ARTQUILTS insight
Each artist sees the world in a unique way, and communicates with a visual language that is at once universal and completely individual. What insightful and intuitive understandings of your world do you want to communicate to your audience? What penetrating mental vision or discernment are you striving to share? What actions do you wish to incite?
Curated by: Gwen Brink & Lyric Kinard
A very special thank you to Mary Ritter for creating the ribbons and Nancy Lassiter for creating the logo. Thank you!
Please note works for sale are denoted with the sales price within the artist's statement
Congratulations Award Winners!
Venue’s Choice Award Winner:
Mutual Life of the Universe
Marian Zielinski
Mutual Life of the Universe (41 x 34.5). This work addresses borders and boundaries in its subject matter, raising the question: where does the Other end and I begin? I use real, imaginary, and stylized flora, fauna, text, and textures—some with indeterminate edges—to suggest each is engaged in a process of transformation, adaptation, and becoming. Photographic realism morphs into abstract cartoon, challenging the delimitations of categorization. In a time when politics and economic pressures create fear and vilify otherness, this work reminds us that we are all made of the same clay, living in the same world, and offers an awareness of the interconnectedness of the universe.
Members’ Choice Award Winner:
Beyond the Leaves
Joan Rutledge
Beyond the Leaves (18 x 24). Nature and her elements provide my inspiration. Seeing beyond leaves falling to the ground and to find the beauty, depth and color in those natural elements excites me as an artist. It is that vision I wish to share with the viewer. Simple leaves have been transformed to much more. Beyond the Leaves is the result of experimenting with paint and natural elements to make monoprints on fabric. The monoprints were brought into the computer where I collaged and enhanced the images, had the image printed on silk and quilted to bring out the beauty.
We Are All Connected - Lend a Hand
Marjorie Barner
We Are All Connected - Lend a Hand (38x43). I have challenged myself to do art quilts for the last few years and love it. The theme this year being Insight led me to reflect on the world as a whole and how each of us are all a part I call this piece "We Are All Connected". I used the connecting circles to emphasize the message. The hands represent how we can all lend a hand no matter where we are in the world.
Pieced background with applique circles and my own hand outlined accent the quilt top. I use a domestic machine to free-motion the entire quilt.
Africa
Kacey Zucchino
Africa (24x24). One of the most profound moments of insight for me came on a safari in Africa many years ago. Being on a vast savannah with the sun beating down, waves of heat shimmering up and surrounded by a strange and different landscape, I still felt so connected. I realized that this was where it all started and it was awe inspiring. The lumpy elephant is a symbol of the tale of three blind men feeling the creature and having totally different “sights”. Insight can help realize that our truth might not be someone else’s truth, but it is still our truth. This quilt reminds me of the different colors and textures of the African landscape.
Adirondack Chair
Kathy Johnson
Adirondack Chair (14 x 11). Nature inspires me and plays an important role in much of my artwork. Being outside sitting in my Adirondack chair gives me time to think and can be very insightful. Listening to the birds and watching leaves sway in the breeze are so good for the soul. I can receive insight for a new project or a solution to a problem as I sit and let my mind wander surrounded by nature.
Be Still ...
Barb Ingersoll
Be Still ... (28 x 45). There is truth in quiet moments, where insights dwell and inspiration is born. Meditate, and the mind and heart will be opened to explore. $450
Twilight Forest
Jane Hall
Twilight Forest (35 x 35). Inspired by a group of grassy green fabrics, I used traditional Log Cabin variation blocks to create a colorwash of values. The block variation and the wide range of prints produced interesting textures and unexpected shapes, generating an atmosohere of that magical time of day.
Fate/Faith
Denny Webster
Fate/Faith (45 x 48). For eons humans have createdsymbols that carry meaning across culture and time. Some of these seem obvious and universal, while others are more personal. Some are labeled “superstitions”. Color and shape evoke feelings for which we may have no words. Do we think of these as evidence of inevitability or do they reassure us of an underlying order? $600
Eye Candy
by Evelyn Judson
Eye Candy (20.5 x 18.5). Before I saw the logo for this show I knew I could not get images of eyes out of my head. So I made a handful and went from there......
Outlook--the Great Wall of China
Evelyn Judson
Outlook--the Great Wall of China (23.5 x 28 ). A year and a half ago I came home from a vacation to China with five very different quilts in my head. This is the fifth--looking out from a watchtower of the Great Wall and seeing more of it winding over the hills into the distance.
Night Sky
Roberta Morgan
Night Sky (19 x 26). Looking at the night sky was the inspiration for this wall hanging. I see stars and planets as circles floating in the blackness of space. I imagine that there are bits of sparkle twinkling in that endless dark. My imagination inspires thoughts of what could be out there. Are we really alone?
No Two Surgeries Are The Same
Lynne Farrow
No Two Surgeries Are The Same (20.5 x 50). My ophthalmologist told me no two cataract surgeries were the same. He was right. The first one was a piece of cake. The second one not so much. Making this quilt was my way of processing/honoring that.
Fractured Vision
Lynne Farrow
Fractured Vision (20.5 x 17.5). During the abnormally long time between cataract surgeries I experienced several double vision. The only way I could navigate life was to keep one eye closed all the time. While it was exhausting, making this quilt helped me process my frustration with fractured vision.
Fractured Wedding Ring
Laurie Shaw
Fractured Wedding Ring (17 x 53). Forty years of marriage is a long time. In that span, my husband and I shared many colors, textures, and shapes. Much laughter, joy, and heartbreak. After years of denial, I began to recognize, with painful insight, that we were living with a fracture our wedding vows could never repair. The week after I left, my wedding ring broke and today remains, symbolically, fractured on my dresser. Yet still, I celebrate the colors, textures, and shapes of the journey and am grateful that we traveled it together.
Manarola
Jane Herlihy
Manarola (44 x 31). This piece was inspired by my photos taken during a trip to the timeless Cinque Terre area of Italy. Making art from travel photos after a trip is done somehow keeps me in that place for a while longer. AND I end up with a meaningful souvenir that took up no space in the suitcase. NFS
That's Crazy Talkin'
Jane Herlihy
That's Crazy Talkin' (42 x 41). TV talk shows, excited newscasters, boisterous political debates, bristling egos all leave me agitated and my mind bouncing about in all directions. Perhaps it's time to create in a quieter environment. NFS
Constraint and Freedom
Judi Bastion
Constraint and Freedom (34 x 23). Constraint and Freedom was inspired by the work of Rene Magritte. The image of a dove against a cloudy sky, one side constrained within a silhouette, the other taking flight with bright feathers and swirls. Balancing the design was achieved through quilting lines, colors, and textures.
I had started hand quilting the sky photo print 2 years ago, but put it aside when it wasn’t coming together as I’d hoped. I pulled it out of the UFO bin this year to see what it needed. Looking at the deep blue of the sky, I was reminded of the work of Magritte. Not wanting to directly copy his work, I chose to create 2 doves, one soaring into the sky, the other suspended; constrained. Quilting designs were created to reflect the constraint and freedom of the two birds. $600.
Triangles, Lines and Sparkles
Katie Bland
Triangles, Lines and Sparkles (29 x 28). This piece was inspired by watching Joe Cunningham on the PBS show Quilting Arts. I enjoy improv quilting a lot, it feels very freeing from expected patterns. I gained insight into my love of sparkle and bling when I was thinking of finishing touches for this piece. I realized my most recent art quilts have included this element. I quilted this piece with triangles to honor the green pennant shapes and added beads from an old necklace for more sparkle.
Miscommunication
Ellen Lindner
Miscommunication (24 x 36). Although the same words are heard, they are sometimes interpreted quite differently. $895
Reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, & 'rrests
Jessica Wery
Reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, & 'rrests (44 x 60). Misbehavior is the symptom; Treat the cause. Tens of thousands of children begin their journey to prison via the school-to-prison pipeline with their first arrest at school. In 2014, nearly 70,000 students were arrested in the United States (edweek.org) and in North Carolina, African American students are five times as likely to be arrested at school (WRAL.com). Arrest and related disconnection from school leads to poorer outcomes, including increased absenteeism, lower graduation rates, fewer employment opportunities and poorer mental health outcomes. Instead of arresting students as a punishment for undesirable behavior at school, our students should be supported with increased access to social services and remedial programming. Further, many of today’s teachers need additional training and expertise in managing difficult student behaviors. If you’re thinking “this is not a problem for MY child” -think again. Disconnected students with challenging behavior impact all students and all of us.
The margin line represents the fragility of marginalized students’ life. The notebook lines are black and can be either where the child’s academic future is written, or where they are wrapped in the stripes of a prisoner. Handcuffs warp these lines, subtly showing how being arrested may ruin the future of these students. The torn hole shows the callous nature whereby schools discard these children. Written text articulates the public views as the building blocks of education, ignoring the psycho-social skills of self-management and prosocial engagement required for children to succeed. Quilted words briefly highlight the unseen consequences - easily ignored, while the folded corner shows how the public may casually and simply “turn the page” on students needing and deserving of our love, not our apathy. Available for institutional/public display. Email artist for more information.
Architectural Fame
Debbie Herbst
Architectural Fame (30 x 30). The legacy of Roman architecture, culture and art has survived many centuries. Construction systems used to erect the great Coliseum took just 5 years. Engineering complex water systems proved reliable and durable with few still in use today. $500
Generations Linked
Mary Ritter
Generations Linked (40 x 37). In the 1920 and 30, my father and his five siblings all attended District 74, Leenthrop Township, near Montevideo, Minnesota. When his youngest brother was in the sixth grade, my mother was hired as the new teacher. My dad made a point to meet the new teacher, and they eventually married. My mother retired from teaching when she married and became a full-time farmer’s housewife. Over the years, my four siblings and I all attended this same rural school. Family stories like this connect the generations and add richness to our lives. NFS
Tides of Consciousness
Marian Zielinski
Tides of Consciousness (50 x 36). In navigating life, we slip through levels of consciousness—from our most focused presence into daydreams or sub-conscious sleep. As an artist, I seek insight into the process of creative flow that allows unselfconscious engagement with my work, free from the pitfalls of self-doubt and guilt. At times I am lured from this stream of consciousness to linger in its eddies and explore a matrix of associative thoughts and responses, which are also key to understanding creative phenomena.
Insight on Steroids
Katie Bland
Insight on Steroids (65 x 24). Last summer I was ill and required steroids for a period of time. I was homebound, but my brain was racing with ideas for a quilt piece. I knew I wanted to do connecting white circles because they felt calming to me. Each motif came to me when I would try to rest. The first circle on the left I called “The Wheels Coming off the Bus” because the steroids made me feel so bad. The second one is made with an Irish linen pillow case that was given as a wedding gift to us 50 years ago. The hummingbird is a nod to our love of nature. The fourth piece is a representation of an art installation outside at the NC Museum of Art. The last circle on the right right are my “Three Grand Feathers” and the small feathers underneath are their supporting feathers. This piece is best displayed on a dark grey background. If chosen, I would paint a piece of styrofoam board dark grey with hangers on the back and mount the circles as pictured on that for display.
Shelter
Jana Lankford
Shelter (17 x 35). Circumstances within an artist's life are generally reflected subconsciously in the art they produce. When we were told to shelter in place during the COVID-19 virus, i eagerly went into the studio, curious to see how these events would emerge in my work. I pulled out a background piece inspired by an ancient wooden door, little realizing that it represented closing the door on disease. I started drawing curves. The shapes which formed remind me of a mother sheltering a child. It conveys protection, safety, and peace, all things I feel while sheltering in place. $375
My Coronavirus Story: Family
Valerie Paterson
My Coronavirus Story: Family (22 x 39.5). My simple story of the virus in relation to my family swirls around the beauty of a colorful flower which in turn is surrounded by microbes and diseases that have caused pandemics and claimed millions of lives. My family wanders through this world. Kyle visited Colleen in New York on Spring Break the week TV shows no longer had audiences. Rachel recognizing the gravity of the situation closed her massage business. Colleen escaped the epicenter and found refuge in Nashville. As a doctor, my husband continues to take care of his patients. I created microbes made of silk cocoons, beads, sequins and trim, and made masks for family, friends and healthcare workers. May we all wear them and help each other be safe.
Daydream
Ellen Lindner
Daydream (24 x 36). Thoughts wander and twist. Ideas emerge. The detours of a daydream. $895
Empty Nest
Karen Ernst
Empty Nest (24 x 10). Climate change is threatening hundreds of birds world wide with extinction. Hopefully, we can all have the wisdom/insight to listen to our scientists and address all of the issues of climate change. NFS
I Can’t Read You
Nancy Lassiter
I Can’t Read You (16 x 16). Assumptions are made. Time goes by and walls grow higher. It's important to actually speak about feelings. NFS
The Explorer
Nancy Lassiter
The Explorer (24 x 30). My husband grew up next to water and has always enjoyed it. I caught him in a quiet moment of reflection. NFS
Our Intuition, Our Center, Our Insight and Light
Paulette Mazurek
Our Intuition, Our Center, Our Insight and Light (17.5 x 22). Glass is a highly reflective surface and a sphere of glass can distort the objects that it comes in contact with, absorbing different light sources, reflecting objects, distorting images, or even inverting them or turning them upside down. At times, people can act like a glass sphere. We pick up on the distortions, the turmoil around us, and negative influence just like light passing through glass.
We have to reply on our own Intuition as our Insight. Our intuition is always there, if we remember to look for it, see it, or feel it, to believe in it. At times, there are outside influences or reflection that may try to affect how we see ourselves and if we allow these influences will have negative consequences, adding to our confusion or loss of Insight. We lose the Light, our Intuition, our Insight, and ourselves.
A ray of Light, our Intuition, our Insight comes into focus as realization: we are perfect as we are, we are enough. Our Intuition should be our only Insight to this fact and not the distortions and bends of reality from the outside world that echo distortion to the contrary.
Things Fall Apart
Gwen Brink
Things Fall Apart (39 x 46). Creating an improvisational quilt is by nature of the process a conversation between myself and the evolving piece of art. As an artist, I use my body of skills based on experience and apply them to each step of the process to create the quilt. Each decision, how will I cut this fabric?, which color should I use?, what will I do next?, comes intuitively from myself to the piece. Conversely, the growing quilt speaks to me. This piece, with its high contrast, sharp angles, and jumbled forms speaks to me of conflict and resolution, unease and resolve. The process and the finished piece are the bearers of insight from the universal spirit that connects us all.