Quilts=Art=Quilts

This past weekend was a bit of a whirlwind. I delivered a free-motion quilting class at the Country Quilter in Richmond, Ontario on Saturday, and after class we headed to Auburn, New York to see the Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibition at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Centre. I did not enter the show this year, but it has been a tradition for several years now that friends and I take a road trip to see the show. I also wanted to be there on opening weekend since my friend Deb Bein had a work in the show and would be driving up from Poughkeepsie, NY. We arrived in the area around 8 p.m. Saturday night for our reservation at one of my favorite restaurants, Rosalie's Cucina in Skaneateles, NY.

On Sunday morning there was a brunch held for all exhibiting artists and visitors at the lovely Springfield Inn. Elin Noble, one of the jurors of the Quilts=Art=Quilts show spoke before the brunch about the jurying process. We learned a bit about what it was like to jury this competitive show, and Ellen advised that we should not try to guess what the jurors and judges are looking for, but to make what we need to make as artists. She also shared that she had a work rejected from three different shows prior to recently winning an award at a show for the same quilt. One of my friends wrote on a piece of paper "CRAP SHOOT" and handed it to me. Sometimes it does indeed feel like a crap shoot entering a juried show.

Outside the window of the restaurant at the Springfield Inn, I noticed hostas turning gold.

After brunch we headed to the Museum to view the quilts. I managed to capture Deb with her work, "Generation Gap"

Deb is always full of beans and always has a name tag that in itself is a work of art to wear to every show she is juried into. Here is the tag she was wearing.

Isn't it cool? She often makes name tags to coordinate with the quilt she has in the show, but in this case the nametag coordinates with her outfit (and another quilt she had in a different show).

I was also pleased to chat with Pat Pauly from Rochester, NY, whose work I have admired for some time. She had two works in the show and let me take these photos. First is Mummy Bags/Canopic Jars, which she won first prize for. Congratulations Pat!

This is the other work Pat had in the show. I'm afraid I've forgotten the title.

All in all, an enjoyable show. A little more abstract and a little less diverse than last year's show, but always a pleasure to see art quilts where they show best, on a gallery wall!! Quilts=Art=Quilts runs until January 12, 2012.