I was thrilled to get a “thick email” last night notifying me that two of my quilts, Amber Harvest and Beach House, have been juried into Art Quilts Lowell 2010 in Lowell, Mass. The show runs from August 7 through September 11, 2010 at the Brush Art Gallery and Studios at 256 Lowell St., with an artist reception on Saturday, August 14 from 1-3 PM.
Amber Harvest, at right, is part of my Color Block series exploring improvisational piecing and solid colors. This was the first piece I used only one large improv block set onto an asymmetrical background. I really like the combination of warm colors with clear cool accents. I also tried a new quilting idea on this one. I quilted echoing curved lines over most of the piece, then offset them with a round pebble motif in the upper right corner. Right click on the image to get a better view of the quilting.
Beach House is also part of my Color Block series. I created a horizontal band of improv piecing in this one, sort of like a landscape. The name came from the small house shape in the center and I quilted waves and pebbles in the lower section and a cloudlike motif in the upper portion.
I’m really enjoying the process on these pieces and I’m excited that they are going to this show. There’s more to explore with this idea and I have a couple of more pieces in the works. Creating the compositions is intriguing–almost like putting together a puzzle–only I don’t have the completed picture to guide me! It’s also interesting to come up with quilting motifs to complement the design. For each piece I challenge myself to come up with at least two or three different motifs that work well together and add interest to the whole.
I hope I’ll be able to get up there to see it!