Journeys show at Seatac International Airport

Caverna Magica at SeaTac airport

We had a little snafu when we went to set up our "Journeys" CQA show at the SeaTac International Airport earlier this year.  The schematics for the cases which they had sent to us were wrong!  So, not all of the quilts our jury had picked out fit into the cases.  One of mine, Caverna Magica, was left out of the initial hanging and then switched in half-way through the show.

There are two areas in the airport with our displays.  The first is in a hallway leading from ticketing near the Southwest Airlines ticket counter to security and entrance to the gates.  This section has the large cases pictured here.  Each piece in this exhibit has an accompanying "educational display" which teaches something about either how the piece was made, inspiration, or materials.

The educational display for Caverna Magica reads as follows:

Caverna Magica Educational Display

"The Caves of Nerja (photo 1) are located in Andalusia, in Southern Spain.  Filled with impressive stalactites and stalagmites, these caves were discovered in the modern era in 1959 and stretch over 5 kilometers.  As a major tourist attraction, sections of the caves are lit with colored lights.  Having visited these magnificent caverns in 1996, I immediately thought of them when I completed the first dyeing of the fabric for this quilt.

Starting with a piece of 100% white cotton fabric, I poured several colors liquid Pro MX dyes onto the piece, which lay with numerous ridges and folds on a flat surface.  These folds created the interesting patterns which are reminiscent of stalactites (photo 2).    Much of the white fabric was still showing through, and I wanted to create more crystalline structures within the piece.  This was done with a second dye bath, using a snow-dyeing method. 

Close-up of some of the machine quilting on Caverna Magica

Snow-dyeing is basically like making a snow-cone… you crumble your fabric up in a container, pack snow on top of it, and then pour several colors of dyes over the snow.  As the dye trickles down through the snow, it hits the fabric and slowly starts the color transformation as the temperature rises.  Due to the unusual nature of this process, the results are one-of-a-kind and typically form beautiful crystal-like patterning in the color.  After 24 hours and the snow completely melting, you can wash out the excess dye.  The colors were intensified and additional details representing the rocky caverns came out through this additional dye process.

The final layer of this piece was to add more detail through densely quilting the fabric.  I do my quilting on my Bernina 730 home machine, free-hand guiding the fabric in the directions I want to go.  With this piece, I wanted to emphasize the feeling of stalactites and stalagmites with the stitching lines.  I continued using a wide array of colors of thread, to match the feeling of the wonderful lights shining on these incredible natural structures.

Part of the Contemporary QuiltArt Assocition's
Journeys show at SeaTac

It's always exciting to see your work on display.  Since I had to pick my husband up at the airport this week, I finally got to see my piece now included in the exhibit.  If you'd like to see some additional shots of this show, see my post "Designing for a Theme."

Part of the Contemporary QuiltArt Assocition's
Journeys show at SeaTac

An Unexpected Journey

This weekend I took 6 teenagers to "The Hobbit- An Unexpected Journey."  Parenthood can certainly be described that way (and I'm not talking about unexpectedly becoming a parent.)  The stages and changes you and your children go through take one by surprise.  I love being a Mom and getting to watch my sons (and their friends) on their live's journeys.

I'm taking a bit of time to get ready for the holidays now, so my art and stitch are slowed down.  I've been practicing my hand embroidery stitches in the evening, as well as working on design ideas for the "Salsa!" exhibition at Mighty Tieton.  If I slow down in writing my blog over the next couple weeks, know I'll be back with my 52 week 5 x7 challenge at the start of the year!

Designing for a theme

Do you shudder with fear or turn away with disdain when you see a show that has a theme?  It seems that many calls to artists request the artwork to meet an aspect of a theme, and some jurors are stricter than others about how closely a piece meets that criteria or not.

Moulin Rouge Deux (on right) at the Airport Appetizer show

As the Co-chair for Exhibitions for the Contemporary QuiltArt Association, I've seen both jurors who would drop a piece for not seeming to have anything to do with a theme, and others who were open to a very broad interpretation (such as the title had a word that related to the theme, but there was no other discernible connection.)

 Being more of a representational artist, working with a theme usually works well for me.  I like having a launching pad for my ideas.  For instance, at one show at the SeaTac international airport, my quilt "Moulin Rouge Deux" was displayed, along with other quilts with international elements.  You can clearly see the pyramids in the other quilt alongside mine.

Currently, SeaTac has another exhibit from CQA, this one with the name and theme of "Journeys."  In this show, we had some fabulous entries which took many different interpretations of the theme.  I have two additional pieces in this show.  Here are some photos from this exhibit:

 Many interpretations of a broad theme.  After all, we can take literal journeys, by foot, car, horse, rail, air, boat, etc. or we can take spiritual journeys, journeys of the heart, or journeys of our imagination.

Rainier: Two Views by Colleen Wise

But what about when the theme is more difficult or restrictive?  I'll go into that more tomorrow.  Pleasant dreams...yet another type of journey!

Let's Journey Together!

jour·ney

noun

1. a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time.

2. a distance, course, or area traveled or suitable for traveling.

3. a period of travel.

4. passage or progress from one stage to another: the journey to success.

 



Moulin Rouge dans la Nuit

I've been on this journey for some time now... years, really.  It's only been in the last few years that I've felt the need to look towards my destination.  Where do I want to go with my art?  How will I know when I've arrived?  How do I stay on track and not get distracted from my main objectives?

 



I've practiced goal-setting and creating plans to accomplish my goals for years, both in business and in my personal life.  I've seen the power of declaring your intentions publicly.  So, starting today, I'm beginning this new journey... one which I invite you to join, whether as an observer, or as an active committed participant. 

Whether I am detailing my plans for the future, documenting my ongoing progress, learning new skills, or sharing the things that inspire me to make art, I hope to both inspire and be inspired through regular writings on this blog.  I look forward to an incredible time of growth together!



Caverna Magica



To introduce you to a little of where I am currently at, here you can see my quilt, "Moulin Rouge dans la Nuit", currently being shown at SeaTac International Airport in an exhibition named "Journeys" put on by the Contemporary QuiltArt Association (through January 2013.)  The original design is from photographs I took of the Moulin Rouge in 2009.  It is made of both artist hand-dyed and commercial cotton fabrics, which I have then freehand machine embroidered and quilted.

 



The Caves of Nerja

Also in the "Journeys" show is my "Caverna Magica" whole-cloth quilt. When I completed the dyeing of this fabric, it reminded me of seeing the Caves of Nerja, in Andalusia, Spain.  Filled with impressive stalactites and stalagmites, sections of the caves are open to visitors and are lit up with many beautiful colored lights.  I hand-dyed this piece of fabric and then densely freehand machine quilted it with cotton, rayon, and silk thread. 

 



Detail of Caverna Magica



Each day we can make a choice... to further our artistic career and take a step on the journey, or to postpone for yet another day.  When I look back at all the times I've postponed, I have to admit it makes me very sad.  Our time is finite here on this earth.  What do we want to leave behind?  How do we want to spend this limited amount of time?  I know that I want to create.  I want my children and hopefully others to have something tangible that I've created that they love and which, through it, they can feel connected to me.

 

Where are you starting from today?  Do you know where it is that you'd like to get to?  Do you have a plan for how you're going to get there?