Connecting Our Natural Worlds - SAQA Global Quilt Exhibit (Day 3)

The Connecting Our Natural Worlds exhibit by SAQA showcases art quilts that illustrate the natural wonder of habitats around the globe. Through their own unique artistic interpretation, each artist has identified danger to flora and fauna in their own backyards. The selected pieces inspire viewers to get closer to nature and become better stewards for our environment.  We recently visited this outstanding exhibit at the Brigham City Museum in Utah.

~ p.s. Check out our eBay shop for great bargains on books, magazines, and collectible items. For free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter. 

Spring by Aileyn Renli Ecob (Walnut Creek, California)

Spring features a very old, native California oak tree growing on the crest of a hill near where Aileyn Renli Ecob lives. This majestic tree was created with cotton, cheesecloth, tulle, ink, and paint. Aileyn used many different techniques to create the beautiful effects: raw edge applique, machine quilting, thread painting, inking, dying, and fabric painting.

The number and ferocity of forest fires has increased dramatically during the last decade, threatening beautiful old trees like this one.  Ailey notes that saving lives and our forests is worth our efforts. "Experts tell us that nearly all wildfires are caused by human activity.  We need better forest management, power line maintenance, individual care with fires, and control of climate change."

 

Plight of the Monarchs by Kathy Puente (Alamo Heights, Texas)

Contrary to what you may think, this tree is covered with monarch butterflies (not leaves!) Plight of the Monarchs is a tribute to the migrating monarch butterflies that migrate from the U.S. to Mexico for the winter, then make the flight back every spring. The quilt is cleverly made with fabric, paint, and wire, and is hand quilted, thread sketched, and hand sewn. The hand quilted swirls throughout the background bring to mind butterflies dancing on gusts of wind.

Kathy Fuente notes, "In both seasons, hundreds of thousands of monaarch butterflies fill the sky and land in my back yard for a rest and meal, beckoning me to enjoy their beauty."

Monarchs need warmth to survive, and due to the changing climate, their populations are being drastically reduced.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a webpage dedicated to the monarch butterfly with information on how individuals and communities can help.

 Only Three by Cheryl Lipari (Priest River, Idaho)

Cheryl Lipari lives in a beautifully wild temperate rain forest near the Selkirk Mountains of Idaho that has been home to the Woodland Caribou for thousands of years.  This wonderfully realistic landscape pays tribute to the endangered caribou. The quilt is made with hand-dyed and batik fabrics and hand dyed wool, using raw edge fused applique, felting (see the caribou and the clouds), and machine quilting.

The southern end of the Selkirk Mountains was the home of the last naturally-occurring caribou herd in the contiguous United States, which had dwindled to only a few by 2018 due to logging and other activities. The remaining members were relocated to Canada in the hopes of saving the species.

Cheryl Lipari notes that we must protect our precious wilderness areas and the animals that inhabit them for future generations. She urges speaking out against activities that damage our forests, and supporting groups that are devoted to protecting all inhabitants of our planet.

Manzanita by Ruth E. Murayama (Denver, Colorado)

Manzanita is a tribute to this shrubby tree of the same name, which is known for its reddish sculpted trunk and branches.  Ruth E. Murayama says that, having grown up in California, she loves these plants (and so do we). Ruth has managed to perfectly capture the color and intriguing shape of the manzanita, which stands out against the arid hills. This quilt was created with commercial and hand dyed cotton and eco-dyed wool, using fused applique and machine quilting. 

While not officially endangered, the manzanita has been threatened by California wildfires.  Massive clear cutting of  the chaparral and replacing it with weedy grasses destroys the manzanita and contributes to fire risks.  Instead, selective clearing to create strategic fire breaks and defensible space is a more viable approach.

Regeneration (diptych) by Amanda Miller (Eugene, Oregon)

Forests in the northwest have (also) been decimated by deadly wildfires in recent years.  Slowly they begin to grow again, a process that takes years. Regeneration is a striking contemporary art quilt made as a diptych that depicts the transformation from destruction to rebirth after wildfires. Amanda Miller created this piece with commercial and hand dyed cotton.  It is machine pieced and quilted, creating stunning shapes, colors, and textures.

As Amanda Miller explains, "There is no agreement on how to deal with these destructive blazes. Education and increased regulation of forested recreational areas may decrease the number of fires caused by humans.  Controlled fires and new forest management techniques could mitigate their size... also, restricted development in sensitive areas may be a partial solution.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Brigham City Museum in Utah. As of August 2021, many of the pieces can be purchased at the Connecting Our Natural Worlds web page.

 

Connecting Our Natural Worlds - SAQA Global Quilt Exhibit (day 2)

The Connecting Our Natural Worlds exhibit by SAQA showcases art quilts that illustrate the natural wonder of habitats around the globe. Through their own unique artistic interpretation, each artist has identified danger to flora and fauna in their own backyards. The selected pieces inspire viewers to get closer to nature and become better stewards for our environment.  We recently visited this outstanding exhibit at the Brigham City Museum in Utah.

~ p.s. Check out our eBay shop for great bargains on books, magazines, and collectible items. For free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter. 

Treelines by Deborah Boschert, Texas

 

Deborah explains, "The long lines of trees I saw in the Denmark countryside this last summer reminded me of the cypress trees in my Texas neighborhood. Several were lost in recent years to disease and other stress factors. There are ways to treat these problems, but the reality is that the Texas climate is not ideal for this species. "

 

Deborah continues, "Careful choices must be made in landscape planting. The orange trees at the top of this art quilt are shaped like the cypress in my neighborhood. The gaps in the line suggest some trees have been lost, reminding me of those that have been removed from streets and yards near my home." 

 Deborah's creative, pretty quilt shows the importance of the growth cycle of trees, as it relates to water and weather, as shown by the gently painted raindrops here.  Her techniques include fused applique, surface designs, paint, free-motion quilting, and hand embroidery

Vanishing Sanctuary by Holly L. Cole, Virginia

Holly writes, "Habitat loss for trees and wild animals is an escalating problem in the ongoing urban sprawl of Washington, D.C. into northern Virginia where I live. The woods surrounding my house offer sanctuary for me and many creatures. Fall foliage provided both inspiration for the imagery and the leaves for printing this quilt." 

Holly adds, "Sadly, new condominiums are quickly eliminating my neighboring woods. Using the model set by the Nature Conservancy, our best defense against habitat loss is to purchase and nurture the land and participate in local, public, re-zoning meetings to raise concerns.

 Holly's lovely quilt in vibrant colors is enhanced by her use of silk organza, whose delicate transparency is symbolic of our fragile eco-system. Holly also used skeleton leaves, screen printing, free motion quilting, applique, and Pojagi-style construction with covered seams in her patchwork.

Protected Finch by Maria Billings, California

Maria states, " Every year, finches migrate through my back yard, seeking shelter under the cover of green leaves. The "leaves" in this piece are shown as over 200 individually dyed and sewn folder rectangles that overlap. Like in nature, where no two leaves identical, these rectangles vary in material, size, and color. Some species of finch are endangered, others less so' but all of them require our protection and care."

In this close-up, you can see the image of the little finch hidden among the components of the tree. Maria's quilt has a very intriguing texture, showing a highly tactile composition.   If we were ever tempted to touch a quilt (which we would never do !), it would be this one. Maria's techniques include dying, folding, basting, and machine quilting on recycled cotton, cheesecloth, silk, and polyester.

House Home Hive Habitat by Linda M. Kim, Texas

Linda notes, "Some years back, I replaced a large swath of lawn with native plants and learned to garden. I was thrilled with the abundance of new wildlife. Blooming flowers drew bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds."

Linda continues, "This abstract house represent the bees' habitat as well as the home shared by all creatures on earth. An hourglass on the door links to the dire warning, ' If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, humans would have only four years to live."

Linda's quilt makes a very timely statement about the importance of supporting habitats for pollinators. She uses machine piecing, hand-quilting, and hand-embroidery, on cotton, feedsack fabric, recycled clothing, and film strips.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Brigham City Museum in Utah. As of August 2021, many of the pieces can be purchased at the Connecting Our Natural Worlds web page.

Connecting Our Natural Worlds - SAQA Global Quilt Exhibit (day 1)

The Connecting Our Natural Worlds exhibit by SAQA showcases art quilts that illustrate the natural wonder of habitats around the globe. Through their own unique artistic interpretation, each artist has identified danger to flora and fauna in their own backyards. The selected pieces inspire viewers to get closer to nature and become better stewards for our environment.  We recently visited this outstanding exhibit at the Brigham City Museum in Utah.

~ p.s. Check out our eBay shop for great bargains on books, magazines, and collectible items. For free quilt inspiration, please visit us on Twitter. 

Morning Glory Pool by Patricia Gould (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

The visual impact of this piece was impressive due to the colors and the impression of depth that were created by the careful selection of fabrics and textures. Patricia Gould created Morning Glory Pool using raw edge applique, hand-turned applique, and free-motion stitching techniques. The materials used were cotton, silk, rayon, velvet, and handmade paper. We took closeup photos to show the exquisite detail of the quilting.

Patricia Gould says that Morning Glory Pool is one of her favorite geysers in Yellowstone National Park. However, the color and quality of the water has gradually changed over the years, from a beautiful blue and teal clean water to a yellow-orange color due to junk thrown into the pool by visitors.  She notes, "Unless humans around the globe change their attitudes about how critical it is to protect the Earth, we will not be able to save these unique and precious areas for the future."

Rough Water by Sarah Entsminger (Ashburn, Virginia) 

From a distance, Rough Water appears to be a landscape painting depicting water crashing onto rocks. However, fabric is used as the base for this wonderful piece. Sarah Entsminger created Rough Water by using hand-dyed fabric, ink, wax pastel, colored pencil, and acrylic paint. The techniques used were machine applique, machine quilting, and painting.

Sadly, the lakes, rivers, and streams of Virginia (and many other places) are heavily polluted with chemicals that threaten human and animal health. She notes, "Fish and other wildlife, as well as different plant species, are dependent on clean water for survival.  We must expand and enforce the provisions of the Clean Water Act and persuade industries to use safer alternatives to these toxic chemicals." 

Tears for Tahlequah by Karen Selk (British Columbia, Canada)

Tears for Tahlequah is a tribute to an orca whale named Tahlequah whose baby died within hours after birth. The other members of the pod helped to support her as she grieved the loss. This piece was created with unspun silk fibers, beads, and silk organza.  the materials were fused, machine stitched, hand stitched, and appliqued.  The "tears" (created with beads) can be seen in the closeup photo below.

As Karen Selk notes: the Orcas that live in the Salish Sea, which spans from Vancouver, British Columbia to Seattle, Washington, are in extreme danger. "We must protect their preferred food sources, diminish underwater noise, and reduce toxic pollutants that affect Orca populations."

Magical Creatures by Christine Holden (Sarasota, Florida)

Christine Holden created Magical Creatures with cotton, acrylic paint, and fabric pens, using the techniques of fused applique, fabric painting, thread painting, and free motion quilting.  This outstanding work of art depicts two Leafy Sea Dragons (Phycodurus eques) which are drifting along in their environment, closely resembling and blending with the seaweed around them. "Not quite fish and not quite plant, they are strangely beautiful and magical creatures."

Christine Holden notes, "Thanks to today's scientists and underwater photographers, these environments are being explored and documented." We admired her intricate applique work, which faithfully reproduces the details of these animals.  A closeup of the border, below, shows the use of charcoal and green batik fabric that brings to mind the colors and textures of the underwater world.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Brigham City Museum in Utah. As of August 2021, many of the pieces can be purchased at the Connecting Our Natural Worlds web page.