A Day of Art

Great news!  Today at our Contemporary QuiltArt Association board meeting, I presented the information and ideas for the Mighty Tieton show coming up in May.  The board was very excited about the show and potential of concurrent events, and voted to accept Art-Cloth as entries, as well as quilts.  Next, I'm going to need to figure out the logistics of putting out a call to artists outside of our organization, for outdoor / installation pieces.

From Mandy Greer's "The Silvering Path"

Our speaker today, Mandy Greer, makes incredible huge installation pieces, costumes and performance art, mainly crocheted.  She recently returned from an artist residency in Iceland and has created some incredible new work.  Mandy shared a look at sources of inspiration with us, as well as luscious rich photos of her pieces, such as these shown here.  She had to leave rather shortly after her presentation, but I plan to get in touch with her to find out about the possibility of her being interested in coming to Tieton.  

"Dare alla Luce"- Mandy Greer 2008 at Bellevue Arts Museum

After our meeting, I swung by Nancy's Sewing Basket on Queen Anne hill in Seattle, which has an incredible supply of fine fabrics, mainly dressmaking/ tailoring types of collections.  I needed to pick up some wool felt for the Elizabethan Embroidery class I'm taking up at Gail Harker's Center for Creative Arts next week.

Jessica Dodge at her studio

From there, I headed to West Seattle, to go to the Open Studio/Sale of an artist friend whom I've known for  almost 30 years, Jessica Dodge.  Jessica actually gave me art lessons when I was in my early 20's, in drawing and painting.  Her incredible oils painted in reverse on window glass vibrantly engage the viewer.  

To complete an already full day, I'm working on dyeing and painting fabrics tonight for a Play-date with other CQA artists here at my home tomorrow.  Our organization has partnered with Stashfest, a fundraising effort for the LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum.  CQA artists are making hand-dyed, painted, printed, silk-screened or other specialty fabrics to see at Stashfest, with the proceeds of the sales being split between the museum and CQA.  So, back to the dye studio for a little more late night fun!