Acceptances to ARTQUILTSdreams

I'm thrilled to announce that both of my entries were accepted for the Professional Art Quilters Alliance – South 14th juried international exhibition ARTQUILTSdreams: a display of contemporary quilts reflecting the artists’ interpretation of dreams. ARTQUILTSdreams will show at Page-Walker Arts & History Center, 119 Ambassador Loop, Cary, NC 27513, March 27 – May 18, 2019. There will be an artist reception on April 26 from 6:00-8:00 PM.

In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs

I got excited when I saw the theme in the call for entry, as I've been making quilts based on my dreams for several years now, as part of my series The River. In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs was accepted; it features a needlefelted river panel surrounded by felted, painted, and manipulated fabrics.

 Also included is in Dreams I saw the Colors Change, it too features needlefelting, painting, and fabric manipulation.

In Dreams I Saw the Colors Change

 Like most fiberart, these pieces have details and textures that are tough to capture in photographs, so I am very grateful to have such a fine venue to display them in person.

In Dreams I Saw the Colors Change, detail

Vividly Yours Exhibit at Creative York

In Dreams I Saw the Colors Change

I am pleased to announce that three of my art quilts are included in the exhibit, Vividly Yours, at the Creative York Gallery, York PA. The exhibit runs from May 3rd to June 16th, with an opening reception on the 3rd from 6 - 8. I will be attending, and I hope to see some of my local friends there.

In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs

 My work in the exhibit includes In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs, In Dreams I Saw the Colors Change - both from my series The River- and The Organic Landscape from The Garden series.  All work is for sale.

The Organic Landscape

 Vividly Yours is a group exhibit showcasing available works by some of the artists that were featured in our Art In Residence: Vivid event in April – a one-night-only exhibit of works from privately-owned collections. Participating artists are: Rob Evans, Quang Ho, Carol Oldenburg, Sue Reno, Justin Ruby, Dillon Samuelson, Clifton Santiago, Andi Simpson, Adrienne Stein, Rita Whitney, and Brenda Wintermyer.

November Pawpaw

My work in the Artist in Residence event was November Pawpaw, from the private collection of artist and curator Rob Evans.

The White Cliffs of Conoy

The White Cliffs of Conoy are the remnants of old limestone and dolomite mines in the area near Bainbridge, PA. The mine tailings were piled up in mounds 60 ft. high.

The formations are next to the Susquehanna River.
  There’s a full, and fascinating, story about the formations in the local newspaper.

It was closed to the public until just a few weeks ago, so we jumped on the chance to go see it. 
Along with the odd beauty of the cliffs, the main attraction is the view of the Susquehanna from the top.

Looking down, you can see and hear the Haldeman Riffles in the water.

There are deep chasms between the formations.

Parking is at the boat launch in Bainbridge, and there’s a newly paved 1.5 mile trail to the site. Along the way there are ruins of the once-thriving village and factories that accompanied the mines.
All of these images were taken with a fisheye lens on my iPhone.  I did break out the macro lens for this image of mullien flowers,Verbascum thapsus.

I’ve made a series of quilts about the Susquehanna River, including In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs.  Now I’m thinking about the imagery and possibilities of these white cliffs. 

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

Opening Reception at the PA Arts Experience Gallery

We had a great opening reception for “Sue Reno - Recent Fiber Works” and “Karen Paust - Edge of the Meadow” at the PA Arts Experience Gallery this past Friday evening.  Here I am striking a pose with my newly completed In Dreams I Saw the Colors Change, left, and In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs.

The Gallery is on the ground floor of the beautifully restored historic Marketview Arts Building in downtown York, PA.

It has good display spaces and excellent lighting, and I am very pleased with how well my work looks hanging there.  Above is Ginger, left, and Silk Mill #1, right.  Ginger is just glowing on this wall, thanks to all the Mysore silks I used in it--I received a lot of compliments and questions about it. 

I was fortunate in being scheduled for the same month as the talented Karen Paust. Her intricate nature themed beadworks and woodland paintings were a pleasure to examine, and we received many comments on the synergy between our bodies of work.  Above is Bleeding Heart and a display of Karen’s work.

Here is Karen, on the left, next to her incredible beadwork neckpiece on the dress form, and myself, posing in front of my Plume Poppy.  We did not plan to coordinate our outfits!  Plume Poppy looks pretty magnificent in this space--it’s a large work, and needs room to be seen at full advantage.

And here is my Columbine, with another of Karen’s neckpieces. 

I hope you enjoyed this sampling of the exhibit.  It will be up through December 3--hours are here.  I am giving an Artist’s Talk this Saturday, November 9th at 11:00 a.m.  If you are in the area I hope you consider stopping by.  You can go to Central Market afterwards:

New Work - In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs

Here’s the latest work in my River series, In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs.  The Susquehanna River in southern Lancaster County, PA cuts through some dramatic rocky terrain. If you climb up to the top of the cliffs you find overlooks that offer commanding views of the river and surrounding countryside.

As I did for In Dreams I Saw the Colors Change and In Dreams I Flew Over the River, I used needlefelting with silks and wools to build up the colors and textures of the center panel.  I handpainted the top and bottom silk panels, and manipulated them into pleats and folds.  The side panels are also textured silks, and all of it is quilted and heavily stitched. 

I did some pebbled stitching on the felted portion below the river:

With all of this wonderful texture and nuanced color, this one really needs to be seen in person. In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs will be part of my upcoming exhibit “Sue Reno--Recent Fiber Works” at the Pennsylvania Arts Experience Gallery, 37 West Philadelphia Street, York, PA, 17401. The exhibit runs November 1st through December 3rd. Also showing in the gallery will be Karen Paust, "Edge of the Meadow".

The opening reception is on Friday, November 1st from 5:30 - 9:00, and there is a members and patrons reception on Thursday, November 7th from 5:30 - 7:30.   I will give an Artist’s talk on November 9th at 11:00 a.m.  I hope you can stop by the gallery if you are in the area.

After finishing this work, I was struck by a strong desire to go to an actual cliff.  I stole a little time on a bright and beautiful afternoon and made a quick pilgrimage to a perennial favorite, Chickies Rock. It’s a short and easy hike up to a sheer overlook with great views of the Susquehanna.  You can see why this river holds such deep meaning for me.

New Work in Progress -- In Dreams I Climbed the Cliffs

I’m working on another piece in my River series, similar in style to In Dreams I Flew Over the River and In Dreams I Saw the Colors Change.  It’s my interpretation of the experience of hiking up the cliff faces and rock formations that line portions of the Susquehanna River.  The center imagery is built up with needlefelting.  This is done either by hand and by machine, using barbed needles that entangle the fibers of wool and silk textiles. I began by blocking out the basic shapes and colors of my scene, using commercial fabrics and some that I hand painted.

Above is the river portion of the work a bit further along.  The patterned strips have been integrated into the wool base, and I’ve added bits of wood roving and silk threads.

Above is the the woolen cliffs with some silk highlights, and the trees and woods in in progress.  The underlying tree fabric is a sort of crinkled silk that I painted--the texture is fabulous.

Once again I am being very generous and extravagant in my use of silk.  Above is a section that will represent the sky in the finished work. I started with a white silk with woven circles, painted it a sky blue with wispy grey fog highlights, and manipulated it into folds and curves.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.