Sunday, January 24, 2010

Art Quilts & blablabla

News Flash #1 Art Quilts in the NY Times!! I opened this morning's Metro Section and this was the first thing I saw. HUH? Then I realized it was a big art review of Jack Walsh's collection on exhibit now at the Morristown, NJ Museum. Hooray! If you're within a couple of hours driving distance of Morristown, go see the exhibit. And if you go, let me know and I'll meet you there. I was lucky enough to see Jack's collection a few years ago at his home but he has added to it and I was sorry to have been in Fla. when the opening took place last week. News Flash #2 The Modern Quilt Guild!! It started in L.A. (where else?) and Jamie Fingal posted briefly about it on Quiltart. Thirty-somethings have discovered non-traditional quilts and are the next generation of art quilters. Branches of The Modern Quilt Guild are sprouting all over the country and it is a movement taking hold with lots of excitement! The groups are blogging on line, posting pix, and even setting up sew-a-thons and meetings in their various locations. This is great! OTOH - it is too bad that so many quilt guilds are not welcoming to young quilters who don't want to make reproduction quilts and traditional patterns. I have also heard from several young people that nobody in their local guild was their age (as in - all old enough to be their mothers and grandmothers) and I absolutely understand this feeling (even though we oldies are 30 in our heads). Hey! I made my first quilt when I was in my early 30's and I was the only person I knew who did this. I didn't even know about the existence of guilds. I've signed onto the NY Metro Modern Quilt Guild and their excitement is a pleasure to see. Unfortunately, there is only one other person in NJ - but since it is mostly a virtual guild for now, I don't suppose that matters. Besides, I would hate to be the only old person at a meeting - LOL. Blablabla inutile Meanwhile, back in West Orange... After spending a couple of days at the design wall, mostly in frustration, I have finally taken a break to do some thinking out loud (which seems to be the only way I can think these days). I have two small pieces I'm really happy with. Then there were a few goes at using the pink deconstructed fabric I dislike. The one at the left wasn't right because the textures of the fabrics were too different. Then, I started again with the fabrics below - which worked together better for me. But something was not right. It was too much of the same thing. Boring. So I took a photo in black and white to check the values. The piece is now dismantled and off the wall. I don't do this nearly often enough but when I do, it is because something feels (not looks, but feels) wrong to me. My instincts almost always turn out to be correct. I may rework this or not. So here I am, at the end of the afternoon, realizing that it is almost 5:00 somewhere and that I also need to figure out what tonight's dinner will be. Eggs? Tuna fish? Cereal and yogurt? None of the above sounds very appealing. I made a ton of mussels for last night's dinner and may just make Thai mussel salad with the leftovers. P.S. - I mixed together some olive oil, a good dollop of moutarde de dijon, un peu de jus de citron, a little of the mussel liquid and some capers; poured it over the mussels and served it with some good bread. Divine. PPS. - back to the design wall, ready to go to work. Thanks!

11 comments:

Aussie Jo said...

I love following your process Rayna, (and hoping I can learn some more) as you construct and deconstruct. I will be watching with interest. Maybe some horizontal lines??

Sherryl said...

Mussels! Yummmm. There is a restaurant in NYC that specializes in Mussels. It is in the E. 80's. I pigged out one night. If I could stand the cold weather and wanted to pay RE taxes up the wazoo.. I would consider a move back.
I am sure you will fix your piece. It will talk to you eventually. In the meantime, I enjoy watching the permutations.

Sue Erdreich said...

I put an announcement about the Morristown Museum show in my guild newsletter (which I edit), so hopefully it will be well attended.

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

Hello fellow mod quilter... ;-)
I'm having a little sew fest at my place on march 6th...come by! there may be another NJ quilter too! ooh weee! your pieces on the design wall look great. ...Mirristown huh? I may look that up...

Natalya Khorover Aikens said...

well you just prompted me to join the mod quilters, thanks! and I must make it to Morristown too...

Susan Shie said...

Hi Rayna. Thanks for the Morris Museum post! I'm so psyched! And I joined the Modern Quilters Facebook yesterday. I felt too old to join. Then I saw Penny McM's name as a friend, so I did it. I'm so happy to see that generation coming to quilting! We'd thought it would end with us, and before these girls, the generation younger than them is into sewing already! It's going to keep on going!

I love your blog. Yea! Love, Susi

imquilternity said...

Hi Rayna, I discovered the Modern Quilt Guild about two weeks ago and joined the LA guild. I won't ever make the meetings as they are farther than I would want to travel to a guild meeting, but it's fun seeing the enthusiasm online from these younger quilters!

Mary Tabar said...

Hi Rayna, I saw your post on the dyers list, thanks for the info, I enjoyed your blog also

Mary Tabar said...

Hi Rayna, I saw your post on quilt art list!are you ever in southern ca?

Libby Fife said...

Thanks for the link to the Modern Quilt group. There is one here in the CA Bay Area so I will have to follow their progress as they get started.

Incidentally, I am usually the youngest person I see when I go to any local guild shows and am generally the youngest when I go to PIQF-and that is saying something since there are boat loads of people there! My guild ladies are in their 70's and I love them to pieces but they all do traditional quilting (which is great). They support my efforts though which is all I can ask:)

Unknown said...

OUCH and it had such promise, too! The fabrics were fab, but your gut was dead on, Rayna. I need to do the B&W thing a lot more often than I do, too. Can I admit it, though? I'm a coward to find out. lol

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