Eye of The Beholder: Photography Exhibit in Houston

You can check out pictures from the Eye of The Quilter exhibit in Houston here:

http://www.quiltart.com/eob/

Mine is on the last picture at the bottom. Some beautiful work in the exhibit.

Ravenswood Walk 2009, Fiber Artist Aviva Alter

One of our first stops on the walk was 4F Design where we met fiber artist Aviva Alter (http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/47634-aviva-alter ) and her husband Alan Lerner, http://www.4fdesign.net/. She had a great piece made of old army blankets and jackets. I suggested she check out Quilt National to enter one of her pieces next year. They had a T-shirt business and had several shirts on sale. Here are the ones we went back on Sunday to buy.

Their logo stamped on the lower back of the shirt.

Ravenswood Walk 2009, Some Pictures From The Day

One of the highlights of the walk was finding these luscious fabric remnants for sale. Each is about 3 feet by 2 feet and I got 11 of them. They are so beautiful. I just enjoy looking at them and cannot wait to add them to some future pieces.

This is a fabulous artist, Robert Wapahi that we met two years ago when we went on the walk for the first time.

This is a fabulous artist, Robert Wapahi that we met two years ago when we went on the walk for the first time. He took it upon himself to start painting this wood wall in the alley behind his house. He wanted to cover up the local tags that had been showing up on the wall. Soon the local kids were asking if they could help him paint. He gets the paint from a buddy who brings him the left over paint from his business. He said that since he started painting the wall, the tagging has stopped, and that it is understood that you do not tag over another artist’s work as artistic respect for other artists. The mural spans 60 feet. He hopes to continue it onto the building at the end of the alley next to the wall.

The wood wall was left behind when the finances for a second condo building fell through.
When we met him two years ago on the walk we were blown away by his pen and ink drawings. So much so we bought 2 of his pieces.

Close ups

Each stop on the walk has a chair to help walkers find the presenters.

A sign I liked on the steps to The Blago Project.

Inside the Von Orthal Puppets studio

Another chair

Husband Adrian taking some HW pictures for his class at Ricard Stromberg Photography Classes, http://chicagophotoclasses.com/

Hope you enjoyed my photo journey.

Ravenswood Walk 2009, Belly Dancers

One of our next stops was a large exhibit of pieces from all the artists participating in the walk. We were fortunate enough to catch a belly dance performance. I was absolutely mesmerized by them. I definitely see a belly dancer piece in my near future, they were so beautiful, colorful and lively. For more information about classes and performances check out, http://www.jezebelly.com/
These pictures do not do their beauty justice.

Ravenswood Walk 2009, The Blago Project Exhibit

This past weekend was the Ravenswood Walk, http://www.ravenswoodartwalk.org/09 an art event in the Ravenswood area of Chicago where we live. Artists open up their studios, galleries and local businesses display art by Ravenswood artists. It is the kick off event for Chicago Artist's Month, http://chicagoartistsmonth.org/home.html in Chicago.

My husband and I both had pieces in the The Blago Project exhibit. The theme of the exhibit was “Rod Blagojevich.” The purpose of this exhibit was to enhance open commentary of the alleged corruption and salacious rumor, accusation and innuendo that has been hiding in the Ravenswood Corridor. The exhibit was held in none other than the wiretapped offices of “Friends of Blagojevich” located at 4147 North Ravenswood Avenue.

This is my piece, The Court Jester, 24" x 24". I used colors typically used for a harlequin because I find Blagojevich amusing to watch, never knowing what he will do next.

Close up
This is my husband’s painting, The Stormy Sea. We went to the walk on Saturday and back again on Sunday. About an hour before the event ended, my husband received a call from someone interested in purchasing his piece. He ran right over and made the sale, it was an exciting moment for us both, but especially for him since this was his first exhibit. When he walked in and met the buyer, he said, “I saw you walk up to the building and thought, this guy looks like an artist who just made a sale.” He said the piece cracked him up and that he wanted to buy it because he has been in that boat several times himself.
I like to tease my husband that he has me to thank because a few years ago I encouraged him to take a watercolor class with me at the Park District. Ever since then he has been hooked on painting.
A piece in the exhibit made with Lite Brite.

A desk filled with newspapers and official papers found in the office after they moved out.

The Eye of The Quilter Photo Challenge

I received my card of acceptance that one of my photographs will be in The Eye of The Quilter show in Houston.

For this year’s International Quilt Festival Karey Besenhan ran a photography contest, called Eye of the Quilter. Winning photos will be printed to 8" x 11" size and displayed at the International Quilt Festivals. They did not need to be photos that were made into quilts, just pictures that have inspired us as quilters.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road: This was an art installation I was fortunate enough to catch at sunset and thought, "If Dorothy can follow the Yellow Brick Road, why can't I?"

Reflected Sunset: Sometimes when we look ahead, we forget what is right behind us.

Sunset Wine: What could be more relaxing than a glass of wine while watching a beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan? This is one of my favorite pictures. I have it posted in my studio space. It reminds me of the naturally beautiful things in life and to relax and enjoy the simple moments.

Adaptations Piece

This is a piece I made for Fiberarts Connection of Southern California Adaptations Challenge.

Adaptations intent is to illustrate the many ways we have made the choice to reformulate and recommit in response to changes in environment: personally, socially and structurally. Adaptations are seen everywhere around us. Disability forces us to adapt. Change in climate forces nature to adapt and people to migrate. Change in economics forces us all to adapt our spending or life style. Change in age forces us to adapt our reactions. As you see Adaptations are everywhere around us.

This is the original picture taken while at Ox Bow Art Camp, MI the summer of 2008.

The actual chair is quite small, maybe 15" tall. I noticed it in a bathroom.

I edited the original picture to come up with this, enlarged and printed it out to make a template.
The background is pieced using traditional quilting techniques.

The Chair is appliqued and shading was added using Shiva Paint Sticks.

The forms, which are rocks to me, were thread painted to add texture and weight.