Summer Wrap-Up #2: Sacred Threads Quilt Exhibit

Bonnie Dubbin Askowitz: Hand of Peace

A highlight for me this summer was a visit to the Sacred Threads quilt exhibit. This exhibit is held once every two years in Herndon, Virginia. This is the second time I've gone to the exhibit. My first time was in 2013 and I unfortunately missed the exhibit in 2015. Below is a small selection (of the hundreds of quilts!) from the exhibit that particularly struck me. The first, by Bonnie Dubbin Askowitz, is really my favorite. You can see the exuberance in each hand!  I love the protective Hamsa symbol (also known as the Hand of Fatima). I've spent many hours drawing them as a form of meditation. I've designed, drawn and stitched them as gifts for dear friends and family members. Seeing Bonnie's piece made me realize that I want to go back and create more...maybe even a hundred of them!

Bonnie Dubbin Askowitz: Detail

 Here is some "history" about the exhibit from the website:

In 1999 a small group of women gathered together with a vision of a "new" type of quilt exhibit. At that time topics such as spirituality and inspiration were not always understood or welcomed at traditional quilt shows, and all-medium liturgical art exhibits generally featured few if any quilts. There was no "safe" or welcoming venue for quilters who saw their works as a connection to the sacred and/or as an expression of their own spiritual journey. Often the meaning behind these works was missed or misunderstood because the artist did not have the opportunity to share their sources of inspiration with the viewer. 

Hope Wilmarth: Fall Was Her Favorite Time of Year

Founder Vikki Pignatelli and the other committee members wanted to create a dignified exhibit of artwork that would touch all those who viewed it on both spiritual and personal levels. We wanted to share the experiences of quilters whose stories would be a source of healing and strength for others by allowing the artist to submit a statement which would be exhibited with the artwork that described the meaning or inspiration for the piece...

Kimberly Lacy: Pyrite Ammonites

The show does not emphasize any particular religion or theology but conveys the spirituality, healing and inspirational messages that transcend all people. 

Sabrina Zarco: No Olvidados/Not Forgotten

 For the exhibit, quilts are divided into categories based on theme. These are Expressions of Joy, Spirituality, Inspiration, Grief, Healing and Peace/Brotherhood.  The artwork themes provide thought-provoking insights, encouragement, inspiration and healing responses to grief and human hardships... 

Jackie Manley: Death Did Us Part

Jocelyne Sobeski: After the Snow Falls

Jocelyne Sobeski: Detail.

Linda Jurkiewicz: Blue

Linda Jurkiewicz: Detail.

Linda Jurkiewicz: Endure Hardship as Discipline

Linda Jurkiewicz: Detail.

Susan Callahan: Ball Gown with Cape (made from old ties!)

Lorie Hancock McCown: the Black Dresses

Martha Petry: Moon Flower

Martha Petry: Detail

Roxanne Lasky: Tidal III: Source

Roxanne Lasky: Detail

The quilts in this exhibit were very powerful! Thank you participants for sharing your work!

Equinox and Healing Cloth

Ann Z.

This weekend I held the spring session of Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth. This session's workshop was full of color and meaning.

Ann Z. is working on a piece that is both sad and hopeful. As the workshop progressed...it became more and more hopeful. Full of love even in the face of sadness represented by a torn heart...one that may be healed with stitches. I'm looking forward to watching it progress.

Ann Z. detail.

Judy B. had fun with bright colors, ribbons, the number three and hearts. This piece reminded me of child's play. I imagined making dolls out of fabric and braiding hair. She is planning to send it to her three-year-old granddaughter.

Judy B.

Judy B. detail

Laurie T's piece is full of lovely little textures and subtle movement. She is planning many more stitched details such as the ribbon flower below. I really can't wait to see where this piece goes!

Laurie T.

Laurie T. detail.

Laurie T. beaded detail.

Alice H. brought along her beautiful shibori pieces. She is adding finishing details including textural stitches to set off the main motifs.

Alice H.

Alice H. detail.

Alice H. detail.

Alice A. is working on a self portrait and is including symbols important to her including a labyrinth and birds (to come). She used bits of fabric inherited from her mother and grandmother including the blue and white embroidered piece (from a larger Mexican embroidery).

Alice A.

Alice A. detail.

What an enjoyable weekend full of stitching and sharing...thanks to you all!

Healing through Stitching: Connecting with my Dad

Many of you know that I teach a 2-day workshop called, Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth. In this workshop, we explore using basic hand stitching, applique, needle weaving and bead embroidery techniques to create a piece to offer healing for a loved one or for ourselves. This class has produced some inspiring and deep pieces. I've witnessed how working on a piece...having a tactile connection through stitching..can heal or reconcile relationships...even those with loved ones that are no longer alive. I have seen how working on a piece can bring peace and clarity of mind. I've seen pieces stitched with love as offerings to loved ones who are ill. This is powerful stuff!

I've been facilitating this process for a couple of years but have put my own healing, pertaining to my Dad's death, on hold. His last couple of years of life were very difficult for the whole family, but especially for my Mom. His cheery personality was wiped away by Parkinson's. I've found it hard to approach the topic.

At first, I thought I'd face it head on. I'd work on some pieces having to do with Parkinson's and my Dad. I could never get started...it was too difficult.

Then I remembered that I had a letter that my Dad wrote when he was very young. I poured over this letter and found that it could be a way to connect to my Dad in a different way. So I decided that I would stitch his letter as a form of self healing.

Dad's letter.

You can see that my Dad's letter is rather faded, so I enlarged it and wrote over the letters so that I could read them better. In the process, I connected to my Dad as a young boy just learning to write. I noticed the capital "B"s that were really lower case "b"s with an added curve. I fell in love with the little erasures and decided to add them into the final piece.

I decided to include the endearing erasures in Running Stitch.

I brought the project with me to Cape Cod. The whole family got to read the photocopy and watch me transfer it onto fabric (a handkerchief like the ones my Dad always used). It generated questions and discussion. No one really knew who "Grandma Basseches" was. We guessed at Dad's age. I developed a whole little story about the letter. Here was a tiny little slice of my Dad's life...when a cold was taken seriously and FDR was president (notice that the letterhead has Scottie dogs on it...which is ironic since my folks have owned Scotties for many years).

On the return trip home, my Mom and I stayed overnight with my Dad's cousin, Rissy. I showed her the letter and asked her if she remembered Grandma Basseches. Her 5-year-old memory of her grandmother was "a large woman with a small black dog" (it turns out that the dog's name was Fallah!..So it seems undeniable that Grandma Basseches gave the personalized stationery to my Dad!). Rissy even had a picture of her.

My Great Grandmother Basseches.

Stitching this little slice of family history...my Dad's history...has been so satisfying...and healing.
_________
I'll be teaching the next Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth workshop on September 5 & 6 at The Art League School in Alexandria, VA.

Healing Cloth Workshop

This weekend, I taught a new workshop at The Art League School called, Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth.

This is a concept I've been thinking about for a while now. The act of mending cloth (patching, stitching, darning) can also mend or be healing to the maker or can serve as a means for them to create a piece that could heal another. I was inspired by two events. The first was meeting Gene and Sue Greer, a husband and wife quilting team who create memorial quilts. I was deeply moved when they told me that they work together to create special butterfly quilts for terminally ill children. A comfort for the children and then eventually for their families. The other event was designing a hamsa for my friend, Martha and after her death having the opportunity to create peace flags using her hamsa symbol. I found the act of printing and hand stitching the flags very cathartic and meaningful.

I wasn't sure that my deep connection with this idea would translate well into a class. I took a chance.

Saaraliisa Y.

I was so fortunate to have a group that was willing to take a chance with me. For two days we stitched and shared. I'm hoping that they got as much out of the experience as I did!

Susan P.

Thank you Susan, Amy, Zita, Saaraliisa and Lisa.

Zita S.

Amy J.

Amy J. (detail)

(All works are in process)

Exploring Surface Design a la Carte

Barbara H.

Wednesday night was the last session of my summer class, Exploring Surface Design A la Carte. This class is a four session version of my longer Exploring Surface Design class.

Barbara H.

Barbara H.

Barbara H.

Having so few sessions each one was jam-packed with information. Fortunately, I had four students who could keep up with the barrage of techniques!

Amy J.

Amy J.

Amy J.

Amy J.

Deedee M.

Deedee M.

Deedee M.

Unfortunately, my fourth student, Marilyn, wasn't able to make it to the last class but promises to send some photos for a future blog post.

Now that it's August, I'm having a teaching break. Even with that, I plan to have a couple of art-making play dates and one private lesson.

The new Art League School catalog just came out and I'm really looking forward to some of the new classes and workshops I'll be teaching this upcoming year. I always joke that I like to design classes that I want to take! I'm really looking forward to the workshop on Healing Cloth...can't wait to dive in and create work for that class! If you want to see my teaching schedule, check out the left hand column of this blog.