color variations as well.  I loved the way the use of these specific materials provided and inherent layering and depth of meaning.

Beth T. Kennedy's Legend of an Old Wall IV was an example of texture being the key element.  It was throroughly encrusted in bronzes and a bit of green with quilted people and a few squares and lines embedded within the texture.  Apparently much of the effect was achieved with Tyvek.  I want to be able to do work like this.

Niki Bonnett's The Sacred Within was more of an assemblage than anything else and difficult to describe.  There was a drape of surface designed cloth over top canvases secured to one another, with springs embedded inside of them and parts jutting out in other areas.  It reminded me of a clock somehow.

I didn't take any notes at one of our stops, and can't even recall the name, but it was half traditional quilts and half contemporary art quilts.  Nothing really struck me here, at least not in regards to relating it to my own art, except the chance to see more of Sue Benner's work in person, as she had two quilts up.

The third stop was the QSDS Invitational 2007 at the Cultural Arts Center.  I had seen multiple works by one artist in museums before, and I've certainly visited web sites, but this was a much more immediate experience for me.  Being there, where each of the artists had at least two pieces, often as many as five, helped me feel the concept of a body of work and how that definition could differ between artists.

One of my favorites was Catherine Kleeman's work.  They were very much color studies, but executed as many little squares quilted into large blocks of bigger squares, often with texture playing a strong role.  I could see how the depth changed and perhaps the intent in each quilt.

Another set that caught my eye was by Diane Herbert, primarily because she had found a way to use traditional laces as part of the lines in her works, without it being cloying.  I was delighted to discover, when one of the other members wanted a picture of her in front of her art, that she was the lady I'd talked to the previous day who had wanted to see my artwork and looked at my photos with me.

I was very glad I went on the bus tour, although I was very tired at the end, because when I see fiber art it just resonates with me.  I love visiting the museums, especially the contemporary sections, but the times I get to see the thread and fabric and such just stick in my memory.  I might someday do work for periods of time in which I don't use them, as exercises and development, but I can't imagine ever abandoning them.