Report on China Trip at MQA Gathering

 

In the Beijing Airport

   It will be a pleasure to give a PowerPoint presentation about my trip to China at our state-wide MQA workshop gathering in Jackson this weekend. From the 500 pictures that Linda and I took, I have organized them into a slide show to share the quilt exhibit, scenes from Dalian and Beijing, and amazing sights we saw. I've entitled it The Sum of Many Parts: 25 Quiltmakers in 21st-Century America--Martha's Adventure.

     The weather in March was still quite cold (30s-40s) and many buildings had no heat. The students and others kept coats on all the time and we rather enjoyed the temperature. Many buildings had steps or stairways with no guardrails, making us realize how much we enjoy the benefits of handicap accessible laws.
     I will have to be my own tech person and manage the laptop and projector without Linda. Here's hoping she has taught me sufficiently!

Apartment buildings as far as the eye could see

     My Saturday class will be on Ghost Quilting, and I think the students will enjoy learning to use the Neocolor II crayons to extend their focus fabric out into the borders before free-motion quilting.

Another Critter Quilt

Here's another quilt made from the colorful fat quarters of animals, bugs, toys, and polka dots. I arranged these four-patch squares so they would all track on the diagonal, also sashing the blocks and rows with black and white fabric. It's on the floor--sorry I did not put up on the design wall so it would look square!

I enjoyed working with the black and white fabrics so much that I made a small diagonal strippy wall quilt. A little red inner border really gave it a more dramatic look. I've been gathering black/white fabrics but rarely use them for fear there won't be a huge stack of them in my fabric stash. Like a security blanket. I finished the edges with a facing--my favorite finishing method.

More from Santa Fe

This huge buffalo head was on the third floor of the capitol building as part of the Capitol Art Foundation collection of New Mexico art. Holly Hughes constructed it in 1992 as a community-related art project that emphasized recycling and environmental awareness. She said, "The buffalo has inspired art in man since the first cave drawings. For this reason, old paint brushes form the bridge of the nose and film was woven into the brow.  News headlines from the 1992 Superbowl . . . are found in the horns. Pottery shards are worked into the nose, connecting Native Americans to the buffalo through pieces of dried mud. One eye is a lantern, symbol of light, hope, strength. The other eye is a fishing reel, with a horseshoe surrounding it. The buffalo, once as plentiful on the plains as fish in the ocean, were slaughtered by men on horses wearing horseshoes. This piece is a sample of how I enjoy combining materials that are not only the appropriate color and texture, but symbolically relevant to the theme of the piece as well." (Identification label on the wall.)

 Betty Busby's amazing "Nambe Lake" in the SAQA Exhibit at the Capitol

Detail of "Nambe Lake"

 

I just loved these fences made of small logs.

 

Shuttles were provided between the Lodge and the art galleries, St. Francis Cathedral, Loretto Chapel, restaurants, and shops. We had to walk or find other transportation to other points of interest, such as the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, and then find our way to a pick-up point for our shuttle.

 

SAQA Santa Fe "Expanding Horizons" conference

The Lodge at Santa Fe

The Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) four-day conference "Expanding Horizons" in Santa Fe was a great experience. I attended presentations by Patty Hawkins from Estes Park, CO (My Art Odyssey, Taking Twists and Turns), Pat Pauly from Pittsford, NY (Have Venue, Will Install: Mounting Your Exhibition 101), and Melody Randol from Loveland, CO (Color Works!).
     Then there was the "speed dating" event where we each had 90 seconds to introduce ourselves to our table of ten people before moving to another group of ten. At one of the night meetings a silent auction of small art quilts brought in more than $5,000 for SAQA. Leni Wiener (New Rochelle, NY) conducted an Art Quilt Voice Coaching session for four courageous souls who had sent her photos of their work, as the audience listened and learned from her comments. Another session featured Sandra Sider (Bronx, NY) in a Quilt Critique Workshop. A panel discussion (Local Horizons: Art in the City Different) moderated by Katie Pasquini Masopust of Santa Fe featured Betty Busby of Albuquerque and two others, sharing their creations in various formats.


Kris Sazaki, incoming president of SAQA
Works by Terri Mangot, Betty Busby, Katie Pasquni Masopust, Ed Larson

There were many opportunities for meeting and visiting with people I had only met through email and websites and blogs.


Gwyned Trefethen, Martha, Carol Ann Waugh, Michele David

Shuttles ferried us from our hotel to museums, galleries, restaurants, and shopping venues. My favorite trip was to the contemporary fiber art exhibit at the State Capitol Rotunda Gallery entitled "New Mexico" Unfolding" which presented New Mexico SAQA members' work.

In front of Susan Szajer's quilt

Quilt by Cheryl FitzGerald

Aspens at the Lodge

Overlooking the Lodge patio

The Critter Quilt

Here's how the little critter quilt came out--a gift for a precious little boy!

A little traditional sewing

 Pine Belt Quilters makes children's quilts all year long. We also make isolette covers for the NICU at Forrest General Hospital. The bright flannel prints are cheerful for the families and nursing staff. The underside is light gray, which allows the nurses to see the baby's true skin color.  We also make walker totes (which can be used as catheter bag covers). After being so involved with my art quilts, it was time to do some traditional sewing, and these projects fit the bill.  Placemats can be repurposed to make these totes, or almost any leftover fabric can be used.


Walker totes

I had some wild fat quarter packets that are perfect for a bright and happy child's quilt. I think I will add strips of black/white prints for sashing. Easy cutting into 4" strips and fast sewing. I wonder if a baby can sleep under all these bugs and other critters!

After China

Mike Peters, writer for China Daily

I was interviewed by Mike Peters, writer for China Daily Sunday edition and European Weekly.  A reporter for NetEase, China's Leading Internet Technology Company, also conducted an interview at the US Embassy, after providing me with a list of topics and questions to be discussed.

The Chinese have a flair for design. Presentation is all-important, as shown by the displays in a grocery store.

 

I wish I knew what kind of trees these are. I first thought that woodpeckers had marked them as they searched for bugs under the bark, but the little holes opened up in a diamond shape. US Embassy Cultural Affairs Specialist Xiaotao Song (call him XT) and assistant Laurel Menser are shown on the left as we arrived at the next site for my quilt presentation.

XT Song and Laurel Menser, Embassy staff

Flying home: It was interesting to follow our plane's path from Beijing to Seattle on the screen on the back of the seats. Also watching three movies in a row helped with the long flight. We flew over Russia and the Bering Strait, even capturing the ice-covered sea and the moon over the plane's wing.

 

What a memorable trip! After letting my body and brain adjust from the effects of what is called jetlag, it's time to get back to more unexciting and mundane tasks. But I'll be glad to get away from the computer and back into the studio, even if it is for mundane tasks. My cat Bigboy has needed lots of lap time, making the finishing of this piece of fiber art challenging.

I wish I could share all the pictures and experiences of this trip with my many friends who have wished us well, and I hope seeing these have allowed you to share in the excitement and joy. Having Linda with me was an added blessing! Thanks for reading and following along with us.

Home from China, part 8

There were wonderful sights everywhere. The buildings were interesting, and in a variety of architectural designs.

The white domed building is the Dalian Modern Museum

 

In front of Beijing East Hotel

Sculpture in Beijing East Hotel, representing wine poured into a glass

The sculpture is made up of thousands of Chinese characters

U. S. Embassy

 

 The little children looked like dolls, and the parents enjoyed having them photographed.  

Home from China, part 7

It was my pleasure to donate Butterfly Crossing to the Dalian Modern Museum. There are thread-painted butterflies and quilted ghost butterflies flying between the yellow/black fan shapes, and it will be a tribute to the beautiful and colorful people I met! The museum is free to the people, and the directors and staff are proud to inform the people of China's rich cultural history.

Dalian Modern Museum Director Liu Guang Tang receiving Butterfly Crossing
with Linda Ginn, Scott Macintosh, and Assistant Director

The audience members at the museum talk were very interested and appreciative of being able to examine the pieces up close. They were curious about techniques and took lots of pictures.

In a hands-on demonstration with a sewing machine set up in the hallway after the lecture, it was a privilege to get to see some works by local quilters. These pieces were made by young women and they were skillfully done.

Home from China, part 6

Katie Zahn below wall quilt

I was delighted to find the Slow Life Patchwork Quilt Shop in Beijing, run by Ms. Katie Zhan. She teaches quilting and has fabric and tools that quilters need. About 15 women (and one man) brought their sewing machines and supplies for my Ghost Quilting Class. Although we had the interpreter with us, many English sewing terms--stitch, fabric, binding, machine, rotary cutter, mat, straight grain--were familiar and did not have a Chinese translation; they knew what the feed dogs were but not the name we use (feed dogs), so this was a lightbulb moment! The interpreter explained the process along with my demonstration and hand signals. The students had their center focus fabric and solid background and most brought fusible. After we adhered the center square to the background, I demonstrated how to continue an object (flower, fruit, leaf, etc.) out into the border with Neocolor II crayons. We passed crayons back and forth among the students until everyone had their piece ready to layer and begin quilting. I showed them how to start and stop the quilting stitch and how to bury the thread tails and how to add thread painting to enhance their design. Most had done some free-motion quilting before and made excellent progress.

Close examination of facing method

We discussed various edge treatments for their work--rat-tail cording, single- or double-fold binding, and facing, as well as adding a sleeve to the back to make it ready for hanging. Notice that the students are all wearing coats to be more comfortable in the unheated room.

Interpreter Describing Process