Houston Quilt Festival

Houston Quilt Festival

I am super pleased to share with you that my quilt, Suburbs, won an Honorable Mention in Houston this year! Usually that information is not shared with the winner until the awards ceremony on Tuesday night.  However, since my award is not one of the big money winners, they let me know before.  It is rather nice not having the anxiety of waiting to know!  And since I LOVE this quilt, I am pleased to see it getting some attention and appreciation.  I love that the rich and full bodied colors in this quilt look exceptional on the black background.  And upon closer inspection the quilting (both machine and by hand) brings a wonderful texture to the piece!  I am grateful and proud that it got juried into Houston, and also very happy that the judges liked it too!

You can read more about the story behind it here.

I also had another entry accepted to Houston, Out of the Box.  I can't remember which category it is in.  You can read it's story here.  I am also very delighted that this one will get to be seen in public!

And, my third of three quilts in Houston is The Deep End.  It will be exhibited in the Dinner at Eight Artists exhibit called "Reflections".  I cannot wait to see the entire exhibit!

And, the last of my wonderful Houston news this year is that Jamie Fingal and Leslie Jenison have published another book of the quilts in the Dinner at Eight exhibits, and this one includes ALL the quilts from this year and all the previous years.  It is called Women Who Come to the Table.  And a bit of a surprise is that I found out that I am one of the Fab Four!  I didn't know there was such a thing!  Apparently, 4 artists in our group had quilts juried into this exhibit every year and I am one of those.  Very cool! The book includes many wonderful photos from our times celebrating together in Houston and some recipes too!

You can buy one here!

Swimming

Swimming
about 23" x 62ish"
work in progress

The swimming pool has been a source of inspiration this year.  I made one piece already,  (See The Deep End here) but there was still more that I wanted to do.  While doodling in a meeting one Saturday, I quickly sketched an array of new designs.  The one I could not get right was the reflections of the waves on the bottom of the pool.  I kept trying for a very literal and exacting replication of what I saw, and it wasn't working.  Then when I moved it to a slightly more abstract representation, it suddenly worked for me.  I absolutely love these free flowing organic and overlapping lines.  The fabrics are new designs that I hand-dyed and batiked in my garage studio. 

I used a paper laminate technique to make the drawing of the swimmer. However, I might decide to make it into a screen instead and use paint....still not sure.

I love the palette, the greys and white with the turquoise and blues.  I think it might be the simplicity of the patterns or limited color choices that appeals to me so much. And I absolutely love the contrast of the still and quiet almost contemplative swimmer figure with the dancing waves and bold patterns surrounding her.