Gallery Reception Wednesday!

I'll be at the Hadley Fish & Wildlife Service Gallery Wednesday, 11/18 from 4:30-6:00 pm, where over two dozen of my art quilts are on display through the end of December.  They're open M-F, 8-4:30, closed on Federal holidays.  They're tucked back behind the Staples and the Credit Union in Hadley.  Stop in to say hello if you have a few minutes!

Sun Trout

Blueberry Moon - detail

Last minute desires...

So, just because it's always a good idea to do one more project at the last minute, I decided that I needed a companion piece to go with Koi Moon #2 for my upcoming show.  There's not a stitch in this one yet, but it's laid out and ready to go!  Shouldn't be a problem to finish it in just a week, along with a Halloween costume, right?

Koi Moon #2

Sun Trout

My next show...

In less than two weeks, I'll be hanging work for a solo show at the Hadley Regional Fish & Wildlife Service gallery, in Hadley, MA.  My exhibit dates got bumped up, so I'm currently finishing four plus pieces!

Details: 

Quilted Landscapes: 

Shades of Summer

by Elizabeth Sylvan 

November 2 - December 29

 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife

Service Gallery

300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA

(Behind Staples)

Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Closed Federal Holidays

Artist Reception

Wednesday, November 18, 4:30-6:00 pm

finishing my latest commission, choosing a pose...

couple 1

couple 2

couple 3

couple 1 details

couple 2 detail

couple 3 detail

Seven Hills Inn - coming right along!

Building and trees are pin basted and ready to stitch this week.  Time to think about the foreground, flowers, etc. and border choices.  I'll try to take sample shots with the border soon.

Sky...

a strip of sky, pinned and ready to stitch!

sky stitched, starting to lay on the trees and building

laying in the treeline

Moving right along...

Selecting more fabric from Southampton Quilts... 

The fabrics below are for the borders.  I like the green, but I'm on the fence about which blue to use.

This blue is mixed with a touch of red on a gray field

                     This blue is consistently navy blue and black

This small square will be a window. If I hold it up to the light, I can see the pattern lines through the fabric and can trace them to the front of the fabric.  Eventually I'll stitch them.  I'm basically using my living room window as a light box.

cutting out pieces!  Each one has a pattern piece ironed to the back

The pieces will eventually fit together like a puzzle.  I lay them on the pattern to check the fit.

Wedding quilt teasers

Here are a few teaser pics of the start of my process as I begin to pick out fabrics and assemble the top...

enlarging the sketch to full size

 

 

 

fabric selection begins

ironing patterns to fabric - this will be the base layer for the flowering trees

Final Sketch

final sketch - ready to make a full size pattern!

cartoon of the day #2

Harry has parrots on the brain this week! 

cartoon of the day

Harry's cartoon of the day!

(It's great to have artists in the family.)

Thank you!

...to all the wonderful people who turned out to support the Paradise City Art Festival over the weekend.  It was great to see so many familiar faces, and to receive so much encouragement from folks on facebook!  I think I talked to more people in one weekend than I have in years.  And the conversations ranged from religion, physics, and real estate to (of course) quilting.  Lots of networking, a few nice sales, and many fascinating artists.  Hopefully I'll be there again next spring, and there's plenty to keep me busy in the mean time. 

More Paradise Pics...

Every artist here this weekend is amazing.  I didn't get any shots of my favorite jeweler yet, but here are a few more samples of what I've been surrounded by this weekend.  I'll be sorry when it's over!

Paradise Neighbors

Here's work from some of the neighboring craft booths at Paradise City this weekend! Both seemed to be doing a brisk business.  Everyone's art, as always, is amazing. 

http://ironartstudio.com/

http://david-talley.com/wp/home-2/

Ready for Paradise!

Here's my booth, ready to go.  Now we just need the crowds!

Butterfly Wreath & Iris #2

Here are some other favorites that I'll have at the festival.

My father collects butterflies, and I collect butterfly fabric!

Iris #2 - detail

Mermaid Dreams

This one has been waiting for just the right home.  She's part of a series depicting this figure in different seasons (usually without the fishy tail.)  There are real rocks, coins, and sea glass in the tide pool. 




Stop by booth #219 at Paradise City this coming weekend to visit her!

Moon Glow

Moon Glow - detail

As a college student, I never missed an opportunity to go walking "back campus" in the woods at night, under the full moon, where I could clear my head and escape the noise and brilliance of dormitory life. 

There were no mountains (it was in Indiana) but the woods and trails were wonderful and made me feel at home.

New Inspiration

This is the view from my quilt studio in our new house!  Every day something surprising begins to bloom.  There will be plenty of inspiration to work from this summer!

and this is the view from my kitchen! We've also have more than two dozen bird species come through since we moved in at the end of March.

It's wonderful to be surrounded by lawn and woods and birdsong.  I feel like I don't deserve any of it.

Sankofa

This is a detail from a more stylized piece.

The Sankofa image was introduced to me by a local story-teller as a representation of the idea that one should retain that which is valuable from the past.  It translates as "reach back and get it"  and is sometimes  represented by the symbol of a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back. The sankofa is often associated with a proverb which translates as: "It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten." (from Wikapedia)  

I suspect that the original images is based on the white stork which migrates between Africa and Europe.  Perhaps I'll get to see one in person someday.  

Paradise City Memorial Day Weekend

I am alternately thrilled and terrified.  In just a week and a half, I'll be exhibiting at the Paradise City Craft Festival in Northampton on the Fairgrounds over Memorial Day weekend.  Ever since we moved to the area eight years ago and discovered this show, I've wanted to be there as a vendor.  Back then, I hadn't done any shows.  I started small, at a one-time show in Look Park.  Then I tried some larger ones, like the Crafts on the Commons show in Amherst.  Eventually I began getting solo exhibits in local libraries and other galleries.  So here I am, looking forward to three exciting days, and worrying whether I have enough inventory.  Here's a peak at some of my new work.

Golden Oak

Trillium #4 - detail

Full Circle

Yesterday, I attended the service at Village Church in Cummington for the dedication and hanging of the stained glass quilt that I finished for them back in January.  They also dedicated a beautiful sari which is sometimes hung in the sanctuary for weddings and special times.  The service was thoughtful, and the people are warm, gentle, and appreciative of the wilderness which surrounds them.  Everyone was welcoming, and the quilt was happy to have come full circle from design to completion and to finally be installed in its new home.  

The arch is painted on the wall behind the quilt.

The quilt was given by a local couple in loving remembrance and joyful celebration of the lives of their parents.

The sanctuary is peaceful and full of light.