SotAq16

Very happy to have been juried into the STATE of the ART quilt 16 touring exhibition, with both my entries accepted- It's snowing in Ulaanbaatar, above and detail below and One Tree, a predominately blue quilt with leaf prints. This yearly art quilt exhibition is only open to members of Queensland Quilters Inc. the State guild. The exhibition will premier in Brisbane at Gallery 159 on April 8 at 6pm.

The STATE of the ART QUILT 15 exhibition is up at Gallery 159, 159 Payne Road, The Gap Brisbane and I had the honour of opening it as well as the privilege of jurying the pieces. It is a colourful and lively exhibition with many thought provoking pieces. The fact that there is no theme only adds to the eclectic freshness.

I have missed the last 2 openings if this exhibition in this venue and enjoyed hearing the artists who were present talk about their work. Helen above.

Merody

Kathryn

Jane

Chris

 

 

Must see exhibitions

I was delighted to finally meet Kim Schoenberger [L] in person at the opening of Expressions of Love II and [Centre] Anne Harris's exhibition Lovingly Interrupted at [R] Janet De Boer's
 Gallery 159. These two talented artists elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary. The humble tea bag and eco dyeing never looked like this before and the pieces from both artists blended harmoniously.

The exhibition continues until September 28. Call Janet on 07 3300 6491 for a weekday appointment or come on the weekend between 11am-4pm.

Artists

As women we have many titles- wife, mother, sister, grandmother, daughter and aunt, but it is also nice to be acknowledged as artists! So we celebrated our achievements in the Beautiful Australia exhibition.
Front to back- Diane, Annette, Margaret and me. Our gesture is one we have been doing for 20 + years as Mexettes! We are hitch hiking out of Mount Isa, where our group began.

Everyone is in on the act! L-R Ian, Bob, Nick and Roger- our support team!

A little display on these shelves gives an indication of what goes into our work, overseen by the cockatoo on the top shelf.

Girls just wanna have fun!

 

Opening

It was a great afternoon opening at Gallery 159 for Beautiful Australia.

Thanks to everyone who was able to share it with us.

The exhibition continues until September 15.

Set up

A bit of fun at set up day for the Beautiful Australia exhibition at Gallery 159. Diane on the ladder and Annette.

Ian was a great help adjusting the gallery hooks and we had the exhibition up in a short time.

So lovely to see the work again. It is colourful, fresh and tells a story. Hope you can see it.

Australia Wide Three exhibition

The Australia Wide Three exhibition opens at Gallery 159, The Gap, Brisbane this weekend. Come along to the opening at 3pm on Saturday May 18. The exhibition continues until June 2.

 Here is a media release about the touring exhibition.

The latest travelling exhibition by Australia’s national organization for art quilters, Ozquilt Network Inc. is touring Australia.

Ozquilt Network President, Margery Goodall said this is the third, biennial travelling exhibition this prolific group has created.

 “The 34 stitched, layered works, which are 40cm x 40 cm,  showcase original and diverse interpretations of contemporary textile art from Australia’s leading and emerging quilt artists,” she said.  “A professionally selected exhibition of members’ work, Australia Wide Three will excite viewers with the infinite possibilities of ‘the quilt’ in art.

“Founded in 1998, Ozquilt Network Inc. has a long and respected history promoting excellence within contemporary quilt making in Australia.”

Margery said the selectors read as a ‘whose who’ in the world of textile art: renowned textile artists Deborah Brearley, Victoria, (expert quilter, painter, author and tutor); Tony Dyer, Victoria, (a lecturer and master of diverse textile techniques who has works in many prestigious collections in Australia and overseas); and Carolyn Sullivan, NSW, (highly regarded multiple award winning quiltmaker, embroiderer and author).

“In comparison to other art forms, textile art takes a joyfully long time to create,  which is one of the reasons why art quilt exhibitions appeal greatly to the general public.  This form of art has evolved out of utilitarian quilt making into a highly personalised form of self - expression ”.   Australia Wide Three is touring nationally until June 2014

All 34 quilts can be viewed at www.ozquiltnetwork.org.au.

 Tour Manager: Ozquilt Network Inc., Sue Cunningham,  email sa.cunningham@bigpond.com

 

Dorothy Haig's exhibition

We attended the opening of Dorothy Haig's  impressive  the phantasmagoria of the interior at Gallery 159. In fact Dorothy has 2 series of work at the gallery, both wonderful in their interpretative use of textiles for the concepts. Laced to Place, is a set of 100 white boxes containing hand and machine stitched mosquito netting, the old fashioned cotton netting of my childhood. Oh how quickly things change!  Digital printed tiles accompany the work. Don't miss this chance to see exception work.

STATE of the ART quilt 13

Very happy to have had 2 quilts selected by juror Lisa Walton, author of Beautiful Building Block Quilts, for the Queensland Quilters STATE of the ART quilt 13 exhibition. These exhibitions began 5 years ago. I curated the first 3 and it was always great to see the quilts on display in the varied venues- art galleries, textile art festivals and special events. It all continues under the expert guidance of current curator Suzanne Marshall.

FLOOD #2 -Under Leaden Skies has not been seen in an Australian venue, as it was made for the TIQE12 exhibition. The recent heavy rain and debris floating down the Brisbane River brings back memories of the January 2011 floods and the destruction of lives and property.

This is a detail from Shake the Tree. 34 entries were received and 20 quilts selected. Congratulations to those selected and to those who didn't make it this time, please keep creating and enter again. The first viewing of the touring exhibition is at Gallery 159 April 14-27.

Sunday Drives exhibition

My friend Mel Forrest is having her first solo exhibition in Brisbane at Gallery 159. Her exhibition is titled Sunday Drives and is a great collection of imagery and inspiration from these outings. Mel works with textiles, digital imagery and mixed media to capture many fleeting moments. The exhibition continues until August 26 and can be seen on weekends from 11am-4pm.

Weekend socialising

I had a pleasant weekend socialising with friends, talking to an art quilt group & opening an exhibition. Above L-R Diane, me & Marg & along with Marcia in the photo below are Mexette members, a friendship quilting group that has been together for 21 years. Not all our members live in Brisbane or can make our morning tea socials that stretch into the afternoon.

Gallery 159 at The Gap, Brisbane is showing the Australia Wide 2 exhibition for 1 more week. You can see it on-line at  Ozquilt Network but it is so much better in person. Contact Janet for a mid week viewing or come Sat- Sun between 11am- 4pm. You won't be disappointed.

 L-R quilts by Ruth DeVos, Sue Dennis & Michelle Eastwood.

DESTINATION USA opening

Mexette friend Marg & her husband Roger visited. He was wearing a jacket that needed to be photographed.

Gallery 159 views

I took a few photos of the work in situ at Gallery 159 before the opening to give you an idea of how it looks hung. The Necklace series are stepped up the wall leading to the first floor balcony where Fiesta de los Muertos & Too Hot to Handle hang.

Rusty hangs over the entry, which is flanked by Blue Cottonwood & Welcome.

L-R By the Pond, Oak Sunshine & Guardian.

Guardian #2 & Interlude, partial view. It is fantastic to see the pieces on white walls & on display together instead of piled flat on a bed waiting patiently for this moment.

DESTINATION USA opening

Thanks to family & friends who we able to join me in celebrating the opening of my exhibition. L-R Janet de Boer O.A.M. Gallery 159 owner who opened the exhibition as she is a transplanted American, me & daughter Sally also a visual artist. Janet & I dressed in as much  red, white & blue as we could manage for the occasion. Donna, below, lent me her cowgirl hat.

L-R Mel, Ali, Paul, Suzanne & me with my Texan boots. Thank you for all the emails of support & well wishes & the posts on your blogs, much appreciated.

L-R Sue, Judy & Susan in front of Guardian #2. Kate has a great photo on her blog too.

Grand Canyon Memories being admired by L-R Elaine & Leslie. A week away from the sewing machine & some house cleaning ahead, but then again, what would I rather be doing?

DESTINATION USA #4

Yesterday was hanging day & thanks to assistance from Jan the quilts are up & looking good. Here I'm working on 'By the Pond'.

Jan is concentrating of getting the gallery hangers the same height. Party time today inspite of wet weather. Now where are my cowgirl boots?

DESTINATION USA #3

'Rusty' & I are off to 'hang' together at Gallery 159 today. Friend Jan is giving me a hand & Bob is making me a peanut butter sandwich for lunch! More than you needed to know, but I'm deliriously happy that the 23 pieces in the exhibition will all be up by the end of the day & awaiting an audience.

Thanks for the many well wishes I'm receiving from you, you have buoyed my spirits & made me aware of what a wonderful, supportive artist community I am part of.

Destination USA

In just 3 days time, my exhibition Destination USA will open in Brisbane at Gallery 159. The work in the exhibition was begun last November, during my 3 week residency at the Great Expectations studio in La Grange, Texas. I have been steadily working since coming home on assembling, stitching & completing the 23 quilted pieces that form Destination USA. Above is a detail from 'Guardian'.

Brenda Gael Smith, my wonderful web designer has put the exhibition images in the portfolio section of my website. All work is for sale & I'd be happy to send you a price list if you email me. I'll be dancing for joy, just as my skeleton friends from 'Fiesta de los Muertos' are, so join me on Saturday for the opening at 3pm, 159 Payne Rd, The Gap. The exhibition continues until July 31 Sat-Sun 11am-4pm, weekdays by appointment, just phone the lovely Janet deBoer on 07 33006491.

All things Japanese #2

Another purchase of Japanese items was from Kimono Girls who had pre-made cords & buttons of resin covered fabric, in 3 sizes. These were too good to pass by!

 I have been flat out trying to get the last things ready for my 'Destination USA' exhibition- it opens on July 16 in Brisbane at Gallery 159. I am feeling the pressure, so am breathing deeply to keep calm!

Morphology II

Had the pleasure of being at the opening yesterday, of a not to be missed exhibition, 'Morphology II' at Gallery 159, Brisbane. L-R Svenja, Carol Wilkes the 2 exhibiting artists & Janet deBoer opening the exhibition.

The exhibition runs until July 3, Sat & Sun 11am-4pm with weekdays by appointment, please phone Janet 07 33006491.