Art Gallery at Lynnwood City Hall

It's not every day I stop into our local City Hall, but when I realized my Seattle MQG guild-mate Chandra @bestcoasty had quilts on display, I couldn't resist. 

Left to right are:

• Spring Twist, 44" x 26"
• Fertile Prism, 44" x 48"

• Heat Birth, 43" x 33"
• Cardinal, 70" x 50"

 

All just lovely, and I was happy to be able to see Chandra's inspiring work in person once again. You can find Chandra's artist statement and bio on the city's website. For any locals, the exhibit will be there through August 14. I was definitely glad I was able to stop by.

"I Heard It on the Radio" Exhibit Celebration

On December 2 at the KEXP Gathering Space in Seattle, the artwork of nearly 40 members of Seattle MQG opened to the public for viewing. The exhibit was the culmination of the "I Heard It on the Radio" challenge that we had been given months ago. Works were inspired by a song chosen by the maker, each between 60" and 100" in diameter, with tenets of modern quilting kept in mind. 

Many thanks to the Challenge Committee – Bridget, Chandra, Jackie, Karen, Kae, Kelty, Lorinda and Martha - for making the vision a reality.

During the challenge, a playlist had been made of all the inspiration songs. You can have a listen too, by scanning the QR code above.



I had the pleasure of visiting the exhibit on December 4, the evening of the opening reception, and it was good to gather with members to celebrate and enjoy the exhibit, most of us seeing the quilts for the first time.

You may remember my "Surrounds," made for the challenge earlier this year. I shared the quilt, but not my inspiration song, which was "Seattle" sung by Perry Como. Or as I think of it, "The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle." I remember it often being on the radio here in the Seattle area when I was a kid.

It was actually composed by Hugo Montenegro with lyrics by Jack Keller and Ernie Sheldon. It was the theme song for "Here Come the Brides" TV show, and also sung by Bobby Sherman, my teenage heartthrob. Yeah, I have fond memories around this song, and think of it often when the skies are blue here in the PNW.

"Surrounds," inspired by Seattle by Perry Como, created by Debbie Jeske

I took photos of several other quilts that caught my eye (and that I was tall enough to get a photo of), and I hope you enjoy seeing just a smattering of the gorgeous work displayed.

"Hooray for Hazel," inspired by Horray for Hazel by Tommy Roe, created by Cordelia Nance @notmadebyrobots

"Modern Pop Sunrise," inspired by Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles, created by Karen Braitmayer @kbrtymr

"Into the Woods," inspired by Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, created by Jackie Benedetti @tinwoman48

"They Say the Neon Lights are Bright," inspired by On Broadway by George Benson, created by Martha Peterson @onceawingnut

"A Day for You," inspired by If I Had Words to Make a Day for You by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley, created by Linda Kucera @lkhomework

"Hum Along with Me," inspired by Stop by Jane's Addiction, created by Louise Wackerman @imfeelincrafty

"Sunshine and Spider Webs," inspired by Sunshine by Frozen Orange, created by Rachel Berryhill @rachel_lynn000

"Fade to Black," inspired by Fade to Black by Metallica, created by Rachel Singh @liketosew

"They/Them," inspired by Deadname by Flasch, created by Tiffany Muskrat

So hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of the exhibit. Honestly, I was so impressed with the exquisite modern quilts created by my fellow members. The exhibit was a joy to see and experience.

Inspired Settings

Recently David Owen Hastings hosted a presentation: Inspired Settings, a conversation with Matt Macomber, our mutual friend from Seattle MQG. They chatted about several quilts in Matt's current exhibit at our local Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum. It was really interesting, and I enjoyed seeing and hearing more about Matt's modern vintage style, as well as seeing some of his collection of vintage quilts. Luckily, the event was recorded, in case you'd like to watch too.

 

Inspired Settings: The Art and Collection of Matt Macomber

I was pleased to be able to see the exhibit myself last weekend.

I'm happy to show you just a few of the 27(!) quilts on display, choosing to share ones made by Matt himself, along with his artist's statement for each.

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This is just a tiny selection of the many wonderful quilts in the exhibit. If you're local, it's definitely worth the drive to La Connor to see the exhibit at the museum housed in the former Gaches Mansion. It's only there until July 4!

My MODERN

Over the weekend, my friend Louise and I had the chance to go to Island Quilter on Vashon Island, where there was a quilt exhibit we'd been wanting to see: My MODERN: Celebrating Five Years of the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild.

Oh yeah, this was our guild's show, and we both had quilts hanging, but just wait till you see the exhibit in its entirety. I'm biased for sure, but I think it's a terrific showing of modern quilts, and I'm fortunate and grateful to be a part of such a talented group of quilters. So here goes! {Note that the quilts are listed in the order I saw them hanging around the room.}

 "Not a Christmas Quilt" by Dionne Matthies-Buban

"Spiraled Jungle" by Debbie Jeske

"Postage Springs Eternal" by Lynne Shandley

"Shades of Grey" by Louise Wackerman

 (l-r) "Kaleidoscope Love" by Jessica Vehorn, "Hunks of Sky" by Matt Macomber,
"Double Binary" by Deborah Ferguson

 (l-r) "yellow birds on back" by Kristen Ballou, "Fallen" by Allison Dutton

 (upper left) "Scrap Migration" by Rachel Pascual, (lower left) "Tinkering No. 2"
by Grace Lainhart, (right) "Double-Trouble" by Katie Pedersen

 "Orange Appeal" by Lisa Nolte

 (l-r) "She Loves Me" by Katrine Eagling, "Tempo Rubato" by Martha Peterson

"Antitheses" by Rachel Singh

"BitterRoot" by Darcie Kantor

"Soundwave" by Amy Killian

"Plymouth Rocks II" by the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild

rainbow/zen by Megan Riley

 (l-r) "Happy Encounter: Gwen Meets Karla Meets Angela" by Jackie Benedetti,
"Gina's Gold Star" by Marilyn Lone

 (l-r) "PNW" by Becca Jubie, "If a Tree Falls in the Woods" by Maureen Mandy

 (l-r) "Fox Tails are a Girl's Best Friend" by Ellen Jackowski, "Happy Times" by Chandra Wu

 (l-r) "Timelines" by Carrie Franklin, "Passage" by Aly Bazeley

 (left) "Isaac's Quilt" by the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild, (upper right) "Molten Metal"
by Megan Vanderburg", (lower right) "Untitled" by Vicki Christensen

 (left) "Reflection" by Sandra Jean, (upper right) "Waves" by Amber Arnold,
(lower right) "Tunnel Vision" by Sue Mariotti

"Grey Geese" by Kate Barnet

While enjoying  the quilts themselves, I enjoyed so many of their names too. Beside each quilt was a card not only identifying the maker, but a little about each piece, and also what modern quilt attributes the maker was expressing in their quilt. I found all that info about the quilts and their makers very interesting. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit, and I hope you did too!