the colors of summer: who can resist?

Time to toss subtlety out the window in favor of old fashioned exuberance... 
(of course, blogger distorts the colors a bit and is trying its darnedest to make subtlety more apparent. You can see that these are oversize and based on geranium petals. Fiber reactive dyes from our friends at Pro Chemical & Dye, on cotton broadcloth from Testfabrics.

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 Profile in Quilting Arts Magazine

Quilting Arts Magazine's February-March issue has arrived, and I am honored to be the featured artist in a really nice 6-page spread with glorious photos. Also included is a piece on what to do with leftover dye (make pillows!) which was based on a blog post I did earlier. Thanks to everyone who's made this possible. OK, Astrid, before complacency sets in, time to get back to work... I'm enjoying the journey, though.

Art, airports and the long hours' wait

Last March I passed through the Atlanta airport with several hours to spare. Lodged in the International Terminal, I discovered that each waiting area had permanent installations of work by different artists, many of them regional. All media were represented: artquilts , ceramic, sculpture, mixed media, photography, intaglio prints, drawings, paintings, and children's art. As time goes by and chairs and benches get rearranged by weary travelers, the art surrounding them looks less like an interior designed installation and more like a modestly organized haven for those who wait. Shown at right: Photography/etched metal art, possibly by Vicki Ragan. Apologies- my notes are not complete.

These were remarkable, large-scale portraits by Joni Mabe, combining photography and mixed media items like glitter. The gate "desk" gives a sense of scale. Mabe has made many handmade books and is obsessed with Elvis art, as this link for public broadcasting Atlanta shows.

monoprints and cut out figures by Larry Walker (above)
ceramics and sculptural totems below by a different artist.

Then, some large-scale intaglio cityscape prints (etchings). The installation included detailed descriptions of techniques as well as a framed original etching plate (right.)

And lastly, a grouping of various framed art quilts, the only waiting area devoted to multiple artists.