Artquilts at the MacNider Art Museum

Summer is the perfect time for a road trip. If you're in the neighborhood, check out the Charles MacNider Art Museum in Mason City (home to Meredith Wilson, creator of the Music Man). The MacNider is a charming regional museum with a nice collection of American art as well as Bill Baird's puppets. Baird was the creator of the marionettes in The Sound of Music. You'll also see an exhibit of my work, on view until September 4. The exhibit is the result of being awarded Best in Show in the Iowa Craft exhibition last November. Here are some photos from the installation.

Fellow artist Connie Roberts (above), a wooden whistle sculptor, accompanied me

a lovely modern addition to the MacNider houses a special exhibition space plus this area for contemporary ceramics

We also visited Clear Lake, 11 miles west of Mason City. It was also the day for a Bicycle, Blues & Barbecue Festival, looked and smelled great...

a heckuva time!

It's been a very long time indeed since I last wrote. Life intercedes, and here are some of the reasons why...

First and foremost- family! this is the first time we've all been together (along with daughter-in-law, the photographer) since November 2008, and the first time the Chilean contingent has seen Iowa City since the passing of their father in September of that year.

Plus all the other distractions: Ian Bennett returning from 11 months in the Philippines and China, doing video editing and production. Badly needed maintenance on a 1918 home, and incumbent life-sorting. DowntownBeat, a rival for my blogging attention. Curiosities and show-stoppers in the garden, travels to give talks on art quilting, and more...

 Curiosities & show-stoppers in the garden

Finally, time for studio work again.