MODERN QUILTS AT THE DAIRY BARN (Cheri)

The reason we headed to Athens, Ohio was to see a juried exhibit of quilts by members of the international Modern Quilt Guild.

I posted a couple of weeks ago about how the Dairy Barn Arts Center was converted from a "regular old" barn a few decades ago.  You can see above how the design team retained and incorporated elements of the structure to enhance the art that would be hung there.

This piece, Square Bloom, by Jo Wollschlager, is even more amazing viewed from the back - which has its own inset block - to view against the quilt "top":

In case you're not a quilt aficionado, you can't see through the three layers of most quilts!  There must have been more-than-typical discussion about location and lighting when hanging  this quilt.

The Glass Ceiling is Broken, But the Ladders Aren't Fixed, by Robin Thomas, has been included in several exhibits, and I've seen women viewers rooted  in place while viewing it.  Here is her artist statement.

I like to think of Robin as a friend; we both belong to a weekly "Sip & Stitch," and I was so proud to see her work hung at this prestigious venue, along with other MQG choices!

I think I've seen Sharp, by Catherine Sparacino, in magazines.

What a beauty!  The ability to make the flat fabric look rippled, and selection of colors was stunning.

I'm sorry that I can't convey the actual impact of Array​, by Ellen Meeker:

Check out the (tiny) size of the yellow inset pieces!

Part of my problem is that the quilt glows in person.  Great choice of fabrics, and my photography doesn't do it justice.

​It's stunning how many different colors of solid cottons are available.  One company alone - Moda Fabrics - creates 365 colors.

​Since I don't use a large number of solids, I was oblivious until recently about the range of qualities that are available.  Luckily there are people in the industry, even extremely generous amateurs, who prepare comparisons for the likes of me.

Check out this fun detail from the bottom-left of the binding!

And then there was Untitled Number 5, by Sammy Dahlstrom,

the style of which reminds me of the work of painter Liam Hennessy, whom I found on Pinterest:

Forest Murmurs II

On quilting and painting, I was reminded of the quote in Craftsmanship magazine's interview with Joe Cunningham that I read recently:

The colorful, complex quilts hanging on the walls of Joe’s Market Street gallery
are spontaneous; he doesn’t sketch their designs out first. “
I work directly with the cloth,” he says.

“So you think of your cloth as your paint,” I suggest.
​
“You could think of it that way,” he nods. “I think of it as my cloth.”