Images 2008 at Penn State

On Friday I traveled to the HUB-Robeson Gallery at Penn State University for the opening reception for Images 2008. I was extremely surprised and gratified upon entering the gallery and turning the corner to see that my Mystery Fern was hung as the focal point. Here's another view:

It's a bit hard to tell from the pictures, but it is extremely well lit, and I am very appreciative of the effort of the staff and students who hung the exhibit. There is some side lighting, which brings out the texture, but it's not washed out--it just seems to glow. I have never seen my work this well displayed, and it makes such a difference! I talked to many people over the course of the evening and heard many positive comments, and several who expressed surprise that a quilt could look like this and have this kind of impact.

Adding to the fun of the evening was the arrival of the charming and talented Pat Dolan. I met Pat a few years ago (thanks Mary!) when she lived in N.J.; she moved to Penn State just a few weeks ago, so it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up and enjoy her company. (My thanks to Pat for a few of these pictures.) Here we are, with Pat on the left:

Following are a few more gallery shots. Pictures of all the work in the exhibit are online at the Images 2008 site.

The beautiful and dynamic quilt on the right above is On the Edges by Cathy Kleeman. Ours were the only two quilts in the exhibit. The fiber/sculpture pieces on the left are by Passle Helminski.

The fiber work/installation on the left above, Darcy Meeker's black hole/white hole, needs to be seen in person to be fully appreciated--layers of delicate, hand sewn silks with growing/diminishing circular marks.

Another general gallery shot, with Nancy Palfrey's Sarah on the right.

And finally, a bit of a vanity shot of the artist, below. Like many artists, and particularly fiber/quilt artists whose work is enormously time consuming, I spend many solitary hours in the studio working to bring forth something I've envisioned in my mind. It's important to get my work, and myself, out into the world to interact with people. This is a good exhibit and was a great experience, so it's no wonder I look happy! The exhibit runs until the middle of July, in conjunction with the Festival of the Arts on July 10-13. If you get a chance to go, I would love to hear your impressions.