The Men’s Quilts and Wa Shonaji Exhibits at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum

I had a wee bit of down time during my visit to Denver in April and visited the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, CO. My sister sits on the Board of the museum and had some great insight into the two exhibits that were showing: “No Girls Allowed: 13th Biennial Exhibit of Quilts Made By Men” and a collection of story quilts of the Wa Shonaji quilt guild. I was thrilled that the timing of my visit coincided with the men’s exhibit as I’ve seen a previous show and really enjoyed it.

It was a dreary day, perfect for viewing quilts!

The men’s exhibit was juried by Luana Rubin of eQuilter.com and was delightfully diverse.

Jim Fetterolf, Quiltcaster #2: Digital Goldfish

There was a collection of guitars with quilt skins by Jim Fetterolf which he called “Quiltcasters”. Jim chose his palette, placed the colors on a die and rolled the die to choose its placement in the composition. And it plays beautifully with its skin on!

Tim Latimer, Teddy’s Gaze

Tim based his quilt on a photo of his beloved Teddy watching him quilt. All of his work is done on an antique treadle sewing machine. I’ve seen this image online and was delighted to see it in person.

Tim Latimer,  Peacock Treadle

The quilting design of this piece was inspired entirely by the fabric.

Bob Mosier, Inner City Block: Thread Painting

Bob uses an old BERNINA 1530 for his work. He comes from a sculpting background and as he began to age, he looked for a medium that was more body-friendly. He took a traditional quilt block and rendered it entirely in thread.

Brian D. Clements, Joseph

Brian made this portrait of his husband Joe.

Matt Macomber, Vamp

Matt made this quilt from a photo of Grace Jones from the Vamp movie and it contained over 3,000 pieces.

Matt Macomber, Double Double

Matt started this piece in a Sherri Lynn Wood workshop.

Carmon Slater, Feeding a Hungry World

This is a statement piece based on Carmon’s long time effort of collecting food and farm images. It hung from the ceiling and was maybe 10′ tall.

David Armour, Series 5: Rotating Rectangles in a Circular Field

David describes his  piece as “an exploration of designs that rotate creating movement and complex relationships”.

Jack Edson, Musician by Caravaggio

This is a detail from the Caravaggio painting “The Musicians”, showing the rear profile of a young man playing a musical instrument. The background was inspired by Jack’s visit to St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

Rod Daniel, Taking a Break

Rod lives in New Mexico and created this iconic collaged scene of a man with his horse. Rod is influenced by the work of Susan Carlson.

Michael Young, Diamonds are Forever/African Diamonds

Michael enjoys “riots of color” and these African fabrics gave him just that. The pattern is original and he says this quilt “makes me very happy”.

Andrew Steinbrecher, Dwelling #2: Urban/Suburban

This piece was inspired by the historic Cincinnati neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine.

Leo Ransom, Say Cheese

This portrait of a friend’s dog came about because the normally hyper guy was unexpectedly affectionate and actually seemed to pose for the photo.

Jack Edson, Paul Klee

Jack added playful imagery to the Klee portrait, thinking that Klee would have liked the colors and images.

Also on display was a personal story collection from the Wa Shonaji quilt guild, ” My Road to Denver”. This exhibit chronicled how members’ life journeys led them to settle in and around Denver. The Wa Shonaji Quilt Guild was formed in 1994 to preserve the heritage of quilting and fellowship, particularly within the African American community. The name Wa Shonaji comes from the Swahili language and means literally “people who sew.”

Nannette Locke, Sorrow Becomes Joy

This quilt expresses Nannette’s many losses in life prior to her move to Denver for a job. Denver has provided her with a feeling of security and safety.

Nanci Vaughn, From Iowa to Colfax Avenue

Nanci’s quilt represents the iconic images of Iowa as well as her home of 45 years in Denver. She found it difficult to find her way around Denver at first and she heeded this advice: “If you follow Colfax Avenue, you can find your way to about anyplace”. That worked for her!

I hope you enjoyed your tour of some of the exhibits in the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. If you are in the area, stop by! Currently on exhibition is Hollis Chatelain’s work-wish I could see that too! I’ll be linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday-check out all the good links.