Silk Mill #1 and Silk Mill #2 acceptance for New Legacies Contemporary Art Quilts

Two of my recent works, both from my ongoing Structures series of architectural art quilts, have been accepted into the New Legacies Contemporary Art Quilts exhibit.  Both Silk Mill #1 and Silk Milk #2 will be traveling to the Lincoln Center Gallery in Ft. Collins, CO for the exhibit, which runs from July 9th through August 31st, 2013

From the prospectus:  “Art quilts accepted for exhibition will exemplify innovation in quilting and surface design techniques as well as excellence in artistic composition and craftsmanship. The goal of the exhibition is to recognize the world's finest contemporary quilt artists and to advance the art form.”

It sounds wonderful!  I am honored to be included.

These works are based on photos I took of the abandoned Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill, in Columbia, PA, shortly before it was renovated and a portion of it was developed into a tourist destination for the Turkey Hill Dairy.  I was enthralled by the way the light shone through the missing windows, and the way trees and plants took advantage of the missing portions of the roof.  Despite the beauty in its decrepitude, I am delighted it has been saved.

After its stint as a silk mill, the building served as a garment factory. Recently when I was lecturing to a quilt guild and was showing these works, I met a delightful woman who grew up in Columbia. She remembered buying  children’s snowsuits at a discount  from a relative who worked in the factory shortly before it shut down in the 70’s.  I love it when my work makes connections!

To see more images and read about the works in progress, click on the Silk Mill tab at the top.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

The Susquehanna as Muse Exhibit

This exhibit seems custom-made for my newest work, In Dreams I Flew Over the River.  I am very happy that it will be a part of “The Susquehanna as Muse”, an exhibit by Artist Members of the Pennsylvania Arts Experience.

In Dreams I Flew Over the River

The exhibit opens this week at the beautifully renovated Marketview Arts Orientation Gallery in York, PA.

I am very fine company, with some of my personal favorite artists exhibiting their paintings featuring the Susquehanna River.

Do yourself a favor and take some time to check out their websites:
 http://www.robevansart.net/ 
http://www.patierno.com/ 
http://carololdenburg.com/
http://www.markworkmanart.com/ 
http://www.glennblue.com/splash.html
http://www.stevenheffnerart.com/
http://lancastergalleries.com/artists/john-david-wissler/

In Dreams I Flew Over the River, Detail 1

Due to a prior commitment, I will miss the grand opening on Friday, June 7th, but I will be there for the Patrons and Members Preview on Thursday the 6th.

For any of my local and regional friends, it will be well  worth your while to visit.  The exhibit runs through July 2, concurrent with the fabulous “Visions of the Susquehanna” exhibit in the Gallery Hall, on loan from the Zimmerman Center for Heritage.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

New Work - In Dreams I Flew Over the River

I’m excited to reveal my latest work, In Dreams I Flew Over the River.

In Dreams I Flew Over the River

It’s the culmination of a lifetime spent living near the Susquehanna River.  It kept appearing in my dreams, so I transported it into my waking hours with textiles.

In Dreams I Flew Over the River, Detail 1

It’s all there--the visible surface currents, the treacherous undercurrents, the many rocks and small islands, the wide variations in depth and breadth, the beauty on a calm day, and the tremendous destructive power when it floods.

In Dreams I Flew Over the River, Detail 2

Some of the shores are lined with productive farmland.  When I was a kid in central PA, I had an uncle who owned an island.  One summer when the river was very low, he drove an old International tractor across the shallows, and kept it in a shed on the island.   He grew corn and other garden crops there, and fished from the banks. 

In Dreams I Flew Over the River, Detail 3

Here in southern Lancaster County, the banks rise into my beloved River Hills, which enfold my favorite hiking spots and the landscapes that provide much of the inspiration for my botanical work.

I began this work by needlefelting the river, layering wool roving and silk snippets and fibers to build up the depth, textures, and transparencies of the river.  The banks are also needlefelted with silks and wool, and couched lace.   The borders are silks that I free-form pleated and manipulated.  I then layered it with batting and a backing fabric, and heavily quilted and stitched it to add even more texture, depth and movement.

The size is 54”h x 43”w. 

Thanks to all my readers and friends for your ongoing support and encouragement.

Hiking at Boyd Big Tree Preserve

I needed to make a run to Harrisburg to drop off Silk Mill #3 for the upcoming Art of the State exhibit at the Pennsylvania State Museum.  It was a cool and drizzly but gorgeous spring day, so we  headed to the nearby Boyd Big Tree Preserve in Dauphin County for some exploration and a moderate hike.   The approach to the park kiosk was encouraging--the drive was lined with bluebird houses, and many of them had a bluebird perched nearby. 

A short distance down the trail, it became apparent that it was going to be a good day for macro pictures.  I previously had a Diffcase and set of lenses; I’m now working with an Olloclip for my iPhone.   The macros on both types have really helped me train my eye, and have opened up new worlds for exploration.  Here I am caught zeroing in on some galls on a pawpaw sapling:


Here are two of the galls.  An insect, most probably a species of tiny wasp, lays her eggs just under the surface of the tender bark, where the larvae can develop while well protected. 



Further down the trail,  a wild blackberry blossom got the macro treatment:

Everything was dripping with dew and drizzle.  It took me a moment to recognize what this next plant was--the remains of a giant dandelion puffball, with micro dots of moisture.  The macro lens helps the mundane appear magical:

Another shot of the dandelion puffball:

There was a lot of bush honeysuckle along the trail. It’s a non-native invasive shrub.

The flowers are moderately pretty, but lack the scent of the vining variety (also invasive).

It’s been a cool-ish, wet spring, and things are going great in the wild fungus world.  Here is some lichen growing on a downed tree:

Lichen growing with moss:

More lichen and moss:

Here are some more galls, this time on a maple leaf.  The coloration is quite striking:

Raindrops nestled among the leaf hairs of a mullein plant, Verbascum thapsus, look like an alien landscape:

Each raindrop on a spiderweb holds a reflection of the surrounding vegetation.  Click to enlarge and appreciate the reflections:

The light was just perfect for capturing this amazing imagery:

Near the end of the looping trail we took, we came on a section where the undergrowth was almost entirely ferns, as far as the eye could see.  The fisheye lens captures it well:

I love the deciduous forests and woodland of PA.  This is a gem of a park.  The big trees and deep forest support a lot of songbirds, especially warblers, and the whole time we were walking we were beautifully serenaded with birdsong.

These pictures, and many more from my macro series, are up on my Flickr site--there’s a link to it on the right sidebar.

Thanks for reading and commenting.  Wherever you find yourself, I hope you have the opportunity to go out and explore what the natural world has to offer. 

Silk Mill #3 Acceptance into Art of the State

Silk Mill #3

I’m thrilled and honored to announce that my latest work, Silk Mill #3, has been accepted into “Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2013”.  This prestigious exhibit will open June 23, 2013 at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, and run through September 8th.

There were 137 works chosen from a field of 1,934, putting the acceptance rate at about 7%.  This is an all-media exhibit; the juror for Sculpture and Three Dimensional Craft was Wendelyn W. Anderson.

Silk Mill #3, Detail

I’ve been fortunate enough to have work in this venue in previous years; it’s a really wonderful and elegant setting, and they throw a great opening reception/awards ceremony.  I’m looking forward to it, and to seeing all the other guaranteed-to-be-excellent work on display. Perhaps I’ll see you there!

To learn more about Silk Mill #3, and the others in the series, see yesterday's post, or click the Silk Mill tab at the top.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

New Work - Silk Mill #3

I’m excited to reveal my latest work, Silk Mill #3.  It is based on an photographic image I took of the historic Ashley and Bailey silk mill, circa 1899, in Columbia, PA.  The building was abandoned in the 1970’s and fell into disrepair.  It has recently undergone renovation, and a portion of it has been repurposed as the Turkey Hill Experience, an tourist attraction run by the popular local dairy company. 


I took a lot of pictures of it just before the renovation began. I am fascinated by historic buildings with strong architectural lines that have become open to the elements.  (See my Watt & Shand series of art quilts, also in my Structures Gallery and here on my blog.) This structure had broken and missing windows, with the sun shining through them, and a portion of the roof missing.  There were plants growing on it and in it.  But its basic integrity warranted its preservation and re-use. 

This work measures 53” h x 60”w.  The central images are from altered photos, made into thermofax screens, and screened onto hand painted fabrics.  The patchwork is a mix of commercial and hand painted silk, cotton and wool fabrics.  The inner border is the same photo, which I had commercially printed onto silk yardage.  I am particularly happy with the way I was able to move the color fields across the work. 

To see more about the works in this series and their evolution, along with the source photos, click on the Silk Mill tab at the top, or go here.  All the photos here and on my website can be enlarged by clicking.

I hope you enjoy viewing this as much as I enjoyed making it, and as always, thanks for reading and commenting.

Skunk and Garlic Mustard acceptance into Images 2013

I am delighted to announce that Skunk and Garlic Mustard has been accepted into Images 2013, the juried gallery exhibition of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.  The juror is Joyce Robinson, curator of the Palmer Museum of Art.  Images 2013 will hang in the Robeson Gallery on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University from June 5 to July 14, 2013. 


I’ve been privileged to have work in this premier regional exhibit in past years--I’ve even won some awards--and I am always very impressed with both the quality of the works selected for the exhibits, and with the exhibit space itself and how well the staff utilizes it.  I’m looking forward to the opening reception on June 7th; perhaps I’ll see you there!


Skunk and Garlic Mustard is part of my Flora and Fauna series, where I am working with the skulls of native wildlife in conjunction with plant monoprints and vintage textiles.  For this piece, I had the luxury of an entire skunk skeleton to photograph and use for cyanotype prints.  I love the delicacy and beauty of these small organic artifacts, and marvel at how they once worked as a whole to support such an interesting and successful life form. 

The vintage component in the work is the bit of french knot embroidery running down the right panel.  It was a gift from a kind friend, so like many vintage textiles I don’t know its provenance but can only appreciate the skill of whoever stitched it.  The botanical print is a heliographic monoprint, made on silk with textile paints, of the horribly invasive garlic mustard plant.  Despite the time I spend cursing it and pulling it, I can’t help but admire its energy and beauty.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

Interviewed by Amber Kane

Amber Kane is a fellow fiber artist who works with weaving and crochet to create beautiful and unique designer scarves.  She is producing a series of interview with other artists, and I sat down with her recently, via Skype, to engage in a dialogue over a wide range of artistic topics.  We discuss process,  studio practice, defining an artistic voice, and finding the courage to forge your own identity and creative path.

Amber posted it on YouTube with the tag line:  “What did you love doing as a child?  Sue Reno loved sewing, and she never stopped”.  True!  But of course there's a lot more to the story.  The clip is long-ish, at 26 minutes, but I promise you it is worth your time.



Thanks, as always, for reading and for viewing.