Art and Quilts

After our very long weekend in the mountains for Merlefest last weekend, we decided to stay in Raleigh this weekend.  I took advantage of a chance to attend my old quilt bee in Wake Forest, which meets on the first Thursday of the month.  They have gotten three or four new members since I became relatively inactive in the group.  It was nice to meet the new ladies, and visit again with my old friends.

There was lots of good show and tell.  One of the most remarkable was this cross-stitch embroidery quilt by Mary Nennstiel.  She found the blocks at a yard sale, washed them, and set them with this lovely sashing that really makes the blocks glow.  She machine-quilted and was sewing on the binding at the meeting last night.

And the award for perseverance goes to Kathy, who created this postage stamp quilt with one-inch squares.  She constructed it by making nine-patch blocks, then making a block five by five with the nine-patches.  Truly amazing!

Kathy also made this modern baby quilt that has Minkee on the back.  I found it interesting that her husband did the long arm quilting using a teddy bear panto!

Carolyn also made a modern quilt top using Oriental fabrics and a white sashing.  

Lori Mann was still working on her Halloween-themed Baltimore Album quilt.  She is adding beading to every block.  These are truly works of art.

Speaking of art, since I had a rare day in Raleigh to myself, I decided to see a special Exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art, which is only about three miles from our home.  

Estampas de la raza/Prints for the People: The Romo Collection will be there from April 13–July 27, 2014.  There is a special fee to view this exhibit, which is waived for members of the museum on their first visit.  It is well worth the price of admission to see the collection.  Here is a description from the NCMA website:


Ranging in date from 1984 to 2011, the works in the exhibition embody social, political, and economic issues, as well as explorations of identity and race, faced by Mexican American and Chicano/a artists. The exhibition is organized thematically in the following sections: the melding of Mexican and American cultures; Hispanic icons Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara, and César Chávez; the struggle for equality and labor rights; the search for Mexican American identity; and the influence of Latino culture on contemporary American life and art. 


You can expect to see many bright primary colors as well as some more muted colors in these prints, most of which are silkscreens. I was unfamiliar with all of the artists whose work was included, but I admire the work tremendously.

Raul Caracoza, Young Frida (Pink), 2006, screen print, image: 36 1/8 x 26 1/8 in., Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo, 2009.42, © 2013 Raul Caracoza

The museum grounds are also an art park and greenway.  Just the short walk from the parking lot to the exhibit pleased the senses with a large garden of yellow roses.

And there is a long garden bed of Russian sage that was catching the late afternoon sun.