Franklin and Marshall exhibit - Ice Jam

Today the focus is on my artquilt Ice Jam.  It's part of my invitational exhibit at the Philips Museum of Art, on the campus of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. The Enduring Beauty of the Susquehanna River will run from January 21 to April 24, 2025.

Ice Jam

The exhibit will feature 4 of my large-scale quilts I've made over time as my response to living near the  river. From my statement: "A major source of inspiration for my work, bordering on obsession, is the Susquehanna River. I grew up in a house on a hill overlooking the river and took its presence for granted. When I moved to Lancaster to attend Franklin and Marshall I began to explore the river hills in earnest, hiking the trails and learning about all the best overlooks. My enthusiasm was deepened during the decades I spent living near the Northeast Lancaster County River Trail and exploring it on my bike. I’ve enjoyed learning about the important historical impact of the river on the region. Most of all, I’ve come to appreciate how incredibly beautiful, and everchanging in its aspects, the Susquehanna is. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to spend time interpreting my impressions using the art quilt medium."

Ice Jam, detail 1

This is a good season to be thinking about ice jams on the Susquehanna. They don't occur every year, but when they do, they are momentous both in visual appeal and potentially deleterious effects. The river is deep, windy, and has swift currents. Ice can form on the surface in a series of freeze/thaw cycles, then be broken up and swept downriver, where it gets caught up and swept up on the shoreline in big chunks. The worst cause scenario is flooding in the river towns like Marietta, PA.
 

Ice Jam, detail 2

Here's a few photos of one of the events that inspired this quilt.

The challenge with this one was to keep to the subdued, largely monochromatic palette, while also including the details of the surrounding landscape. I enjoyed making collagraph prints to use in the borders.

Ice Jam, detail 3

 Ice Jam, detail 4

It measures at 43"h x 52"w.

 About the Susquehanna: Archaeology of the Lower Susquehanna River reveals that American Indians had utilized its resources for thousands of years. Around 1550 AD, the people we know as the Susquehannock moved from higher up the river to the Lower Susquehanna Valley. The Susquehannock were Iroquoian speakers and shared many similarities with the Iroquois in New York. Learn more here.

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Ice Jam accepted for Eye of the Needle

Ice Jam

 I am pleased and excited to announce that Ice Jam has been accepted for the SAQA Regional Exhibit, Eye of the Needle. It will be on display at the Bottleworks, Johnstown, PA, from October 18 through November 30th. The Juror is Andra Stanton.

Ice Jam, detail 1

 Ice Jam is part of my ongoing series The River about the magnificent Susquehanna. The inspiration was a set of photos I took in a harsh winter, when alternating freeze and thaw cycles created giant slabs of ice that were thrust up onto the banks in a surreal fashion.

Ice Jam, detail 2

The center panel is needlefelted with wool and silk fibers, the supporting quilt is made from collograph prints, and it's heavily quilted. I added couched threads and lots of hand beadwork with seed beads and semi-precious stones. Size is 43"h x 52"w.

Ice Jam, detail 3

I do the best I can with images, but like a lot of fiber works it really needs to be seen in person to appreciate the textures. Many thanks to SAQA Penn and the Bottleworks for providing this opportunity to exhibit.

Ice Jam, detail 4

Ice Jam acceptance for Fiber National 2016

Ice Jam

 I am pleased and honored to announce that Ice Jam has been accepted into Fiber National 2016 at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA.  The juror is Jennifer Lindsay.  The exhibits opens May 28th and runs through August 21st.

Ice Jam, detail 1

 Ice Jam is my distillation of numerous visits made to the Susquehanna River in the depths of winter, when freezing and fluctuating temperatures created large sheets of ice that jammed up the river and piled high on the shoreline.

Ice Jam, detail 2

The center panel in this work is needlefelted and extensively hand beaded.

Ice Jam, detail 3

 The supporting quilt is pieced from collograph prints, handpainted fabric, and commercial fabrics.  It is heavily quilted, and measures 43"h x 52"w.

Ice Jam, detail 4

It's true of fiber art in general, and of this piece in particular, that it's best viewed and appreciated in person.  Even the detail photographs fall a bit short of conveying the texture and depth of the materials.  So I am delighted that Ice Jam will have a chance to shine at Fiber National 2016. And it's close enough that I might be able to attend the opening.  I would love to see the other works in this exhibit.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

New Work – Ice Jam

I am very pleased to reveal my latest work, Ice Jam.  It’s my distillation of many visits to the Susquehanna River in the depths of winter, when multiple freeze/thaw cycles have transformed it into a jumble of slabs and chunks of ice.  The ice piles up on the islands and spills out onto the riverbanks.
The center panel of this work is needlefelted, with silk and wool fabric and fibers.  It is stitched and extensively hand beaded with semi-precious stones and seed beads. (All the pictures enlarge when clicked.) The surrounding and supporting quilt is made from collagraph prints onto cotton, along with strips of patchwork.
The finished work is 43”high by 52” wide.
I’m happy with the way all the elements of Ice Jam came together.  It’s very evocative of the experience of visiting the river on a bitterly cold day—a bit surreal and potential treacherous!

To track back the evolution of this work, and see the pictures that inspired it, click on Ice Jam on the sidebar, or go here.

Thanks for following along, and comments are always welcome.

I just noticed that this is post #500.  I don't do it for the numbers, but it still seems significant.  I'm happy so many of you have been along for the journey.

Work in Progress – Ice Jam, Update 4

Bitter cold, various types of frozen precipitation,  and intense winds are shaping my experience of the world this month.  The Susquehanna River has frozen over, once again transforming the landscape.  It’s a good time to be in the studio, with the warmth of the coal fire, and finish up with Ice Jam.
I finalized the design and pieced together the supporting quilt, using the collagraph prints and strips of patchwork.  The center portion is plain fabric, as it will be covered by the needlefelted river center panel. 

It’s definitely coming together at this point.  The background quilt is being layered and stitched, and the center panel is getting lots of handbeadwork.  Stay tuned for the reveal!

To see the evolution of this work in progress, and pictures of the Susquehanna River ice that inspired it, click on Ice Jam in the sidebar, or go here.

Susquehanna River Ice Tour, part 2

The Susquehanna River ice at this point is widely variable, thin in places, with open water, and thick and chunky in other spots.  This set of images from the area around York Haven, PA, illustrate all the variables.

We saw two brave and intrepid, and hopefully well prepared and experienced souls portaging their kayaks across the ice, testing the thickness as they went.
They reached open water and struck out into the river.
The river was up over its banks in spots, and partially frozen.  The portage goes around the York Haven Dam and the York Haven Hydroelectric Plant.
I heard them calling, then looked up and spotted a bald eagle soaring:
Its mate was waiting in the trees:
The area around the Plant is open to the public, for portage and fishing, and there is a lot of interesting and photographic stuff on site.
Any hints as to the original pu
rpose of these objects would be appreciated.



Where the dam backed up the river, the ice was arrayed in incredible formations of chunks and plates, all jumbled up together.
The trip and images have provided further inspiration for my River series of art quilts.

All of these images enlarge when cllicked, and are up on my Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/suereno/

Susquehanna River Ice Tour, part 1

The Susquehanna River has partially frozen over, and we went out to take a look. 
We visited some old favorites and some new photo op sites, all on the York County, Pennsylvania side of the river.
The Veterans Memorial Bridge, crossing from Columbia to Wrightsville, is definitely a continuing theme.  I've photographed it countless times, and made artwork featuring it. We made a side trip to another favorite site, the Codorus Forge Furnace, on the Codorus Creek that feeds into the river.

It was especially beautiful this day, partially covered with ice and glistening in the weak winter sun.
The moss and lichen coating the stonework was in high relief.
The brick superstructure , with ice, and a backdrop of bare trees: Veering back towards the river, we passed the Brunner Island Steam Electric Station.

It’s a coal fired plant built in the 1960s. 
The politics of its continued operation are complicated, as per this article in the local paper.
It’s surrounded by giant heaps of coal, brought in by rail, and large piles of ash.

Up next: a lot more ice.

Work in Progress – Ice Jam, Update 3

Work has progressed on the center panel of this piece.  I layered it with batting and lined the back, then began on the quilting.  I always get excited about the texture and detail that develops with all the stitching.  Fabric is such a responsive medium.  Look at how this has been transformed since the last update:
I enjoyed combining a lot of techniques in this piece—needlefelting, patchwork, surface design, quilting, couching and embellishment. .  When I teach about techniques, I always emphasize that “technique should be the servant of intent”.  This work is a good example of how the various ways of manipulating fibers and fabrics are not there just to showcase the methods, but to convey mood and meaning.

As always, thanks for following along.

Work in Progress – Ice Jam, Update 2

The center portion of this piece, the needlefelted river, changed a lot since the start as shown in my previous post.  I continued building up the water with layers of wool roving, wool scraps, and silk slivers.  I scrunched up pale silk and needlefelted it into place to represent the ice on the river banks.  I added the banks with more scrunched silks in earth tones.

Around the felted portion, I built the piece up further with more strips of silk and wool.  Even this early on, the textures I was achieving were very exciting to me.  (The pictures enlarge when you click on them so you can see more detail.)

As I worked on the center piece, I started arranging and rearranging the collagraph prints and some pieced strips on the design wall.  I left them up for a while and contemplated them daily in case I needed to make adjustments before starting the actual piecing. 

Thanks for following along, and as always, thanks for reading and commenting.