Exhibitions
I currently have a piece in one exhibition and I am planning a solo exhibition. The latter is taking place this coming September and October. Both are in my hometown. This has me thinking about my early years of sharing my work publicly and all I have learned from doing so. I started quilting innocently enough. I simply wanted to give it a go, just as I knitted or crocheted. My plan was to make a few quilts or two for family and to give as gifts. The very idea of exhibiting didn’t occur to me. Then I joined a guild. Boy, was it scary to bring my work to the front of the room for show and tell. Next I submitted some work to be hung in the guild’s annual exhibition.
Leap Forward
What a difference 40+ years of quilting and sharing my work has made. Just as I have learned about quilting and art, I have learned how to curate an exhibition.
How Does This Garden Grow? is currently on view at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, MA. Every year the SSAC hosts the Blue Ribbon Members Show. As a fiber artist, I am always looking for opportunities to share my work amongst media other than my own. No surprise, the work in the exhibition is dominated by painting, photography, mixed media and includes some sculpture and ceramics. How do you curate such an eclectic exhibition, especially since there is no theme or media requirement to provide a focus? I wish I had taken a photograph of my work and the work that surrounded it, because the curator did a masterful job. She riffed of the color of my work, bold primary colors, and surrounded it on either side with stunning, equally bright colored work, but of much smaller sizes than mine.
My Turn
Last week I shared my thread painting journey with you. Confession, this was part of my planning process. My solo exhibition will feature my thread painting and embroidery work.
I am using Spring Chorus as the central piece. The exhibition takes place in our town’s senior center. There is a wall along the main corridor which hosts rotating exhibitions from Cohasset Open Studio artists. Full sized quilts are out due to the size of the exhibition space. Fortunately, most of my small wrapped canvas work is perfect. So, I will be hanging 8 different 8″ x 8″ works, plus 4 of my 12″ x 12″ pieces. However, now that I am writing my post, I might substitute Contemplation for Spring Chorus.
Butterfly Sanctuary
Glimmer is the 6th block in the Butterfly Sanctuary block of the month project offered through WonderFil. The more blocks I make, the easier they are to do. Good thing, because we were also given the instructions for how to assemble the first six blocks. I even managed to do that this week.
Butterfly Sanctuary won’t be finished in time for my open studio, in November, however, it will be perfect to pin to my design wall. Just as I curate my exhibitions, I like to curate my studio when I host an opening. This year I plan on sharing many of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts, along with other quilts that have similar palettes.
Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Speaking of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I have continued to work on my cat blocks. This week I added eyes to all 12 of the blocks.
I will be adding whiskers, but not until after the quilt is assembled and the quilting is done.
Question of the Week
What draws you to attend a museum exhibition? Does a exhibition stand out?
I’m linking up to the following posts:
Sounds like the curator is a talented set designer to create a cohesive show with such a variety of mediums, sizes and colors. Your piece was a feature! Those butterflies are becoming a beautiful kaleidoscope! I often attend an exhibition because I’m curious. Seeing the medium, the scope, the message is always inspiring.
Yes, my work was the feature on the wall it was displayed on. It was the feature of the exhibition. Actually, no work was featured. The two galleries don’t lend themselves to that.
Curiosity is a perfect reason to attend an exhibition. There is nothing like seeing work in person.
Good to hear from you, Terry.
I would have liked to have seen the exhibition that had your garden quilt as the centerpiece, Gwyned! The curator sounds like an artist herself. The solo exhibit sounds like a great opportunity, too. So perfect that you make the wrapped canvases that will fit the exhibit space. Glad the butterflies are going together well, and love the eyes on the cat, too – they make her come alive! Lots of times I’m drawn to a museum exhibit because it’s a special topic – our small local museum had an exhibit of a collection of Hawaiian quilts that was very interesting to see.
Lucky you, Diann, to have a local museum exhibit Hawaiian quilts. So iconic, it is easy to think they are all the same. However, it is their nuances that make them unique.
There is a new Director at the South Shore Art Center, actually she has held the post for a year or so now. She is excellent at discovering talent amongst her staff and giving them full rein. The current curator always assisted, but in a group of people. Curation by committee is difficult. You really need the eye of a single person.
I’m not sure when I started creating small pieces for wrapped canvases. Probably for my first open studio. Attendees are more likely to impulse buy one of these works. My large work requires long consideration and having the right space for it.
Fabulous paper pieced butterflies. I know they were not simple.
Thank you!Yes, those butterflies have been quite the journey. The first few I wondered what I was getting into. Now I can’t wait for the next block to be released.
I’m taking a drawing class at South Shore Art Center so I got to see your gorgeous piece and how well it is displayed! I continue to love the cow I got from you last year.
What fun. SSAC offers so wonderful classes with supportive and talented students. I attended the Artist Reception for the current exhibition. I was wowed by the caliber of the art. As you know from my post, I was impressed by the curation of the exhibition. The curator’s name is Lisa, but I didn’t catch her last name. Just know she is active in numerous ways at the SSAC. So happy, the cow still makes you happy.
I love seeing the variety in your work! “Contemplation” is breathtaking, with the level of detail and realism achieved through thread painting. The butterflies are delightful and I look forward to seeing how that project will progress for you.
Contemplation took me by surprise. Would you believe the 3D aspect was unplanned. It happened because I didn’t understand stabilizer as I do now. So the fabric stretched as I worked. A happy accident.
As for the butterflies, I, too, am wondering how it will progress. It needs that something, something to elevate it. Normally, I am not someone who adds borders to my work, but this is begging for some, I think.
I love your work, particularly your thread painting. Those butterflies are just gorgeous. I’ve been enjoying watching your attic cats too, but those eyes are a wee bit creepy. Are they a little high on the face?
I really struggled on where to position the eyes. I tried them lower, higher, wider, narrower, etc. Did I choose the best spot? Eventually, I just settled and moved on. The good news is they are pin pricks in size compared to the overall piece. I will be adding very wide sashing with embroidered mice. So, the focus on won’t be on the eyes.
Happy to hear you are enjoying the butterflies. It is a fun project.
The FPP butterflies look fabulous! And I love the Garden quilt. I’m sure it’s even more lovely in person.
You are so kind, Sue. The garden quilt is definitely bright in person. Of course, you can’t see the scale of it. Bigger than a throw and tad small than twin bed size.
Fun to hear about your exhibition plans, Gwyned. You are a brave quilter. Your butterflies are looking so good! And those gorgeous green eyes!
It did take courage when I began sharing my work publicly. Now my nerves are down to barely noticeable levels. 🙂 I see it as similar to what you do. Very brave to work on someone else’s quilt.
It’s interesting to hear your thoughts on curating an exhibit. I admit it doesn’t take much to entice me to a museum exhibit — usually the topic or a media style of interest on display. A quilt exhibit no matter how varied the designs is always a draw. I admit my husband and I took in one on antique cars because it was the only “indoors” activity available on a rainy day during a trip! Turned out to be very educational and a real treat! As a recent fan of Wonderfil threads, I will have to look up that butterfly block QAL as it looks very interesting!
For several years I chaired SAQA’s Global Exhibition Committee. This is an international organization of approximately 4,500 members who make or are engaged with fiber art. We toured a rotating cadre of approximately 18 exhibitions around the globe. The artwork was juried in, the exhibition was then “rented” by venues for the next 3 or so years. What was fascinating was how each curator opted to hang the same work. It was never the same.
It is so much fun to “discover” an exhibition.Sounds like the antique cars was a delightful surprise.