26 February, 2007

My Impressions...

... of the quilt show at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival can be summed up in a word: "incredible".

This quilt, "Renoir Reassembled" by Jane Kimball is actually the combined work of eight different quiltmakers who were each assigned a portion of this famous painting, "The Luncheon of the Boating Party", to interpret and execute with needle and thread. When reassembled, the sum of these parts creates one amazing whole!

Another innovative entry,"Sunny Girls" by Pat Durbin, is a photo-mosaic quilt; and it is BIG! Cleverly constructed of miniscule fabric pixels secured beneath an organza overlay it is nothing short of genius!
There were traditional "wow" quilts, too! From this exquisite example of a Baltimore Album
to a wall quilt constructed of the tiniest hexagons you could ever imagine:














And yet, even with all of this, the largest and deepest impression that I walked away with was the result of viewing the separate 52-quilt touring exhibit: "The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative". This, the brainchild of Ami Simms to raise money for Alzheimer's research, contained personal statement art quilts by quiltmakers whose lives have been touched both directly and indirectly by the disease; it was touching and powerful at the same time: Read over the rules above for the "Priority" project, this is a cause we can all get behind
and support, with very little effort on our part and yet yielding giant results... consider it!

Yes, from the innovative artworks to the traditional masterpiece quilts as well as the awareness-raising statement quilts, my impressions of this year's quilt show are, in a word: incredible!

Life is Good!

11 comments:

Shelina said...

You are right, these are incredible quilts. The Renoir one amazes me that it was done for six different quilters.
There is software that can convert your photos to pixels so you can make a quilt like the second photo.
I subscribe to Ami Simms newsletter - it is incredibly funny and informative, and think this is a great cause. I've been meaning to donate a quilt for her auctions, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Carol said...

If you keep posting these beautiful quilts, you all may turn me into a quilter yet!

Thanks for sharing!

CONNIE W said...

Wow! I've been waiting for this report-in! (I somehow couldn't maneuver through the previous post with the slide show,after two attempts I realized I wasn't getting there.) I love the quilts you shared and I really like the collaborative effort which has such stunning results. Those little girls in the next quilt are too cute - a great quilt (as they all are). Now, when are you sharing the real scoop...where you ate, the fun & laughter type of details? ;-) I'm waiting...

Flake said...

I want to see the Porsche quilt!!

Nancy Near Philadelphia said...

I've long wanted to be part of one of those group efforts like the Renoir. It is stunning. Eager to read more!

Judy said...

Incredible quilts! The show must have been a wonderful day of eye candy!

Ancestor Collector said...

I'm so glad you had such a great time....I knew you would though! The Renoir quilt is amazing, especially considering it was made by eight different quilters. And the quilt with those teeny tiny hexagons.....that quilter had the patience of a saint! How many hours must have gone into that masterpiece!! The Alzheimer's project is extrodinary. Think of the love that goes into each one of those quilts, and to raise money for research at the same time is a double reward.

I often think that you are so blessed to have a hobby that has become so much more than something to do in your free time. Now it is part of your own life's definition. That's very special, just as you are. Hugs!

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot for sharing the photos. Some quilts are just incredible. As I have a Bernina, I liked your tutorial as well. Your BOM looks like fun and the 2 versions so different!

Teodo said...

Thanks for sharing this fantastic Renoir, I like all the quilts. I think that you had some very nice days and that you had seen a lot of interesting quilts.
The slide show in the other post impressed me and now I'm waiting for other impressions and photos. Thanks. ciao ciao

Beemoosie said...

Thank you for sharing these incredible quilts! I've never been to a quilt show, I am sure I will someday...wow!

meggie said...

Wonderful Quilts! Thanks for sharing.