Ashe Arts Council Quilt Exhibit

We took a trip to West Jefferson with Kim and Melissa this past weekend.  One of our stops was the quilt exhibit at the Ashe County Arts Council.  This is a small venue, but the quilts looked beautiful hanging on the walls.  They will be on display until March 9.  Here are a few of my favorites, created by members of the Ashe County Piecemakers Quilt Guild.

Sunrise Over the Mountains, by Sara Moore

top:  Sunrise On the Mountain, Linda Gagnon and Gillian A. Winterton;    Below:  Running Free, Gillian A. Winterton

Garden of Flowers, Carol Skroch

Star Genealogy, Janet D. Ward

Tropical Dreams from a Winter Mountain Cabin, Catherine Finch and Gillian A. Winterton

Top  Left:  Dogwood, Gillian A. Winterton; Top Right, Larkspurs and Rubies, Michele Hays; Center,  Garden Splendor, Irene Bebber

The Arts Council is practically next door to the Ashe County Cheese Factory, so we took the obligatory photo of our daughter-in-law and her sister in front of the milk containers decorated like cows.

Kim and Melissa at Ashe County Cheese Factory

Ashe County Quilt Show

Surprise!  Here is something "quilty" on my blog!  We are back at home in the North Carolina mountains, and there just happened to be a quilt show in town!  This one was
  Barn Quilts and Beyond, which took place July 21st and 22nd at Westwood Elementary School in West Jefferson.  

There were cheerful quilts hanging on a clothesline in front of the entrance to the school.

                            

There was an inviting vendor's mall, but I mostly skipped over it because I have an entire studio to unpack after our recent move from Raleigh to the mountain cabin.  Today I will share some of the art quilts and art dolls from the "quilt fair," as they termed it.

I tried to identify each of the quilts and their makers from their labels, but as there was no program guide, it was more difficult.   Please let me know if I have misidentified anyone's quilt!

This one is made of batiks using a pattern purchased in Hawaii.  Look for the gecko!

Home in the Aloha, by Barbara Barkley

 Another bright botanical reminded me at once of our stay in Sarasota, with the colorful croton plants in every yard.

Grandmother's Croton, by Jennifer Ley

 Another large single flower was this piece resulting from a retreat with Susan Brubaker Knapp.  I particularly liked the stitching forming the stamens within the flower.

My Passion Flower, by Rheta Kirk

A very nice mountain scene with a swan and gorgeous flowers was one of my favorites.

                                

Swan and Nessie, by Barbara Barkley

A nice homage to the Ashe County rural setting is this nicely done barn, rooster, and sunflower  quilt.

                                      

Welcome to the Day!, by Lynda Harris

There was a lovely collection of art dolls on display.  I do not have information about the names or makers of most of them.  Some were quilt show entries and some part of a doll display.  

Woodland Butterfly Guardian, by Irene Bebber.  made using a Patti Medaris Culea fabric doll pattern.

Queen of Anne's Lace, by Irene Bebber, again using a Patti Medaris Culea doll pattern.

 

Voices Art Quilt Exhibit

Yesterday I paid a visit to the PAQA-South Art Quilt exhibit called Voices.  You may visit the show for free at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center in Cary, North Carolina through July 2, 2016. 

I mostly just photographed the quilts from across the room.  Downstairs, the quilts are in a salon-like setting with a fireplace, grand piano, and window drapes, but lots of room to move around.

Don't forget to go upstairs to see the rest of the exhibit.

 Here is a quilt by my friend, Peg Henderson, which uses pieces of the beaded dress she wore at her daughter's wedding.

In the showcase display is this lovely arrangement of semi-sheer circles representing harmony.

The Page-Walker is an elegant old building that once was a railroad hotel.  I love to see what is blooming in the gardens and grounds, and also check out the sculptures and other interesting features of the gardens.

I noticed information about the Pollinator Garden.  It is an effort by the Cary Woman's Club, the Cary Garden Club, Friends of Page-Walker, and the town of Cary.  It is to encourage pollinators such as butterflies, bees, birds, and more.

This large sculpture is called Child's Play, Revisited.

They have opened up an area beside the Page-Walker where there is a small stage, open grass for a concert area, a pond with fountains, and beautiful landscaping.

There are some historic buildings such as the old smoke house from the Page-Walker.

I have seen this horse sculpture before, but I think he has been moved to this strategic location next to the small stage area.

I always enjoy a visit to the Page-Walker...and when there is a quilt exhibit as well, it makes for a nice day.

Revisiting Two of My Art Quilts

As I mentioned in my previous post, my husband and I will be house guests in Ft. Myers, Florida for the next six to eight weeks while he undergoes cancer treatments.  It is fun to see examples of both my father's and my contributions to the decor of their house.

This is our bedroom, recently the repainted room of my niece Laura.  She has graduated from Florida State University and is living in Kansas.  And here is a shout-out to two of her friends who had actually heard of me from following my blog!  Hello, Wichita!

I love the tropical foliage glowing out the window over the bed.  It almosts looks like an aquarium.  I did not make the quilt on the bed.  But I did make this one on the wall.

Florida Visitors, Jeanne Turner McBrayer, 2003

I started with a Ricky Tims pattern called Harmonic Convergence.  I added some borders, appliquéd stems and folded flowers, and some hand-dyed fibers.  The tropical colors look good in their house.

 In the same bedroom they have some rustic frames with postcard-size pictures that my father, Pete Turner,  painted over the years.  I have taken his cue and been making some 4" x 6" paintings to use for greeting cards. 

In their living room is another quilt that I made for them.  

                                                    

For this one I used the watercolor method of blending 2" square prints.  The trees are fused separately over the patchwork.  The border is made from an assortment of green and blue hand-dyed fabrics.

This quilt was a gift after Charlie and I visited their former home in Camano Island, Washington, north of Seattle.  

View from Camano Island, Jeanne Turner McBrayer, 2000.

The label I made for it has a photo transfer of the bay and landscape.  

In their dining area is a very nice stained glass window.  It faces the same exterior as our bedroom window.  The afternoon light is just beautiful.

That's it for today.  We got along fine on our trip to Sarasota today, with a little R&R at Lido Key after Charlie finished his radiation this morning.  How nice to have a lovely location to get well, and good family to offer us their hospitality.

Stitched and Quilted

Here is an old project that I finished quilting yesterday!  It is raw-edge appliqué stitched down with embroidery   floss.  I quilted the flowers and foliage with gold cotton thread,  and used a metallic light green for all the background.  I added some large beads to the ends of the stamens.  I'll take some detail pictures for another post.

I will finish the binding, sleeve, and label next week,  and hopefully enter this piece into the PAQA-South Members' Show which will be at Page-Walker Arts and History Center in Cary, NC this fall.

Last Look at Art Quilt Whimsy! Exhibit

The Art Quilt Whimsy! exhibit at the Page-Walker Art and History Center in Cary, NC, will be taken down after this weekend.  There are still a few quilts that I liked but have not yet featured on my blog.

Whimsical Bayou, by Joan Raciti, appealed to me quite a bit.  I love the colors, the imaginative foliage, and the somewhat abstract "critters" she created.

The circular landscape quilt, Land or Sea?, looks lovely on the wall, and calls to mind my visit to Hawaii a few years ago.

Dreams of Flying was one of two quilts by Denny Webster in which she pictures herself seeing the earth from above.

Line Dancing, by Gerrie Congdon, was one of my favorites, with its glowing colors.

 The next quilt really meets the definition of Whimsy, in my opinion, and reminds me a bit of the colorful art of fabric designer Laurel Burch.

As someone who has attempted to paint realistic portraits, I appreciated the next quilt which has a portrait on fabric.

The next quilt featuring snow falling on the village  includes lots of interesting techniques.  I'm not too crazy about the face and arms on the sun, but do like this one quite a lot.

 The next few pictures are of a city scape done in red and black.

 I love the next one, which would be so fun to create.  It is almost a great big journal quilt recording events in the maker's life.

And, finally, I had to include Pamela's Chix, which refers to my online teacher Pamela Allen.  She jokingly calls her students her chickies.  One of her students made a Pamela-styled quilt in her honor