Racism exhibit at Williams College - Accomplished!

The "Unspoken Truth About Color: A Dialogue in Art Quilts" was a successful exhibit at Williams College. What made it successful? It was displayed in a cohesive and attractive way (pat myself on the back there) and there were many comments from viewers. Betty Warner, another Fiber Artists for Hope artist came to help hang the exhibit with me, and meet and greet the attendees.

The viewers noted how different each of the art quilts were, the many techniques implemented, and that the subject matter was treated in thought provoking ways. Planning and hanging the exhibit for 2 hours seemed a little crazy at times, but my goal was that someone's mind would be awakened to new thoughts about race. That goal was definitely reached!

My piece about White Privilege evoked a conversation from a White woman who said she had never thought about her race, and recognized that privilege as something taken for granted. Never having to think about your race would not be possible for a person of any heritage other than White. The privilege is akin to the privileges gained just by being male, which all women are aware is a privilege, but men rarely recognize.

Here's a few photo's from the exhibit in the lovely lobby of the '62 Center for Performing Arts at Williams College. It was the first time the lobby had been used for an art exhibit, but I hope it won't be the last.

L-R: Work by artists Michele Flamer, Diane Bracy, Nancy Cash

L-R: Jancy McClellan-Ryan,  Connie Heller

L-R: Sabrina Zarco, Carol Krueger, Betty Warner

L-R: Sue Walen, Jeanne Marklin

Betty Warner from Connecticut with her work. Betty came for the exhibit - thanks again Betty!

Diane Bracy on left, Nancy Cash on right

L-R: Work by Laura Gadson, Mary Scales, Sherry Boram 

Taj Smith the MLK coordinator for the Williams College Multicultural Center and me.

 Thanks Taj!

Pininterest

About 12 SAQA members signed up as a group on Pininterest, a new (at least to me) website for posting images of design examples. It's also a place to post photo's of travel photo's, which I can never get enough of! Images from websites can be "pinned" to your Pininterest board, and then others pin things they like to their boards.

It's eye candy that is a quick way to get a bit of inspiration! Here are a couple of images I'm going to post to my board - sharing images you love is easy, and just might inspire someone else.

Light and shadows in NYC. Jeanne Marklin c.2012

Gray and Blue by Jeanne Marklin c. 2012

Light and shadow Jeanne Marklin c. 2012

Racism exhibit at Williams College

The Fiber Artists for Hope will exhibit their art quilts at Williams College on Sunday, January 15th.

"The Unspoken Truth About Color: A Dialogue in Art Quilts About Racism" will be the opening event for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at the college. The beautiful, light filled lobby of the '62 Center will have 24 art quilts that address racism. The '62 Center is the theater building for the college and the Williamstown Theater Festival, and is on Main Street in Williamstown.

This exhibit came about after the election of President Obama. The online group felt that there were many instances of racism raising it's hateful head, and the artists wanted to respond with a thought provoking, and inspiring exhibit. The works have been seen around the country, and for a short time, will be at Williams College.

The reception for the opening event will be from 4-6 pm on January 15, 2012. Another FAFH, Betty Warner will join me for the event, and we'd love to have you there too!

If you can't make it, take a look at the photo's on the FAFH blog, and watch for it to come to your area.

How long did it take you to make that?

People always want to know "How long did it take to make that?" It's hard to say - because do you count the time while you think, and think, and think, about what you could do on the design wall? And about the mistakes, the do overs, and the unsewing (otherwise known as ripping out stitches)? Designing takes a long time, and it's hard to keep track of that time, because it's going on even while you're doing other things. Or, standing in front of the design wall and trying to figure out what it was I thought I was going to do! Your time may vary...

Deidre Adams is a well known art quilter who documented the design and creation of a commissioned piece on her blog. She made a wonderful stop action film that shows the sewing together part of her process, which I thought was great. Deidre has given me permission to repost it here:
Deidre Adams piecing a commission

She posted 7 times about creating the "Life on the Eastern Plains" piece, and it's well worth reading her well written and documented posts. She also has a video about painting the work - her own unique style of working. Deidre painting the work

Deidre's work is very atmospheric in my opinion, and she was an excellent choice for this commission. I'm sure the new owners are thrilled that they are able to enjoy this art work all the time.

The Unspoken Truth featured in Quilters Newsletter

I'm part of the Fiber Artists for Hope group of Art Quilters. We have made art about social issues, and our group exhibit of "The Unspoken Truth About Color: A Dialogue in Art Quilts About Racism" has been travelled around the country. It has now been published in the Quilters Newsletter, with some of the Art Quilts from the exhibit. Mine isn't in there, but I feel the exhibit is well represented. If you don't subscribe, you can pick up an issue in the library if you want to take a look, or check out our blog: http://fiberartistsforhope.blogspot.com/p/some-photos.html

It's good to know that the issue of racism is getting attention and venues are willing to show it - and share the message that we are all part of the human race!

Thanks giving

There are so many reasons to be grateful. I am very blessed in the wonderful relationships I have with family, friends, community, and art. In the spirit of today, I'm posting a link to an enormously beautiful film on gratitude. It is truly worth your time to watch it, and get in touch with the things we have to be grateful for everyday. It is a film that would be a wonderful way to start every day.

Louie Schwartsberg films the natural world - in 24 hour segments. A young girl talks about imagination and an old man talks about gratitude.  The visuals and music are stunning. Mesmerize yourself for a few minutes!
Louie Schwartsberg - "Gratitude"

Thank you for reading this, thank you for sharing your thoughts, thank you for being interested in art and community. I am grateful for you!

Yellow and Orange Circles

The workshop work continues - the series using circles is still on my table for finishing many of the compositions. I learned that layering and adding more lines and shapes made for a more successful composition with "Going In Circles".
This new piece is teaching me different lessons - it seems the most important one is to vary the sizes, so they don't become boring. This is what I've done so far -

Sunset Circles in process - unfinished.

I think it needs a larger circle over some part of it. Maybe white organza?
I'll get to work on it tomorrow!