Accepted!
I recently was notified that “Stipa Gigantea” was accepted into “Quilts=Art=Quilts” at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Albany, New York. This is a Biggie, one that I am thrilled to be a part of. You may remember my fairly recent decision to move into art venues as opposed to quilt venues. I am hoping to learn more from being in art venues and I am well aware that in general, it is difficult to get into art venues and my rejection rate will probably be much higher.
So imagine my delight to be accepted into this prestigious exhibit! Beginner’s luck? I know one thing: if you don’t enter, you’ll never know. It felt gutsy just to enter this one! So my head was really big…for about one afternoon, and then life returned to normal, like it always does, whether I’m accepted or rejected.
I didn’t realize that I had not posted about this quilt until just now. So, a little bit of background on this piece:
You may already know, I love me my grasses. If you lived here and saw them on a daily basis, you would too! I live at the bottom of a modest hill and the sun rises over that hill. As a result, my backyard will get that gorgeous morning sun once it tops the hill. And that is where most of my grasses reside. I only have one photo which barely captures the beauty of an ornamental grass being backlit by the morning sun. It is so dog gone cool!
And if only you could see the mass of gently waving grasses when the breeze kicks in! They are all waving their fronds at different rates and it is mesmerizing.
Like any seasonal plant, grasses also have their cycles-new spring seed heads mature throughout the summer and fall. I let them stay through winter and then cut them back in early spring. Unlike most landscapes, mine is least attractive in the spring, when the grasses have been shaved.
As I was strolling through my garden in late spring, I plucked a head off of one of my Stipa Giganteas. These guys are 7-8′ tall! The individual little seed heads are very pliable in the early spring and I was admiring their beauty. On a whim, I took a portion of a seed head and plopped it down on my printer glass. I literally gasped, as it spread itself so elegantly across the surface. I knew I had something and quickly closed the lid to capture the moment. It was A Gift.
Now, what to do? I tried to recreate the design so that I could somehow put it on a quilt and I just was not capturing the elegance completely. So I took my copy down to Kinko’s and had a super enlargement done. I then used that as my “pattern” and transferred the design to my sateen using a blue wash out pen-no light box was needed.
I pre-treated my fabric with Terial Magic, a necessary part of my process. Because I quilt areas so heavily, if I did not use the Terial Magic, the quilt would be wonky. The Terial acts as a stabilizer and eliminates the need for hooping or layers of stabilizer. I also Misty Fuse basted my quilt sandwich. Both of these products are staples in my world.
I used a random echo background which I quilted first in Kimono silk (light gray). I then laid the design down using Aurifil on top and Kimono on the bottom. I altered the design a wee bit as I worked, just to improve the lines of the piece.
As with all pieces in this series, I used black and white sateen and wool batting. For the design portion I used 50 weight Aurifil on top and 100 wt Kimono silk in the bobbin. That is a very challenging combination and my tension had to be dead-on perfect, especially on wool batting which gives no place to hide. I did bury all my threads. And it is a true two-sided piece. The black side is my favorite-if you could just see the sheen of the silk thread…
This is the most spare quilt I’ve done. It’s a bold move to edit to bare bones-the design has to carry the piece. I worried-was this “enough”? I consulted the SAQA online critique group and received an enthusiastic thumbs up, so I went forward.
The online critique group is important to me. I don’t have a “real life” group and they are a great critique group. The group critiques in a helpful and instructive manner, just like they are supposed to. This is Reason #482 why SAQA rocks!
Its debut was at the Curitiba Quilt Show in Brazil. Its debut was international! My contact for that show was from Déda Maldonado, a SAQA colleague I met as a Regional Rep for SAQA. Déda also arranged for Stipa Gigantea to hang in Quilt South Florida. I barely completed the quilt in time to hang in Brazil and had NO professional photos of it, so it was a little scary to send it off. It did not return to me for 4 long months!
I showed Stipa Gigantea in my local guild’s show, the Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild and will now it will travel to the Schweinfurth. I feel like this is my strongest piece to date. I intend to travel it.
So lessons learned from this piece:
-If you don’t enter it, you’ll never know if it would have been accepted or rejected.
-My work is accepted or rejected, not ME!
-The high from acceptance or the low from rejection lasts about an afternoon! Then it’s back to The Work.
-Gifts are rare in art, but they happen. You have to be present, aware and ready to use the Gift, or it will go fallow.
-A critique group is very helpful to keep you on track.
-Be bold-it may pay off. If it doesn’t, you’ve learned something important. Keep going.
-If you’re an art quilter, consider being a part of SAQA-I could give you so many reasons why: the support, the knowledge base, the ability to learn from and get to know other artists, the opportunity to show your work internationally if you’d like, the annual Conference is amazing and as one artist friend put it, “you’re with your peeps, they understand you”.
I’m excited to be traveling to San Diego for a week (including travel time) of teaching and lecture. I know, I know, what a tough place to go in September! I have a new shipment from Dharma coming in while I’m gone; this dyeing thing is getting to be an issue….
I’ll be posting to Nina Marie’s Off the Wall Friday–always good links there.
Congratulations Jenny! I am very excited for you.
Thank you Connie!
Really, “beginner’s luck” for one of the most well known and revered quilters in the country??? It is absolutely gorgeous! The skill in making a two sided quilt that is the exact opposite on each side boggles my imagination. The delicate beauty of the image would be enough….but opposite sides…..this should be a prize winner wherever you show it!
Thank you for that encouragement Sandy-this is a fun ride while it lasts!
Girl, you are playing in the majors now. Congratulations! Your piece has a very Japanese aesthetic. And I love the two sided effect. You are the queen of tension control.
Thank you Joanna. That tension control was hard earned!
Congratulations!!! And a trip to San Diego? Yes, I am jealous :)
Thank you Debby! It’s been a great trip too.
Just stunning, Jenny….congratulations! I love the prefect graceful lines!
Thank you Martha! I wish I could go to the exhibit.
I think I’m almost as excited as you are about this acceptance! Congratulations Jenny — you belong in this exhibit! xo
Thank you Franki – it’s still a little bit unreal that I’m in.
Great post Jenny – really interesting about your process and your comments about working as an artist are really thought provoking.
Well thank you Lisa -just stumbling my way through!
As you know I am not a quilter and know practically nothing of the art but I do know that this piece is absolutely stunning in design. The simplicity is beautiful – Congratulations!
Thank you Moira!
Sometimes one is ‘given’ a piece — a vision thereof and exactly how to proceed…one step at at time. This one is exquisite, Jenny, and it’s no surprise that it’s been accepted into that prestigious exhibit. It’s a matter of “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” Thanks for the inspiration, and blessings for continued successful entries!
Thank you Margaret – this one really was a gift.
Amazing botanical collection and amazing quilt. I can see why it was accepted. Thanks so much for sharing the process.
Thank you Angie – and funny, I never thought of it as a Botanical collection but I guess it is!
A very moving piece, and a well-deserved honor to be selected for such a prestigious show!! Congratulations and hugs!!
Thank you Peggy! It’s funny, grass does move me.
Congratulations! Well deserved – this piece is stunning and the back! Wow! I’m so glad you are entering in the art shows since your work is art made of fabric with the texture of quilting as an added bonus.
Thank you for letting us in on your methodology as well :-)
Thank you Carol! I keep no secrets about the methodology, sometimes product helps the process.
How beautiful that you followed that moment of inspiration all the way to final product of this beautiful piece. I’m not at all surprised it got into the show! Well done!
Thank you Roxane! I’m so excited to jury in.
Jenny – it is totally beautiful (as it your garden – no wonder you undertook renovating rather than moving!). I totally appreciated your explanation of your process. I will investigate Terial Magic. So happy you have gotten into Schweinfurth. I used to live near it and saw many of the shows – all are amazing.
Ooo-lucky you to be near the Schweinfurth! The Terial is a great product-works very well for me. And yessss, so happy we renovated rather than move!
Another stunner, Jenny. A study in positive and negative space. Love the SAQA plug – those who volunteer and take advantage of programs, such as SAQArtique, know what a powerful organization it is.
Thank you very much Gwynedd! It was such a fun piece to do. And SAQA rocks!
Kudos, Jenny! It is truly beautiful and showcases your amazing quilting skills perfectly.
Thank you Norma!
Congratulations! It’s a real beauty.
Thank you Linda- I’m still excited after all!
Thank you for sharing how this piece came to be! The universe was communicating with you I believe when you picked up the piece. The quilt is Beautiful! Interesting that you quilted first and then the design. The design is all in threads is it? The 2 sided is awesome! You deserve the recognition of this design and quilting Art!
Kind words Patricia! Yes, it’s all thread. I’m not much of a piecer, giggle!
Very beautiful work, Jenny!
Thank you Bill!
A very beautiful piece! Of course, the quilting is gorgeous. Congrats on the Schweinfurth acceptance.
Questions: What stitch did you use to create the grass?
Do you always use a sateen fabric? Silk? Cotton?
I didn’t realize you were hand dyeing your fabric. Do you use Procion?
Thank you Cathie! I freemotioned the grasses with aurifil top and Kimono bobbin. I have used sateen for this black and white series. And I just started dyeing-so far silk organza only, because I could not find it commercially in the colors I wanted. I haven’t even used it yet! I use Dharma acid dyes.
YAY!!!! Congratulations, Jenny! You deserve it! I am so excited for you! Also envious of your gorgeous pool. :-)
Thank you Rebecca! And yes, I do enjoy that pool.
Fabulous piece Jenny and what a stroke of luck you picking that seed head. Just goes to show you just dont know what goes on the nature side of things do you. More power to you. I to have just started on the Arty side of quilting thanks to my friend Maggi who encouraged me until she died earlier this year, I will keep on ‘having a go’ in memory of Maggi and when I feel I have ‘got there’ I will enter something in a show. I love your work it too inspires me.
THank you Janet. Oh your work is arty indeed-Maggi would be proud. Please don’t wait until you’ve “Got there”-it’s already there. Show your beauty to the world. And read “Art and Fear”. Really!