The Lily Art Show and a Return to Blogging

Hand Dyed Lilies  - 18" by 27 "

I had a few goals set for myself this summer.  One was to create a piece for the annual Lily Art Show at Campbell's Pottery and the other was to get back into the habit of blogging.  You see both are essential to my creative growth because. . . . without shows and deadlines I would never get anything done. . . and. . . . without blogging I wouldn't have a record of what I've been actually doing.  Sooooo anyways, I've managed to meet both goals.

This year's Lily Show was a success with me creating a piece completed, entered and accepted.  Still, I'm not totally in love with this it.   It was the first time I've used a reverse applique technique where the pattern is drawn on the underside of pellon and the bobbin thread holds the pieces on the front.  VERY odd. . . . the way I normally create, I like to visually try out pieces of hand dyed fabric making sure that each piece's value and color look good with everything else.  With this method, I really had to make up my mind where everything was going before I started sewing.  Also, the thread painting on this piece made it pucker.  Now it had a full layer of stabilizer on the back so you'd think that wouldn't happen but nooooooooo - it did.  Still once I got used to it, I realized that it added  a lot of texture to the piece and was visually interesting.  The traditional quilter in me was appalled though.  Needless to say, I'm very happy to see this piece done and hung.

Paul Sayre's Walnut and Mahogany Lily Boxes

After seeing the show today, I couldn't believe how much fiber has made a big splash into the art scene here in Erie County, PA.  There were several fiber pieces in the show including traditional raw edge applique with borders and binding, fabric pictures that were just fuzed together and painted over, 3-D sculptures, and hand quilted pieces framed and put under glass.  About 120 pieces were juried --- 60 were accepted -- about 20 were fiber.

Michael Kashey's Green Goddess

Also accepted was the amazing work of my husband, Paul.  He decided this year to make inlaid boxes - one of mahogney and the other walnut.  Both sold in the first hour of the show.  Yes, he was pleased.  But who can resist art that is functional and  pretty?

So I already have ideas for next year's lily quilts.  I want to enter two pieces.  Still, I don't see myself going the way most fiber artists did this year  - framing my work and putting it under glass. I realize that to the rest of the world this proclaims a piece to be "Serious Art".   To me, though, fiber means texture and texture is meant to be touched.