textile paintings
Posts tagged exhibition
2014 Accomplishments
19 years ago
At the end of the year, I look at my goals and see how close I came to achieving them. Here is it January 8th — I should have done this at the end of 2013 — but I got the flu after Christmas, and it took all of my energy for a couple of weeks. I’m just now beginning to recover and put together the pieces of everything I have to do in my life. Today was the first time I’ve had to look at my art goals.
2013 was the year that “I finally broke into the sunshine at the International Quilt Festival/Houston” — and 2014 was the year that I created controversy. But just like I said last year — I’m still here and kicking — and I hope to continue to create in 2015.
— My blog was viewed 21,00 times in 2014 which broke all of my previous records. The highest viewed post was The Use of Someone Else’s Photograph in Your Work, the subject of which was the controversy over my piece Worry at the International Quilt Festival/Houston this year.
— Worry and Golden Moment were accepted into Georgia Artists at the Abernathy Arts Center here in Sandy Springs, GA, an exhibit highlighting the work of local Georgia artists from all mediums. Golden Moment won 1st place.
— Worry was accepted into International Quilt Festival/Houston: World of Beauty and was awarded 3rd place in the Art-People, Portraits, and Figures category.
— Dolce Far Niente was accepted into the special exhibit What’s for Dinner? at Quilt Festival/Houston.
— The Cardinal was shown at the Square Foot Fiber Art Pin Up Show at the Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance here in Atlanta and then was donated and auctioned at the International Quilt Festival/Houston Silent Auction.
— Lincoln traveled from the 2013 International Quilt Festival/Houston and went to The Texas Quilt Museum, Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh, International Quilt Festival/Chicago, and Quilt! Knit! Stitch! in Portland before being purchased.
— Beach Guardians traveled from the 2013 Sacred Threads show and went to Sacred Threads West: Art of the Sacred in Seattle, WA.
— Rebecca Reasons-Edwards and myself co-curated another exhibit this year called Fierce Fibers at The Art Place in Marietta, GA. Beach Guardians, Golden Moment, A Walk in Twilight, and Worn were exhibited.
— Golden Moment was accepted into Art Quilts XIX: Permission to Play at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Chandler, AZ and was awarded Juror’s Choice & 3rd Place.
— Firecracker was included in the article Pet Portraits Popular With Owners Who Quilt in the Daily Sentinel published in January.
— Heike Hellmann-Brown wrote an article about me and my work that was published in the local publication North Fulton Family Life in August.
— Sold Lincoln to a private collector.
— Sold I Am the Vine, You are the Branches to a private collector.
— Sold Worry to a private collector.
— Sold The Cardinal to a private collector.
— Met goal of selling at least 2 of my pieces.
— I completed 3 large portraits, 1 small animal portrait, 1 small abstract, and 3 large abstracts. (All of the abstract works were made in collaboration with Leisa Rich.) (Goal to make at least 6 large pieces met.)
— I started a collaboration with a local artist, Leisa Rich. We have been working on an abstract series based on car washes and are planning a two person show at the Abernathy Arts Center in October of 2015.
— I applied and was accepted into Studio Art Quilts Associates as a Juried Artist Member.
— I spoke at The Atlanta Modern Quilt Guild in Marietta, GA, The Alpha Arts Guild in Alpharetta, GA, and the Misty Mountain Quilter’s Guild in Blairsville, GA.
— This year I kept a massive spreadsheet and kept track of my hours. I have to find a simpler way to do this. Halfway through the year, I decided that I not only wanted to keep category totals but also totals by project — so I ended up keeping two separate spreadsheets.
— As of the end of the year, I have 115 FaceBook Page followers (increase from 2013 unknown but I think it’s around 50%) and 32 Twitter followers (52% increase but still small).
— I did fairly well on maintaining my social media goals. I posted at least 2 blog posts a week 80% of the time, I posted at least 4 FaceBook page updates 78% of the time, and I posted at least 6 Twitter updates 74% of the time.
— What I didn’t do well with this year was keeping myself to at least 15 hours per week in the studio. I only met that goal 59% of the time. I was on track until I started taking freelance scoping work on the side. The truth of the matter is that my family is a part time job, so freelancing work cut into my art time. I do think I will keep this goal in 2015 however. I just need to work on being smarter with the time that I do have available.
— I didn’t keep my sketching goal at all. I have no problem drafting out a pattern for a particular project, but I can’t seem to make myself stop and fill a page in a sketchbook.
— I easily increased web traffic 5%. Given the controversy over Worry at IQA/Houston, my traffic increased 55.4% over last year.
I am eternally grateful for the support and encouragement of my friends and other people that reached out to me during the controversy over Worn. I am reminded that my place is to hold up others to the light and forward their achievements in a positive way. I leave all the others that still have lessons to learn — behind.
Love me or hate me, I’m still here, and I hope that 2015 is a great year.
#winning
19 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
Although I’m not a big Charlie Sheen fan, I can see him in my mind’s eye, grinning and proclaiming “Winning!” I think that’s a little bit how I felt last week — like I had been through a tremendous storm but come out on top after all.
I got an email last week from Mary Mattimoe with whom I have corresponded with in the past. We both have pieces in Art Quilts XIX in AZ, and she was able to see the exhibit in person and take pictures. Luckily, she took a pic of my piece Golden Moment and sent it to me.
Photograph courtesy of Mary Mattimoe
It’s a wonderful venue and I love the lighting on the piece. You can even see the background quilting — which on that batik, is impressive (the lighting not the quilting).
And you see that little card down there in the right hand corner? It says “Juror’s Choice” and “Third Place.” Awesome sauce!
I also received my packet from IQF-Houston a couple of days ago. It included a check for the sale of Worry (#winning) and my third place ribbon.
I was hesitant to open the envelope with the judge’s notes. Even on a winning piece, they can create some moments of humble pie. But even there, the judges loved the piece and gave it high marks. After the scathing criticism I received from members on QuiltArt, it was nice to have judges with prominent resumes of their own support what I’m trying to do in my work. (#winning)
Love me or hate me, I’ll be here tomorrow — just doing my thing.
Looking Forward
39 years ago
I have been neglecting my blog. Instead, I spent the week briefly looking at the vitriol on QuiltArt, and then turning to my studio. The best thing to combat all of the crushing criticism was a deadline.
Although among all the negativity, I received a lot of surprising support. I had some Atlanta friends that stood in the gap for me when I couldn’t, and for that, I am truly grateful. I also had some internet friends stand up and proclaim their support, and I received many emails of support and encouragement. I heard from people I never expected to, and I made some new friends. So out of the fire, there has been some good.
My last blog post has been read, I believe, almost 2,000 times. People have been combing my website, and I’m certain that a good deal of it was in judgment, not support.
There is something about the Migrant Mother photograph — and my use of it — that brought out a lot of strong emotions in people. And in that regard, I think it has been successful. Not all of the PR has been good, but it’s certainly been a topic of discussion.
Regardless of all of that, I have deadlines to meet. I have an entry due at the end of the month and guests coming next week — so this new piece has to be completed this week. I finished the quilting yesterday and am almost done with the handwork. I hope to complete it today and block it.
And then there are new shows to consider. I have another piece based on a Dorothea Lange photograph that I’m considering entering in AQS — at risk of the ivory tower elitists coming to hunt me down for having the gall to (gasp) use someone else’s photograph as the inspiration for a piece of work. I also have to prepare for Sacred Threads which is coming up as well as the local East Cobb Quilt Guild Show.
Furthermore, all of my studio efforts after finishing my current portrait will go back to the abstract pieces for the two person show I’m debuting with Leisa Rich in October.
One foot in front of the other — moving forward. There are people that don’t like my decisions, but life is too short to spend time worrying about them. They don’t understand me — and I don’t understand them. It’s like the school playground all over again. I think I’ll just go back to my studio. It’s peaceful there.
The Use of Someone Else’s Photograph in Your Work
89 years ago
Worry has been quite the topic of conversation today. The QuiltArt List (an online email list for quilters) has been abuzz since someone brought up the subject of this piece at IQF-Houston — and not in a good way.
Many people are familiar with Dorothea Lange’s iconic photograph from the Great Depression — titled Migrant Mother — from which this piece is inspired. The original poster thought that I had merely printed the picture onto fabric and then thread painted it — therefore saying that it was a gross violation of Dorothea Lange’s copyright.
Well obviously Dorothea Lange’s photograph is in black and white and this is not. My piece is all machine appliquéd from commercial fabrics. It is NOT a colorized version of her photograph that was printed onto one sheet of fabric.
Also, I am clear that this is inspired by Dorothea Lange’s photograph, and if you look it up, you will find that — however famous the photograph is — it is in the public domain and therefore free of copyrights.
I also assure that there was extensive drawing from the original photograph to create this pattern. I make a value painting of all of my pieces that start from a photograph, but photographs rarely ever tell you everything you need to know. There are many details that photographs don’t tell you — like fingers and eyes — and many shadows have to be deepened and highlights have to be brought out. You can obviously and easily posterize any picture in Photoshop, but these patterns will never have the level of detail for which I strive.
Furthermore, since it’s a black and white photograph, the color story is entirely mine.
You can make an argument regarding composition. I understand that. In using Dorothea Lange’s photograph, I used her composition. I did not violate her copyright nor did I break any of the rules of the competitions in which she has been entered.
It’s a decision. A couple of years ago, I researched how to make my work more marketable. One way to do that is to use historical figures as subjects. This means using someone else’s composition — essentially. I don’t always do this, but sometimes I do.
There are people that don’t agree that this should be viewed as art.
It’s interesting. I only find this discussion among quilters. I hung this piece in an art exhibit back in May. Everyone knows its inspiration is a well-known photograph — and no comment was made about whether or not it was art. It was not brought into question whether or not it was eligible for a ribbon. I am sharing this merely to contrast the differences between the two communities.
Is it art? Have I created something that hearkens back to the story Dorothea Lange created — and yet made it my own, using my own medium? Does anyone see the modern era mother who has the same stress as the mother from the Great Depression about caring for her children in times of economic hardship? I suppose the answer will be a personal one to everyone reading this.
2014 Houston Day 2
49 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
Last week was International Quilt Festival — one of my favorite events ever. I wrote in my last post about the Winner’s Circle — but I wanted to share some pictures from the next day when we had the Luncheon and Preview Night.
Sadly, the day after Winner’s Circle, the floor with the quilts and the vendors is closed until Preview Night starts at 5pm — but the 2nd floor has these cool portholes that overlook the vendor floor. I wish my arms had been longer so you could see the full porthole. At this point, I’m just in time for the Luncheon.
I didn’t take any pictures at the luncheon. When I arrived, I was the last of the winners to go in — and everyone else was let in soon after — so I was caught in the mad rush to find a seat at a table. The winners have their own tables, but it became clear that the signs on the tables weren’t going to keep anyone else from sitting there. The first table I went to, there were four empty seats and I asked one of the women if a particular seat was taken. At first she said no, and then started screaming at me that she was saving seats and I could take the far one over by the strange man (a spouse, obviously, who had zero interest in being there or being social). I was so surprised. Quilters are always the friendliest people and this is the only time I’ve been confronted by such a rude person at IQF, so I told her that that was fine — I would find somewhere else to sit. There is nothing worse than being with people that don’t appreciate you.
I found another table with an open seat — but just barely. I was luckily seated next to Patty Kennedy-Zafred, and next to her was Sheila Frampton-Cooper. I had a wonderful time talking with them. Patty gave me some ideas about using Lesley Riley’s TAP transfer paper that I’m considering using in one of my abstract pieces. I tried to buy some later in the day, but the only vendor that had it was Artisan Artifacts — and they only had the very large pack. Since TAP has a shelf life, I think I’ll need to start small.
This was my name tag that I received in my packet the night before. I added the show pin to the top for flair, and this is what I used late in the afternoon to get into Preview Night when the show floor finally opens.
This piece was heavily thread painted and won first place in my category, People & Portraits. The artist, Lea McComas, also won the Master Award for Thread Artistry for her piece Bike Boys.
Panning for Gold by Lea McComas
When I got in line for Winner’s Circle, Masanobu Miyama came and stood with me. I had met him last year when he won the Master Award for Thread Artistry in 2013. This year, his entry Chasing Bubbles was made with his wife and won 2nd place in my category, People & Portraits. Masanobu was so sweet and wanted his wife to receive all of the praise.
Chasing Bubbles by Hiroko Miyama & Masanobu Miyama
This fish piece by Elizabeth Dillinger was stunning. I’m not sure the picture gives grace to the intensity of the quilting. It was all freeform spirals and swirls.
Fintastic by Elizabeth Dillinger
This piece by Sandi Snow won 1st place in Art-Abstract Small. From the color to the shapes to the quilting, it is a striking piece.
Dotting Inside the Box by Sandi Snow
I know my pic doesn’t do this one justice. It was constructed with 3,300 1 1/8th” circles in 8 values of fabric. It has a luminosity that I found impressive.
Fireball by Candace Phelan
Another abstract, this one by Sandy Clark. I loved the quilting on it.
Cosmos by Sandy Clark
I am not normally drawn to traditional quilts, but this one by Colleen Wise was so visually captivating. I found myself staring at it for a while.
Hudson Trader by Colleen Wise
I loved this piece for many reasons. Not only am I partial to animals, but the reflection, all created in threadwork — and the immensity of the dense background quilting was nothing short of glorious. I did wonder why the artist chose to go by only Ferret — no first name. I remember a fiber artist several years ago that made monochromatic nudes with that last name and wondered if it was her. (I found her website — it is her.)
Seneca by Ferret
I was so excited to come across this silk piece by Christine Alexiou. I had met her last year when she won one of the Mastery awards. I hope you can see the quilted dragonfly in the bottom portion.
Bijou by Christine Alexiou
As I said, I’m partial to dogs, and I loved this one by Carol Cote.
Droopy Dawg by Carol Cote
This was a huge piece by Helena Scheffer and Marion Perrault. It was too hard to get a straight on picture of it with the crowds, but I loved it.
Royal Thistle by Helena Scheffer & Marion Perrault
This was a small piece that captured me — I couldn’t figure out how she made the reflection work so perfectly.
Moody Beach, Maine, 1957 by Margot McDonnell
This piece was made by Patty Kennedy-Zafred who I sat with at lunch. This is all screen printed and hand dyed fabric. She walked me through the process of making it, which was just fascinating. I love when an artist is willing to talk about her process, and I greatly enjoyed getting to know her.
Shared Destiny by Patricia Kennedy-Zafred
I knew when I saw this that it was Marilyn Wall’s piece since I had seen her post pics of it in progress.
The Water Boy by Marilyn Wall
This piece by Shannon Conley just made me smile. I loved the colorized pups and the extension of the faces into the quilting on the right hand side on the black.
The Dogs by Shannon Conley
Nancy Sterett Martin‘s work is always stunning.
Serenity by Nancy Sterett Martin
This is another piece that I had to study for a while (by Andrea Brokenshire). It is so realistic and the quilting only added to the life of the piece.
Dazzling Dahlia by Andrea Brokenshire
I loved this snow leopard by Jan Reed.
Out in the Open by Jan Reed
This is a piece that had to be experienced in person. A camera is just not equipped to handle what this woman was able to achieve. It is covered in tiny crystals and metallic thread, so when the light hits the front, it sparkles with a life of its own. It won 1st place in Art-Naturescapes.
Fuji and Sakura by Masako Sakagami
I was charmed by this quilt by Sandra Leichner. Though rooted in the tradition of a wholecloth quilt, this one was covered in surprising details. From the quilted flowers to the golden dragonflies, it was truly special. I was surprised that this was Sandra’s piece as it doesn’t look like her usual work, but over the years, I appreciate the fact that we all (should) reinvent ourselves and work in new directions.
Vivaldi by Moonlight by Sandra Leichner
Masanobu & Kiroko Miyama also made this charming small piece Drifting Bubbles for the IQF Silent Auction. I knew when I saw it that it would be one of the most fought for pieces of the night.
Drifting Bubbles by Hiroko & Masanobu Miyama
Who couldn’t love this face? Having done a bull dog myself, I couldn’t help but appreciate what went into this one (by Cindy Garcia).
You Dirty Dog!!! by Cindy Garcia
At the back of the hall was the What’s for Dinner? exhibit. I had seen it last year and decided to enter this year. All of the pieces are placed flat on a long table — as if each one is a place setting.
This is my piece Dolce Far Niente (The Sweetness of Nothing).
And this was Karen Ponischil’s — I also met her last year.
Mater Sandwich by Karen Ponischil
I loved this one with the lobster by Jeanelle McCall.
Lobster Night by Jeanelle McCall
Towards the end of the night, I drifted back to my piece since I had forgotten to take a pic of it with it on the wall with the surrounding work.
I ran into Patty and she took this one of me with my piece. (I know — I was tired at this point.)
I was wearing sensible shoes. I had debated wearing something cuter, but I was told that at Festival, fashion stops at the knees. I’m glad that I heeded that advice. I was able to go the full five hours and then was still okay waiting in line for the bus back to my hotel.
I sprinted through all of the quilt exhibits. Then I ate and spent some time walking through the vendors. I had a plan of a limited number of booths I wanted to see. I spent too much time talking though and didn’t get to everything. There were only a couple of places I was tempted to spend money though. I am blessed to live in Atlanta, and most of what was available I can find locally. I was fascinated with Artistic Artifacts, though — and am now regretful that I didn’t buy some of the hand carved wooden stamps from India (another day — and they have a website!) And Superior Threads — I love their thread. I only bought a thread stand though. I have an old one that constantly falls over, and Superior has a new one that they’ve designed — I can’t wait to try it out.
I actually ran into a couple of people I know — Diane Schultheiss, who I know from the Fiber Art Fusion group in Atlanta (she was hanging out next to the Artistic Artifacts booth) — and Victoria Rondeau, one of the current reps for SAQA-GA (although she just moved & is stepping down at the end of the year). I had so much fun talking, the clock ran out and it was soon time to go.
This was the point at which I regretted not staying at the Hilton. I knew that they would close the hall at 10pm so I left about 20 minutes so I wouldn’t be in the crush to get on a bus. Even then, I had to wait and the bus went to the Hilton last — so the process was about 45 minutes.
I had such a great time in Houston. I had a mountain of work to do when I got back home, but it was worth it to take the mental break. Ideally, another day would be best — an entire day to cover the exhibits and vendors.
Houston Winner’s Circle 2014
39 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
Every year, there is a little slice of heaven on earth for quilters — or anyone so inclined to love fabric. It’s the International Quilt Festival in Houston and it’s one big party that lasts a week. Quilt Market starts the week before — but that’s for people in the biz with tax ID numbers (have to get one of those) — and I hear that they have a ball too — but for me, the time starts at Festival — and what a good time we had.
I thought I would take a few posts to walk you through the experience. I shared a lot on Twitter and my personal Facebook (I should have turned Twitter to my business page for the duration — but I didn’t think about it until I was there, and the mobile version wouldn’t let me flip the switch.)
I flew out Tuesday morning — butterflies flitting around my stomach — after a couple of nights of not much sleep. I’m prone to anxiety, and winning a ribbon at Houston and being summoned for its presentation is about as anxiety inducing an event as I care to endure in any one year.
I flew Southwest this year. Last year was Delta — and they were not missed AT ALL. I spoke with a very nice man on the airplane whose wife and sisters all quilt. We all deserve a spouse that will support our sewing habit.
On the shuttle ride in from the airport, I was lucky to be seated by Bobbie Korengold (to the left) and Ellen Newsom (to the right). One thing that you find in Houston is that everyone is friendly (well, except one person that was very rude at the luncheon — but I just walked away her.) Ellen was meeting a bunch of friends from out of town for the show — and Bobbie had received THE CALL. That’s the call that tells you that you’ve won one of the big 8 prizes — a Mastery Award or (heaven forbid) Best of Show. IQF paid for her trip for a week, and she was there with her husband.
This year I didn’t stay at the Hilton attached to the Convention Center — I decided to venture out to the Hyatt. There’s a bus that runs between several downtown hotels and the Convention Center during Festival and I thought I would give it a try. I was really excited about all of the restaurants around the Hyatt — until I went out that night for dinner and realized that they ALL closed at 2pm. I did get to walk around downtown some — and there were lots of banners welcoming the quilters to Houston.
At least the Hyatt has a 24 hour Einstein Bagels — it was my saving grace on several days. After choking down some chili early in the afternoon, I headed out for the bus to go to the Convention Center for the Winner’s Circle.
I stood in the Winner’s line behind Hollis Chatelain and Sheila Frampton-Cooper. Then a Japanese family wandered over and I remembered that the man, Masanobu Miyama, had won the Mastery of Thread Artistry award last year. After a short and awkward conversation between his broken English and my complete ignorance of Japanese, he told me that he and his wife, Hiroko Miyama, had entered a piece in my category. Knowing that Hollis was more than likely also in my category, I knew at that point that I was probably looking at third place — happily — and wondering how I managed to be invited.
Patricia Smith sat to my left. Her piece Caesar and Me won third place in the Art-Painted Surface category.
Laura Joy sat to my right. I distinctly remember her standing for a second place win but I can’t figure out which quilt was hers (sorry about that). I think she must have given me her nickname.
My new acquaintance Bobbie Korengold won the Founder Award for her piece Zeruah’s Legacy.
In the end, Worry did win 3rd place — and I was happy to receive it.
In my category (People, Portraits & Figures), 1st place went to Lea McComas for Panning for Gold (she also won the Mastery of Thread Artistry award this year for her piece Bike Boys), 2nd place went to Hiroko & Masanobu Miyama (winner of last year’s Mastery of Thread Artistry award) for Chasing Bubbles, Hollis Chatelain won an honorable mention for Source of Life (she also won a Judges Choice award from Paula Nadelstern for Healing Waters), and Megan Farkas won an honorable mention for Sakura II: Picnic at Naruko.
I was in excellent company and am honored to have placed among so many talented artists.
You can see of the winner’s piece on the IQF website here (they’ll keep the 2014 winners up on this page until next year — I think, but it’s a static page so I’m not positive.)
And the Best of Show went to the two women seated in front of me that began freaking out as the Master awards were counted down — Nancy Prince and Lisa French for their piece On This Winter Day.
After all of the awards were given out, I met Betty Hahn. We had actually met last year when she won first place for a piece now hanging in Pokey Bolton’s dining room. This year she won Judge’s Choice (Katie Pasquini Masopust) for her piece Escape II. We had such a good time talking about creating illustrative work — and then creating abstract work. We both agreed that we would cause a lot of problems if we lived in the same town. We are definitely twin souls.
Afterwards, I could finally let go of the stress and sleep. I slept for hours and hours.
In another post, I’ll tell you about the Luncheon and then show you some quilts from Preview Night.
Opportunities
19 years ago
I have been quilting the third abstract in the car wash series — having fun with it. I eschewed my usual contour quilting for feathers, flames, & fronds. I love the way it’s turning out. I’m also using the thread to pull colors across applique boundaries — and playing with thread choices. I even coaxed a metallic thread to free motion into feathers.
But I only worked in the studio a couple of days this week. I have a friend that’s been giving me scoping work. I hope to get back in the studio tomorrow.
I would like to say that I’ve been working on another portrait for the National Portrait Gallery competition — but inspiration hasn’t struck. Right now I am in the flow with abstract and I have not been successful in changing my direction.
If you read my Facebook Page, you saw me hyperventilating when I was notified that I won a ribbon in Houston again this year. It’s such a huge honor & completely unexpected. I won’t know till the ceremony at the end of October what the prize is exactly. I’m lucky that I’ll get to go to Houston again this year and actually stand in the Winners Circle.
I may even tweet the whole event like I did last year. It was such an exciting time and I loved sharing it.
For those interested in attending, Preview Night for IQF/Houston is October 30. The show is at the George R. Brown Convention Center and runs through November 2.
I did, in fact, come home after winning a ribbon with Lincoln last year and decided — after making animal portraits for a year — that I would make a person portrait again. Worry was the piece that I made from that decision.
I also found at that Golden Moment was accepted into Art Quilts XIX: Permission to Play. This exhibit is at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Chandler, AZ and will show November 7, 2014 – January 17, 2015.
Fierce Fibers Reception
39 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
Last Thursday was the opening reception of Fierce Fibers at The Art Place in Marietta. It’s a beautiful show in a beautiful space.
This is Sharon Ahmed with her heavily threaded piece Why Is There a Rooster in my Garden? The rooster was dimensional.
This is my co-curator Rebecca Reasons Edwards with her Mighty Women pieces. There are five of them so far in this series — women of strength in Rebecca’s life — and we hope that there are many more of them to come. (You may recognize our friend Julie Kokan in the bottom left piece.)
This is Hellenne Vermillion with three of her masks — from the left — Blue Sky Spirit Mask, Lunar Spirit Mask, and Bird Spirit Mask.
And then this is all of us having fun. The silk scarf around my neck was a present from Hellenne that night. I’m so glad she chose purple — I love it.
We had three different cameras that Rebecca’s husband was rotating through to take pictures. Thank goodness we had a patient and willing photographer. He also took some stop-motion photography of the whole affair that will be fun to watch.
I couldn’t resist pulling out my fisheye lens to get a picture of the gallery in its entirety. There is obvious distortion but it’s fun to have a shot of everything at once. (That’s Leisa Rich’s teapot and top entitled Falling from the Nest on the two pedestals.)
Thank you to everyone that took time out of your busy lives to come to the reception. It meant a lot to see familiar faces showing up to support our art. For the artists that were not able to attend — you were greatly missed. We raise a glass to your efforts — all great artists and mighty women of Fierce Fibers!
This show will remain on exhibit through October 3rd. The gallery is officially open Monday through Thursday 10am – 5pm — but I’m told that although they don’t have official weekend hours, they’re almost always open on Saturday and Sunday.
Hanging Fierce
09 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
When I moved to Atlanta, I started helping Rebecca curate an annual exhibit at The Art Place in Marietta, GA. At first I just showed up and held things for her, but over the years she has taught me more and more about curating. This year, we hung Fierce Fibers, an invitational exhibit including Sharon Serrano Ahmed, Rebecca Reasons Edwards, Deb Lacativa, Leisa Rich, Karen Reese Tunnell, Hellenne Vermillion, and me.
This is the show card I created (I had great images to work with though).
Yesterday we gathered all of the work at the gallery for the hanging. Leisa came too — and she was a whirling dervish! I learned a lot from her too.
This is what it looked like with everything laid out before we started. (There are a few white circles on the wall of the two pics I have of the hanging. This was caused by the new studio lights and my camera — although they were not apparent on the wall in person.) Love the new wood floors.
This was the first time that we had too much work. It’s a much better feeling than not having enough to fill the space.
And then this is us after all of the work has been hung and arranged — Rebecca, me, and then Leisa. Less than two hours. I don’t know if you can tell but I had so much fun. To spend a day surrounded by art and then crafting it into an exhibit that people will enjoy viewing is the joy of curating.
We added the exhibit cards after this.
There are a few minor adjustments to make before the reception tomorrow. I’m still figuring out what I’m going to wear.
Professional Headshot
09 years ago
(I have reposted this blog post from 8/29/14 that appears to be lost due to a technical issue between my database and WordPress. If and when is recovered, I will delete this copy.)
Last week, I had SAQA inquire about a headshot of me to include in their announcement of new Juried Members. I gave them what I have used as a professional headshot — but unfortunately, they wanted something not just for the internet but also for print publication to send their galleries. I put it aside for the weekend and hoped that I had something in my arsenal of pictures.
But you know, like most moms, I don’t have many pictures of myself because I am almost always the one taking the picture. I tried really hard to pull something out of thin air — but it just wasn’t there. So I went back and asked when they had to have the picture. End of the month. A week away. Oh wow.
I spent a day or two fooling myself into thinking I could do it myself. I have all of the equipment — but I knew in my gut it wasn’t the right thing to do and it would take a lot of time if I did it all by myself.
In the end, I did something that I have a hard time doing — I asked for help. Beth Buchweitz is a counselor at my daughters’ school and both of our daughters have taken lacrosse together for the last couple of years. We both take team pictures. So I asked her — and yesterday, she took time out of her crazy schedule to set me down in the shade and take pictures of me in a suit.
I don’t have them yet — I’ll share them when I do — but they came out really well. She asked me to stick out my chin and then dip my head down to create a shadow along my chin — I’ve not been asked to do that before but it made perfect sense. She fixed my hair when it was out of place — and best of all, she refused to accept a plastic smile. I had to carry a natural smile and chuckle under my breath and it made a big difference.
I heard this week that my piece Dolce Far Niente was accepted into the International Quilt Festival special exhibit What’s for Dinner? 2014. This exhibit consists of 36 quilts to be debuted at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October/November — and then it will travel to other IQF shows around the US. I’m honored to be included.
I shipped off The Cardinal — IQF asked me to donate a piece for their auction and given how kind they were to purchase The White Raven from me as well as to grace me with a prize last year in World of Beauty and to include so many of my other pieces in their wonderful exhibits, I was happy to send them something. It will be available in their silent auction at their Houston show October 30 – November 2, 2014.