QuiltCon 2016-Part 2

Most of the quilts in today’s QuiltCon 2016 post were in the smaller room. It contained Special Exhibits by Molly Upton and Gwen Marston and various categories including Improv, Handwork, Applique, Negative Space, Group Quilt and probably some I missed. I found the work in this room more interesting. I also discovered 2 quilts that would have competed for The Jenny K. Lyon Judge’s Choice Award, a highly coveted ribbon. And I did accidentally delete a whole group of quilts-sheeesh.

The room was fabulous:

The smaller room-great venue!

It just felt good to be in that room with an abundance of natural lighting. Even on Saturday it did not get crowded.

The Molly Upton exhibit was fascinating:

Watchtower, 1975, Molly Upton

Molly Upton lived a brief, highly creative life and was a true pioneer in the art quilt movement of the 1970’s. I was thrilled to see her work in person-it was truly visionary art. Maria Shell wrote an excellent blog post on her work here and I found Maria’s take on the exhibit thought-provoking.

From the Gwen Marston exhibit

I have admired Gwen Marston’s work and books since I first re-entered quilting in 2000. When I discovered Gwen’s “Liberated Quiltmaking“, my world changed. I devoured that book and spent many hours reading, pondering and being inspired by her work. So it was a treat to see her work in person. I was not able to get into her class, sniff, sniff. I love her use of color, simple hand quilting and her edited style.

On to the show quilts:

Juli started playing with these strong, graphic blocks. She enjoyed the tension created between the black and white zones-me too! In a sea of graphic quilts, this one stood out to me.

My photo of the card was blurry so I may have the name wrong. Lowiale is an improvisational quilter. She chose her 3 colors first and began to play until this design emerged. I see steps to a door-maybe you see something different?

Who knew? This quilt was made by Pat Nickel’s adorable daughter. I ran into Pat and met Ashley in the process. Pat is just a little bit proud! Ashley started with simple 9-patch piecing based on a photo of flowers in her neighborhood. The quilting motifs were inspired by the Art Deco and Modernist iron gates found in Ashley’s San Francisco neighborhood.

Nancy started with simple lines which were then reflected to create symmetry. Some paper piecing was involved to create the more intricate designs.

Karen created this piece in response to the Charleston shootings. She noted how the image of the Confederate flag can be a powerful image of hate and racism.

Inspired by the pixelated designs of QuiltCon 2015, Rebecca opted for this different take on pixelation. Yes, it’s George Michael. Love this!

Once Kathy arranged these circles in curving lines, it reminded her of strands of beads. She hand-stitched the dashed lines to represent cording. The title, “Falling”, relates to her feeling a bit over the hill. Hey, what’s wrong with that?

My photo does not do this quilt justice. It was one of my two favorites. It was impeccably pieced-those sharp edges went down to half a thread. The quilting was very simple, but the variegated thread was per-fect. The fabric had shrunk from either washing or quilting and the resulting “seersucker” texture was delightful. It was beautifully edited with excellent use of value and color. Love those implied circles. Divine.

Oh the texture from the hand work was fabulous on this piece! I forgot to take a close-up but I loved this piece for its simple beauty. Riane used hand-dyed fabrics from all-natural dyes.

Made in memory of Eric Garner, killed in 2014, these were his last words. The improvisational quilting was made to remind the viewer of scrawled graffiti.

This piece depicts the earth seen from above in an airplane and is based on the book of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Since flying induces fear and anxiety in many, this quilt is an attempt to create comfort.

Stephanie made this quilt entirely from scraps, including “retroreflective glass nano particle fabric” which apparently will make the quilt look very different when flash photography is used. Fabulous luminosity!

 

Andrew explored the relationship between  lines, stripes and color.  He used vintage striped sheets to create the linear pattern.

Alexus’ favorite artist is from the Group of Seven-Lawren Harris and this quilt was inspired by Lawren’s painting of Moraine Lake. Alexus learned the appli-piecing technique from his Mother who learned it from Carol Bryer Fallert-Gentry. This piece received a 3d place ribbon in the Youth category!

Lindsey combined her favorite passions-drawing and quilting in Flower Doodle. The appliqued tape recreates a drawing she did onto a quilt top. I love this piece for its simplicity and pure childlike joy.

Tara pieced and quilted this piece by hand. She was inspired by two Double Wedding Ring quilts in the collection of Bill Volckening and Roderick Kiracofe.

Katherine’s quilt was inspired by a leaking tap! This is another one of my favorite pieces in the show-it’s bold, simple, original and quilted with a domestic machine.

Kelsey screen printed and masked over her finished quilt top. The quilting gives the impression of different background fabrics, but the effect was achieved by the quilting. Brilliant.

What a quilt! The artist’s statement simply said it was improv pieced out of linen and IKEA canvas with the binding made from a repurposed skirt.

Unfortunately my photo of the card was blurry.  I sleuthed a bit and I think this was made during a Studio Tour of East Austin. What a fun quilt! Check out the detail shot below:

Detail, Group Self-Portrait Quilt, Gina Pina

Wish I’d been there-looks like it was a fun tour!

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts, Cassandra Beaver

This is another case where my photo does not show the beauty of the quilt. Cassandra used 6 sections of violets to create the center. She then continued the color of each section into the quilting, adding the horizontal lines for a calming effect.

This is so simple but so stunning, my second possible selection for the coveted Jenny K. Lyon Judge’s Choice Award.

Ooops-reading the card I now see that this quilt was made in tandem to a piece by Luke Haynes to showcase the differences between two quilters when using the same starting fabric. I don’t have a photo of Luke’s work-it was among the deleted files. I love the way Libs combined these very strong fabrics and colors into a cohesive quilt.

The quilting greatly enhances this quilt.

Holyoke, Mass was one of the country’s first planned industrial cities. It is powered by a dam on the Connecticut River and a canal system. Timna found the juxtaposition of the river and the planned streets fascinating, hence the inspiration for the quilt. And that little star in the upper right is where she lives!

If you want to see more of QuiltCon 2016, search for it on Instagram where there is an abundance of photos, or, look at The Quilt Show and search for it there. I’ll be linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday.