Saturday, June 14, 2008

Exhibition


Some of you will have seen photos of these quilts before, but here you go anyway. The exhibition is in a nearby town, and is called Mixed Media Mesdames. It is going very well, and the feedback has been great.

The quilt above is one I made for friends in my Family Tree series. The fabric is hand dyed (by Louise) to get the right African skies colour, and the quilt is called Rainbows and Roses. My friends are South African and live in England, hence the Rainbow Nation and the rose of England. I use all sorts of charms, embroidery, notions etc to represent the people in the family which are sewn onto the tree. And the little bags have micro miniature replicas of the books they have written in their field, and the newspaper one of their mothers used to work for. I absolutely love making these. Hours and hours of work, but such fun. Some of the fabric is from South Africa too. The range of blue and white is very typical. It is hand quilted. I will post a close up if anyone wants to see it. I love the way it looks against a 14th Century wall!

This is one of my personal favourites. Cityscape. Again, it is hand quilted and there is a lot of beadwork and embroidery on it. It just sort of grew from an idea I had. I started off making a house. Then another one and as I said, it grew. No plans, just a street which happened. I don't really follow any rules. I let the fabric make the magic. I don't really want to sell it, but I have put an astronomical price on it, and we will see what happens. There is over 80 hours of work in this one. I love it. The old college where the exhibition is on is beautiful. It has amazing stone work all exposed, and the roof is stunning. There is a gallery at one end, and everything looks stunning in the hall. Very professional. So what am I doing there????? There is beautiful jewellery, textile art, weaving, pottery, painting, embroidery, stunning original art. It is a lovely collection. So many beautiful things.
So this is what the hall looks like. I have 10 quilts on exhibition. 4 from private collections. They are all my babies. I have lost count of how many I have made, but at the moment, the only commissions I am considering are for memory quilts and family trees. I love the detail and handwork they involve, and the fact that they are highly personal. Making memories is good.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

What are you doing there, you ask. And I have the answer. Your work is wonderful art and fits in perfectly.

I had no idea that you are a quilt artist :-) I have made quilts for more than 30 year, but have a break for the moment. Most of my quilts are handpieced, scrap quilts.

Judith said...

Making memories, indeed! Your quilts are so beautiful. I would think just being around the exhibit would lift a spirit.

Susie said...

What beautiful quilting you do Linds! I loved seeing all these! The Cityscape one is my very favorite..
xo

someone else said...

Absolutely stunning! I totally admire your skill and patience. I agree with you about the cityscape being a favorite. That's really, really nice!

My favorite? The one sitting by my comfy chair.

Anonymous said...

Oh.....My.....Stars!!!!! I've not posted before, but have lurked for forever.

As a former teacher, I feel as though I've understood some of your frustrations!

(Bear with me while I repeat -Oh.....My.....Stars!!!!!) - those are works of ART!! You have an incredible talent -

Kate

Anonymous said...

I just opened your site and thought, 'Hey, that's looks familiar, ooh, it's mine, what's it doing there? I love that I get to see the top quilt every time I go up the stairs in my parents' house. And I love that I have my very very own quilts made by you. With pictures of me on and everything.

Kate
xxx

Vee said...

Linds, you are an amazing artist! I clicked on both quilt pictures to see them up close and the intricacy and detail is incredible. I can see what a rush it would be to see your work displayed so beautifully.

Hmmmm, don'tcha want to open your own quilting shop and teach others your techniques? Hope that there are some opportunities to be explored with this talent of yours.

Linda said...

Oh Linds - what brilliant, beautiful work! I'm sure the idea of a Quilt Shop must be very tempting. We have some lovely ones here.
I'm so impressed that you design your own quilts. You are so very creative. I love all the little details. Although I am just a beginner, I can definitely appreciate the hours and hours of work that goes into each quilt.
My Mom did a white-on-white quilt last year that is just stunning. The amount of tiny stitches in that quilt just boggles the mind! I must take a picture of it and show it to you.
Enjoy the quilt show. I think you are going to have much success!

Pam said...

Oh, wow! Why are you wasting your time teaching horrible pupils English???

I especially adore the family tree one. You're so clever!

Mary said...

fantastic work. I wrote you a lovely comment and my computer shut down. If I write more than 50 words I loose it all. Lost four posts on my blog so far. Typing really fast in case happens again. I'll be back when I get computer fixed.

Dawn said...

FAB U LOUS!!! I double clicked on them and could see the detail - oh, my word. You are so talented and so patient. Amazing. I can see a career for you here!

Dawn said...

Linds - I meant to comment on your comment to Barb - I check on my friends often, as you do. I don't belong to any feed - and I think I'm glad I don't depend on them!

Crystal said...

Oh, my word!! What stunningly beautiful works of art those are, Linds! Congratulations on having 10 of them in this exhibition. I marvel at the hours and hours of stitching and the wonderful creativity that is displayed here. Thank you for showing us what it all looks like. I hope your week passes by quickly :))

meggie said...

What a lovely post! Your quilts are so wonderful. I love quilts that tell stories, or record family sagas.

Kim @ Him, Him Me said...

Wonderful Quilts. Love the African one especially because I love the bright colours. The City scape one is really good too. What a lovely way to escape from the world when you can get engrossed in such wonderful work.

Kim
Hereford

Janine said...

Wonderful to see the Harper quilt on display. They are all absolutly beautiful.

Angie said...

I am so impressed! What beautiful quilts - you are so very talented and creative!

At A Hen's Pace said...

Oh, thank you for sharing these with us! I love the way you use color and symbol.

Praying now for God's blessing on these creative endeavors!!

~Jeanne