Getting Ready for My Exhibit

 It's exciting to be preparing for my solo fiber art exhibit at the Lucile Parker Gallery on the William Carey University campus. There will be an opening reception at 4:30-6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, with the exhibit running until December 16. It is an honor to have my art shown in this beautiful space. Dr. Ed Ford is the curator and I appreciate his invitation to display my work.

The Invitation

I will have works from some early traditional quilts up to modern abstract pieces. One bed-size piece that hasn't been seen often tells the story of how I transitioned from counted cross-stitch to quilting. Daughter Linda and I found a book of quilt blocks in counted cross-stitch designs and began working on these. The squares, using six strands of floss over two squares of 14-count cloth, were so beautiful that I thought they needed to be made into a quilt by someone with experience, so I left the stitching with her and set out to learn to be a quilter. Several years later when she had finished the 20 squares I assembled them and we both hand quilted it. The quilt won blue ribbons in several shows and set me on a firm quilting path.

From Cross-Stitch to Quilting

Quilts are generally displayed on PVC pipe and drape, but in a gallery setting everything has to have a slat or wire to hang on the wall. Framed pieces already have wires for hanging, but all fabric pieces have to have a wooden or aluminum bar. Some are on gallery wrapped canvas and others framed.  I am hoping to show how textiles have transitioned from utilitarian bed coverings to art for the walls.

Ghost-quilted Palm Leaves, 12" x 12"

Poppy, an early ghost-quilted piece, 11" x 14"

Campfire, 22" x 23"

Sunday Ties, framed without glass, 10" x 24"

August Happenings

South Mississippi Art Association has a juried exhibition at the Lucile Parker Gallery at William Carey University August 24-September 23, 2021. I am honored to have one of my entries pictured on the invitation.  The Opening Reception had to be cancelled, but the exhibit will be open to the public Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 1:00-4:00 p.m.  My pieces accepted in the show are Bronze Sunflower and Blue Ghost-Quilted Flowers. 

Bronze Sunflower, 19" x 19"

Blue Ghost-Quilted Flowers, framed 17" x 17"

The most beautiful plant in my yard right now is this canna with its striped leaves. It has had two small red/orange blossoms, but I love the leaves even more than the flowers.

With Brown-Eyed Susans below

Brown-Eyed Susans recently watered

Colored pencil art has never been easy, but here is a little practice piece I did in Dana Stratton's class at OLLI. Seeing this makes me happy to get back to my thread-painting, where I feel more confident. 

Yellow, green, and striped bell peppers (colored pencil)

An Internet search for large flowers on black background resulted in these huge (24" square) specimens which I am trying to thread-paint. I have tried one on my HQ16 with satisfactory results. I'm reluctant to stitch any more closely for fear of puckering. 

Three-yard piece of huge flowers

Enlarge to see stitching

Exhibit at the New Lucile Parker Gallery

The reason I've been so absorbed and interested in hanging methods lately is because I have been preparing to hang my fiber art exhibit at the Lucile Parker Gallery at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS. The gallery was established in 1990, named for a loved and respected watercolor artist and teacher at the college. It was housed in the building with the Jones Auditorium in the front of the Music Department.

In September 2013 the gallery moved into its new home in a remodeled two-story historic brick building. It is a charming, intimate space with good lighting, ideal for art exhibits, located across the street from the campus main entrance.

Lucile Parker Gallery, 512 Tuscan Avenue

I was invited to exhibit my fiber art in the new gallery from November 12-December 11. The invitation pictures a detail shot from one of my flower pieces. The opening reception will be November 12 from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Regular hours for the gallery are 1:00-4:00 p.m. or by appointment.



Mississippi ArTEAst Festival at Simply TeaVine

Simply TeaVine hosted a delightful event last week--A Mississippi ArTEAst Festival. Dean Meador Smith, co-owner, celebrated past and present Mississippi artists by inviting 12 artists to display their works in this charming Victorian tearoom.

There were writers, potters, jewelry makers, photographers, stained glass artists, and I was honored to show my fiber art.

The menu featured favorites or special recipes such as:

Elvis Presley's Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Eudora Welty's Shrimp Eudora

Brett Favre's Chili

Morgan Freeman's Greens

Faith Hill's Cornbread

Oprah Winfrey's Berries

Tennessee Williams' Lemon Ice Box Pie

William Faulkner's Peach Cobbler

Quick Draw

No guns involved, just lots of paint with one sewing machine added. Fiber art can compete with oil and watercolor and acrylic!
The South Mississippi Art Association co-sponsored a Quick Draw fund raiser with the AIDS Services Coalition in Hattiesburg, MS. About 25 artists created their works in a variety of mediums during a one-hour session, with patrons and customers milling around watching. At the end of the hour, we had 15 minutes to frame or finish up the piece before the live auction.

In my case, I took my sewing machine, fabric, threads, batting, and a planned design of the landscape I thought I could create in an hour's time. Just to be sure, I did a trial run of another piece the day before, which I learned nearly all the others had done. We cleared over $3,000 after expenses, and other artwork sold for the artists at the silent auction.

It was a fun afternoon with food and drink and music by a steel drum artist and lots of visiting. This event was so well received that it is planned to be the first of many annual ones.