Upcoming Exhibits - Houston and Chandler

Lots of excitement in the weeks ahead, as my work will be on display in some wonderful venues.  The center of the quilt universe will be in Houston, TX for Quilt Market, October 27 - 29, and The International Quilt Festival,  November 1 - 4.   The invitational Studio Art Quilts Associates exhibit “Seasonal Palette” will be unveiled at the Festival, including my work “The Organic Landscape”.  The exhibit will hang in a special hard wall gallery space. Each quilt will be accompanied by a gallery book with pictures, text, and samples detailing the process by which each artist created their work.  The roster of artists involved in this project is pretty fabulous, and it should be an outstanding exhibit!  There will also be a catalogue available, and gallery talks will take place Friday, November 2nd at 11:00 and Saturday, November 3rd at 2:00.

I’ll put “The Organic Landscape” up on my website after the debut, but for now there’s a teaser detail, above, and you can track back the work in progress by clicking the Seasonal Palette tab at the top of the blog. 


Also at Houston, my Columbine will be part of the “In Full Bloom” Exhibit.  There’s a lot of wonderful texture in this one, with cyanotypes on silk, and silk, cotton, and wool patchwork.  Like most textile works it is best appreciated in person so I am delighted to have this opportunity to share it.
 

My Watt & Shand #9 will be part of the “Tactile Architecture” Exhibit.  All three exhibits will travel on the  Quilt Festivals in Cincinnati, OH and Long Beach CA in 2013.

Watt & Shand #9 is also included in the feature article on this series, The Structures in the October issue of The Quilt Life magazine, on news stands now. 


My Houston cup runneth over with the inclusion of two of my macro photographs in “The Quilters Eye” exhibit.  I’m keeping them under wraps for the moment as well by showing a similar photo, above, but they were previously published on my Facebook and Instagram accounts.   Instagram is my newest passion; if you are also there, feel free to follow me @suereno.  I post lots of insects, flowers, landscapes, and architecture shots, and get boundless inspiration from the beauty of the images that I scroll through each day in my feed. 


I am equally excited and honored that my Squirrel and Locust is part of “Art Quilts XVII: Integrating a Paradox”, opening Nov. 2, 2012  and running through Jan. 19. 2013 at the  Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler AZ.  This is a premier venue, and again I am in the company of some amazing fiber/quilt artists.  Stella Belikiewicz has done a excellent blog post about the exhibit; you can read and enjoy it  on her blog, The Art of Inclusion.  Thanks for your work in putting this together, Stella!

Reed Run Nature Preserve Hike

The weather was just perfect for hiking, so we headed out to a perennial local favorite, the Reed Run Nature Preserve, part of the Lancaster County Conservancy.  The trailhead is former farmland that is being managed on a transition back to native woodland.  I had my macro lens handy, and captured this shot of a Canadian thistle seed pod:

A portion of the farmland is being used for experimental chestnut plantings in association with the American Chestnut Foundation,  as part of the quest to breed a blight resistant American chestnut. There are other saplings and young trees mixed in the plantings, such as this hawthorn, with ripe fruits and impressively wicked looking thorns.

Approaching the mature woodlands, we spotted a log covered in small button mushrooms.

In the bottomland the trail follows the meanderings of Reed Run, a small  gurgling stream, lined with patches of pawpaw trees.

Several years ago I made an art quilt about Reed Run, using pawpaw leaves for the imagery.  It remains one of my personal favorites.  It’s very textural, with silk, wool, and cotton that are heavily stitched, and it’s embellished with beads and semi-precious stones that reference clouds and the streambed.  It’s a quiet and tranquil piece.

The trail winds up the hill, and a turn reveals the Balance Rock.

I love its shape and semi-precarious perch.

In 2006 I made a small piece, Balance, that I felt remained very true to the experience of the granite in the the late season sunlight.

A bit further uphill, and the trail reaches an unnamed overlook, marked by twin pines.

It’s a good spot to pause and enjoy the view out over the Susquehanna River.  I was eating an apple when I spotted this:

I didn’t have time to change to a telephoto lens, but I hope you can still tell that it’s a bald eagle!  I’ve been hanging out around the river my entire life, but this was my first eagle spotting.  It was swooping to and fro, presumable scanning for fish, and the white head and tail were unmistakable.  I was just thrilled to see this evidence of their comeback that I’ve been reading about.

I switched back to the macro lens  to capture something considerable smaller and more earthbound:

Switching over the the Conestoga Trail, we headed to another favorite spot, the House Rock overlook.  I never get tired of this view, captured here with a fisheye lens:

The View from House Rock has also served as inspiration:

I hope that wherever you might find yourself, you have a chance to get outside and experience the world around you .  Thanks for reading and commenting.

Silk Mill #3 - Work in Progress

With Silk Mill #1 and Silk Mill #2 finished, I still had some great images from my photos shoots of the former Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill that I wanted to work with.  I remain deeply fascinated by the idea of a structure that is in transition and partially open to the elements, where the blue sky shows through the empty portals of the windows.  I chose a photo that I thought beautiful, and felt had a lot of potential for expressing my enthusiasm.

I love the strong lines and vertical thrust of this image, and fooled around with it digitally until I had reached this black and white rendering, which I had converted into a thermofax screen.

I used dark brown textile paint to screen the image onto cotton fabric.  I like the stark, graphic simplicity of the images on plain white fabric.  I really love the movement and emotive potential of the image screened on fabric that I had first painted with earthy, brick red mottling.

I also reduced the initial photo and had it printed as a repeat on silk yardage by Spoonflower.  I put it all up on the design board and lived with it for a bit while I contemplated further design possibilities and color schemes.

Squirrel and Locust acceptance for Art Quilts XVII

I’m happy to announce that my Squirrel and Locust has been accepted into Art Quilts XVII: Integrating a Paradox.  The exhibit will run November 2 through January 19, 2013, at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Chandler, AZ.  The juror is Adrienne Buffington

Every now and again I find a call for entry where the theme really relates to my artwork.  I love the idea of integrating a paradox and combining seemingly disparate ideas and elements,  and it is one of the central themes of my Flora and Fauna series.

Here I’ve taken macro images of a squirrel skeleton and used them to print cyanotype images.  I’ve combined them with  a monoprint of the locust “my” squirrels scamper on, and integrated one of my very favorite bits of vintage embroidery:

Squirrels in love, gamboling about on lily pads, cheer me up every time.  What were they thinking?  What am I thinking?  This is where artwork comes from.  I’m so happy to have this great venue to share my work with you all.

Here’s the list of accepted artists.  I’ve added website links where I could find them.  There is a LOT of talent in this group of artists, and I predict it’s going to be an amazing show.

ART QUILTS XVII - Integrating A Paradox
Selected Artists
1. Allen, Pamela
2. Belikiewicz, Stella
3. Blake, Debra
4. Branjord, Sandra
5. Busby, Betty
6. Carter, Erika
7. Chippetine, Lisa
8. Christoff, Suzanne
9. Cline, Georgie
10. Currier, Denise
11. DeCamp, Marcia
12. Donabed, Sandra
13. Engstrom, Linda
14. Gamon, Nancy
15. Gaskin, Laura
16. Giacomini, Mita
17. Green, Nancy
18. Hahn, Betty
19. Hattabaugh, Marla
20. Hansen, Gloria
21. Hiller, Janet
22. Hixson, Steven
23. Huckvale, Neera
24. Kastles, Kathleen
25. Kleeman, Cathy
26. Kleinman, Sherry
27. Krawchuk, Joanne
28. Kyler, Kaci
29. Lauterborn, Eileen
30. Libby, Kathy
31. Linet, Denise
32. Markel, Beth
33. Maser-Flanagan, Valerie
34. Massey, Christina
35. McBride, Jimmy
36. McCurry, Linda
37. Mink, Patricia
38. Murphy, Francis
39. Nemirov, Sharon
40. Otte, Miriam
41. Padilla-Johnson, Alexanna
42. Redmond, Wen
43. Reno, Sue
44. Sample, Loraine
45. Schulze, Joan
46. Shell, Maria
47. Smith, Brenda
48. Sutherland, Tammy
49. Velis Turan, K
50. Weir, Deborah

New Work - Silk Mill #2

New Work!  Silk Mill #2 is finished and up on my website.  It’s the newest addition to my series The Structures, where I examine and intepret historic buildings.  I’m intrigued by the changes that take place over lengthy stretches of time, especially when the structure becomes open to the elements. 
I first happened upon this building,  the Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill in Columbia, PA, when the roof had partially collapsed and many of the windows had missing panes.  It was a brilliant sunny day, and the blue sky shining through the formerly enclosed spaces completely captivated me.  I’m also fascinated by the former uses of the building, first as a silk mill and later as a women’s lingerie and garment factory, and all the textile associations that history evokes.

A portion of the building has since been  restored, and now serves as a tourist attraction promoting the Turkey Hill Dairy.  I’m so happy to be living in an area where historic structures are respected and repurposed.

Above is my photograph that inspired Silk Mill #2.  I edited it and had a thermofax screen made, which I then used to screen print the four main images.  I also had the image digitally printed on silk yardage by the good people at Spoonflower, and used the yardage for the center cruciform structure and in the patchwork. The result is a bit more abstract and graphic than my usual work, which I think represents the graphic nature of the photograph well. 

The size is 35” x 40” wide.  Materials are silks and cottons, some hand painted by me.  It’s embellished with couched threads and rick rack, and I took the time to do hand beadwork with seed and bugle beads around the main panels.

I’ve rounded up all my posts about this silk mill and added a tab at the top, so you can wander back through the works in progress and see all the amazing and inspirational original photos.  Enjoy! 

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

And stay tuned--#3 is on the way.

“The Structures” featured in The Quilt Life Magazine

I can finally share the news I’ve been excited about for some time--my architectural series of art quilts is featured in the latest issue of The Quilt Life Magazine!  It’s a gorgeous 5 page spread, with lots and lots of photos, and I am incredibly happy with how well my work is represented.  Best of all, the text by editor Melissa T. Maher captures exactly my inspiration, motivation, and working process in conceiving and producing this body of work.  My sincere thanks to Melissa and to Editor-in-Chief Jan Magee for their interest, support, and professionalism in bringing my art and ideas to the pages of the magazine.

The October 2012 issue is the Architecture Issue, and it is chock-full of wonderful content for lovers of both fiber and architecture. See the table of contents here, and then go get your copy!

The quilt featured on the first pages of the layout is my Watt & Shand #9, above.  Also featured in the article, and the backdrop for my picture, is Watt & Shand #10, below.

The article mentions that I am continuing my architectural work beyond the Watt & Shand building with new work featuring the historic Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill in Columbia, PA.  I’ve been posting about those quilts as works in progress--you can track it back here-- and I will have more updates on them soon, so stay tuned.  You can also track back the entire journey of the Watt & Shand series by clicking the tab at the top.  And as always, thanks to all for reading, commenting, and supporting my creative endeavors.

Contemporary Threads at Marietta Art House

I’m delighted to announce that my work is included in the invitational exhibit, Contemporary Threads, opening this weekend at the Marietta Art House in charming Marietta, PA.

The beauty and diversity of fiber will be celebrated with works by Carol Galligan, Christine Forsythe, Gale Jamieson, Amber Kane, Catherine Kleeman, Phyllis Oughton/Koster, Roberta Little, Florance Mellinger, Cindy Moyer, Sue Weaver, Angela Keeling-Woodruff, Erma Martin Yost, and myself.  Wow!  So much talent!

My works on display for the first phase of the exhibit are from my Watt & Shand series, including Watt & Shand #1.

Watt & Shand #3

And Watt & Shand #8. Follow the links for lots more information about the individual works and the series.
If you are in the area, I hope to see you at the opening reception this Sunday, September 9, from 2 - 5 p.m.

Northern California Through the Fisheye

San Bruno mountains, eucalyptus trees

Earlier this summer I had a great vacation in northern California.  I took three cameras, a Canon digital SLR with a variety of lenses, a Sony Cybershot with panorama, and my trusty iPhone.   

San Bruno mountains, tree with moss

I got great images with all three, but had the most fun with the iPhone. I treated myself to a set of specialty lenses for the iPhone--a wide angle, a macro and a fisheye, and they all worked astonishingly well.

San Bruno mountains, ferns

The fisheye lens did a amazing job of capturing a curvy and expansive slice of the scenery.

San Francisco, Sutro Baths, view from cliffs

Here’s an assortment of the best ones for your viewing pleasure; they all enlarge when clicked. Enjoy!

Muir Woods National Monument, coastal redwoods

Muir Woods National Monument, coastal redwoods

Muir Woods National Monument, coastal redwoods

Point Reyes National Seashore, McClures Beach

San Francisco, Coit Tower, murals

San Francisco, Coit Tower, city view

San Francisco, Coit tower, sky view

Marin Headlands, view of Golden Gate Bridge

Santa Rosa, bunya bunya tree

View from Hood Mountain trail
 

For more northern California photos and travelogues, see my previous posts on The Armstrong Redwood Forest , Big Basin, and San Francisco.  As always, thanks for reading and commenting!