Houston Int’l Quilt Festival 2017-The Quilts, Part 1

Danny Amazonos had a special exhibit. This will give you an idea of his scale! The breathtaking scale and color that Danny used blew me away. He was very sharing and personable, seemingly without any ego about his astounding work.

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Okay, a bit of explanation. I had one afternoon off when the show was open, sandwiched between a morning and night class, with lunch, prep for the evening class and a Meet the Teacher thrown into that same afternoon for good measure. The reality was, I ran around like crazy, sticking my phone in front of anything of interest. It was totally intuitive. I did not see the whole show.

If someone was in front of a quilt the moment I walked by, I did not wait around until it cleared-I simply did not view or photograph that quilt. So if there was a photo you wanted to see and it’s not a part of my collection, it may have piqued my interest but I did not have time to photograph it. I saw only a very few of Sue Garman’s exhibit, the Traditional Quilt exhibit, and others I’m sure. I forgot to even photograph the quilts of Sarah Ann Smith, who had a special exhibit and is a friend! So just forgive me right now, okay?

At some point I heard someone mumble, not so politely, “Well someone is in a big hurry!”. Yes, I was! I also did not photograph The Big Winners at all. You can find great photos of those quilts all over the internet. So here is an unorganized, disjointed and wholly incomplete take on the quilts:

This was based on a pattern by Alicia Avila and the colors were glorious!

Janice chanelled Betty Friedan in this whimsical quilt in the HERStory exhibit. She embraced the style of a child’s flower painted onto a bus, evocative of the 60’s. Don’t you just love this?

Rhonda treated a vintage luncheon cloth as a wholecloth quilt and the quilting was fabulous.

Not Caryl’s normal style-always with exquisite design, quilting and execution.

All Canadian provinces and territories have an official tartan. The pieced background is the Maple Leaf Nine Patch and it is bound with the national tartan. I was charmed by this quilt!

Linda had 2 (at least) quilts in the show. She uses the door as a metaphor for life and was influenced by the words of Cat Stevens: “Live is like a maze of doors, that open from the side you’re on.”

Although most find cities dull and gray, Cecilia finds Buenos Aires vibrant and colorful. What energy!

Patricia celebrates the vivid, colorful personalities of the beautiful young women of Northern Kenya.

From Robyn Pandolf’s Block-of-the-Month, exquisitely done with beautiful fabric, hand-embroidery and quilting choices.

This started out as a woven silk plaid which Petra cut apart and rearranged for a less predictable layout. Oh it was gorgeous!

Inspired by The Improv Handbook by Sherri Lynn Wood, an homage to the greatness and influence of motherhood.

Susan’s Mother taught her to love art, but also all things of nature, especially enjoying the cool light of the moon in the garden. Exquisite detail.

This comes off very subtle in the photo, but this was one of my favorites. It is a simple, beautiful quilt based on the patterns and rhythms of nature and agriculture. “Quiet moments can be filled with awe.”

This is pieced! It was huge and impressive and beautiful!

This took my breath away. This is a painted and quilted piece and every bit of it is beautifully done. Judy is fascinated by succulents and this is based on a image she altered on her iPhone. Stunning.

Susan created an imaginary girl who is creative and complex. I love this image!

Created using an intuitive design technique; quilt reflects women’s desire to pursue opportunities beyond home and family.

Bold, colorful, beautiful!

I love Marianne’s unique work which captures light and movement in a painterly way. This is a large piece and was so wonderful in person!

Isn’t this a striking image? “Opposites attract.” They are sole mates and soul mates.

This was a very powerful piece, based on the strength and vigor of the ocean, part of the “Beaches” exhibit by Brazilian artists.

Martha’s pojagi-inspired piece is based on memories of hydrangeas along the side of her Santa Cruz bungalow. This is so cool in person because of the multiple layers of hand painted sheers.

The hand-embroidered touches of this piece were exquisite and beautiful. It is one of my favorites-the design is so spot on.

Pat is the most winning coach in NCAA basketball history, male or female. Ellen was one of my past students and this piece was phenomenal, also part of the HERStory exhibit.

Part 2 is coming next week so stay tuned. I’ll probably stop at 2 posts-just not enough time! Look for all the other great links at Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday!