Art and Quilting in Camden and Hope

Check box! TWO Ribbons!!!!!

Friday, February 28th, 2020

And yes, I meant every single one of those excessive exclamation points. Usually I’m lucky to get two out of two quilts juried in to a given show. This time, not only did both Lupines and Rose Hip get in to the Mancuso Brother’s Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, they BOTH RIBBONED!!!!!! That is a bucket list item that I never, ever, Ever, EVER expected to check off! Guess what…done! To the judges: THANK YOU for making a dream come true!

Rose Hip, by Sarah Ann Smith (c) 2019. 36″ square. This quilt won Best Use of Color in the Wall Quilts division at the show. One of my favorite quilts, in part because it is of my beloved Maine, but also because I’ve been able to meld my personal hand dyes, a hand dye by Lisa Walton, fabrics printed and over-painted by me, to create a cohesive image.

I’ve never won a prize such as Best Use of Color at a national level show, so I am particularly pleased–my work is about color, and then about the quilting. Next August 5-7 I’m going to be teaching a three-day workshop, Exploring Paint on Cloth, at ProChemical and Dye in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’ll be sharing the techniques I used in both of these quilts in that workshop and hope some of you can join me! Details in the hotlink. I’m deep in the planning for the specifics of what we can do in three days and getting so psyched for it!

Lupines won Third in Wall Quilts…given the quality of the quilts I am surprised, delighted, honored…. there are some mighty fine quilts in this show! And once again, to the judges: THANK YOU for making a dream come true!

Posted in art quilting, Awards, Be Happy!, Bernina Q20, Color, Exhibiting, Fusing, Mancuso quilt shows, Mistyfuse, Paint, Quilt Shows, Surface Design, Thread-coloring | 6 Comments »

Koi at the Whistler Museum of Art–Viewer’s Choice!

Sunday, August 16th, 2015

OMG! Koi won Viewer’s Choice! Earlier this year, I was elated when I learned that two of my art quilts, Clothed in Color and Koi, had been juried in to the Out of the Blue art quilt exhibit at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, Massachusetts. I was even more tickled when I learned that Koi would be the publicity image for the show (blogpost Koi on the publicity card, Whistler). The Artists’ Reception was yesterday, August 15, and I was so happy to see the beautiful quilts and meet many of the artists and I was even more thrilled with the award. I’m honored to be in such elite company.

After winning Viewer’s Choice for Koi at the Out of the Blue exhibit, Whistler House Museum of Art

When I first moved to Maine, I visited a show at the Whistler and thought “if I can ever get in to this exhibit, I will know my skill level has reached where I want it to be.” So I feel grateful and rewarded that a decade of learning, working hard and creating art has raised the quality of my work to be worthy of being included here.

View of the exhibit

I took many photos of the Out of the Blue exhibit, but realize I totally forgot to get one of Clothed in Color and its neighbors. The photographer for the event got one, though, so I may be able to share that. Apparently there is a cash award that comes with the prize–my second cash award (other one, Fields of Gold, was in Houston a few years back), and my second Viewer’s Choice (the other was for Bijagos Warrior, many years ago at the San Juan County Fair). Needless to say, I’m thrilled and honored.

Betty Busby won two awards, The Whistler House Award and Juror’s Award. One was for this stunning southwest landscape (sorry I don’t have a non-blocked-by-person image!)

Then, there is Betty’s dramatic Willow Revisited:

Willow Revisited, 66 x51 inches. This large quilt by Betty Busby won the other award. It is quite large and very stunning.

Jill Kerttula also had two breathtaking pieces in the show. I kept going back to look at VA Beach.

I was absolutely enchanted by Jill Kerttula’s two quilts. She described how she loves photography, and makes works where the photo is enriched by the stitching, and the stitching is supported by the photography. This piece is VA Beach.