This is a view of the Seasonal Palette exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. SAQA did a fabulous job with the exhibit and it was a lovely display. It was a large square space with openings on two sides and park benches and plants in the center. The space seemed very open and quiet in the middle of the busy convention center. The walls were covered with fabric and the pieces were lit with track lighting. There was great diversity in style and technique in the various pieces but the uniformity of size and sequential arrangement made for a very cohesive show. I had an opportunity to meet many of the artist and hear their stories. It was wonderful and I am honored to be a part of this exhibit, which will now be traveling to many different venues. These photos were taken by Gregory Case. The views shown here do not include all in the exhibit but the artists represented are Susan Willen, Diane Melms, Daren Redman, Geri Patterson-Kutras, Diedre Adams, Nancy Whittington, Susie Apte, Mary Beth Frezon,Roslyn B. DeBoer, Jenny Hearn, and Barbara Schneider. You may purchase an exhibit catalog and see all the pieces here:

 

I call the finished piece ‘BEHOLD’. It was a challenging and rewarding project and I am very happy with the results. I have sent it off to the exhibit and am making preparations to travel to Houston with friends and family to see the show. I am very excited to see the exhibit in person and to meet the other artists. If you scroll down and begin at the first post you can see the process of creating this piece from the beginning.

After two months of work on the construction and composition for this piece, it was finally ready for the finishing steps in the process. It was pressed, layered with a thin batting/backing and secured with safety pins. Using a walking foot and monofilament thread, I stitched in the ditch along the main long diagonal seam lines. This secured the  layers so the pins could be removed. I then followed the line pattern in each motif with lines of stitching about 1/4 inch apart. For this I used Superior Bottom line thread in coordinating colors. It was a very long and laborious process which required turning the whole quilt hundreds of times at each corner of the design. This part is the most physically taxing for me. It took 8 days to complete the quilting process. After quilting the piece was trimmed to size, and facing strips were sewn around the perimeter. With a sleve added for hanging it was ready to go. I have documented the process in a sketchbook which will be displayed with this piece in the exhibit. I am very pleased with the finished product and am honored that it will be part of the special SAQA Seasonal Palette exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX beginning Nov. 1, 2012. After Houston, this exhibit is scheduled to travel to several different venues.

The gradation of color value is an important element in this design.  I used the b&w function on my camera to check the arrangement. When the composition was near complete, I began sewing the motifs together in diagonal strips. Throughout this process I continue to make adjustments, rearrange pieces and shift the alignment of strips. Even after a piece is sewn together I always need to go back and make changes, going through the tedious process of removing and replacing pieces to fine tune the composition.

I work on a large design wall which is covered with white flannel. Before starting the composition I defined the size of the finished piece on the wall with dark strings. I then began arranging the motifs. My intent is to create a swath of lighter colors which move diagonally across the piece from the bottom left to the top right. I want the arrangement to be fairly loose but with a scattered gradation of colors, with the darks on the top left and bottom right and the yellows radiating across the middle.  As I work along, I see that I need more of certain colors so several times throughout the process I stop and print more fabric and piece more design motifs. I arrange and rearrange, adjusting contrasts and balance, creating a focal point and a path of movement to carry the eye of the viewer across the piece. This intuitive composing is the most engaging part of the process for me.