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Art Quilts at the Whistler Museum (Lowell, Mass.)

Woven sheers

On a warm summer Sunday, I made my way from the Tsongas Arena, site of the Lowell Quilt Festival, to the Whistler Museum of Art.  The museum is normally closed on Sundays, but the gallery with the art quilt exhibit was open (the rest of the museum wasn’t…rats!) for quilt lovers to stop and savor the work.  This wall is what greeted you… I enjoyed the interlaced sheer panels and the shadows cast on the wall.  If my photos are in order, this piece is called Microdctyom Stechellianum by Nancy Crasco. (Note:  photos in this post are clickable for a larger view.)

January BLooms

January Blooms by B. Sullivan, above,  is one of the most eye-catching pieces in the show.  The weekend I saw the exhibit, local floral arrangers had constructed pieces to go with the artwork…what a cool idea!   A detail photo reveals the modest and effective use of beads to enhance the floral print fabric:

January Blooms detail

Hibiscus is another piece playing with color overlays and sheer fabrics; this piece by Margaret Anderson won the Whistler Award (one of two awards given when I was there…the viewer’s choice was still underway).

Hibiscus

One of my favorite pieces (and the one that got MY viewer’s choice vote!) was Wen Redmond’s Winter Tree.  She has printed photos onto fabric.  The center panel–the darkest, small part in the center– is sheer, and the surface piece is affixed to stretcher bars.  A second printed photo is behind, attached to the back side of the presser bars, so you get this cool window / show-through effect.  Wen had an article a winter or two ago in Quilting Arts magazine that I believe discussed this process, but I didn’t quite “get” it then…It’s hard to see the depth in photos. I’ll have to go back and look for the article now that I’ve seen one of these pieces in the real:

Wen Redmond

Bozena  Wojtaszek of Poland received a Juror’s Choice for her piece, My Way.  In my quest for art quilts with effective beading, this one is definitely a good one…. I’ve only seen one of Bozena’s pieces in the cloth before; I’m so glad she went to the expense to send this all the way from Poland to be in this exhibit!

Bozena, My Way

a corner detail:

Bozena, My Way Corner detail

and a detail from the center…. I love the fabrics, the threadwork, the beads….

Bozena, My Way Center detail

And one last piece, The Good Earth by Nancy Schlegel, shows how effective large stitching and beads can be in creating texture:

Nancy Schlegel

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

3 Responses to “Art Quilts at the Whistler Museum (Lowell, Mass.)”

  1. Karen Says:

    What wonderful pieces! Glad you were able to see them up close and personal!

  2. Natalya Says:

    thank you for the tour! but i still wish i could have been there…

  3. Gwen Goepel Says:

    Thank You for your post
    I was recently in New England and hoped to see the 40 art quilts in Lowell, but something came up unexpectedly and I was wondering if you had more than these beautiful photos you shared or if you knew the link to see the entire exhibiton online…thanks in advance for sharing! Gwen