Portals Challenge

This week I met a fellow artist and friend Chris Kirsch at a local coffee shop to deliver my "Portals" art quilt.  Chris and I have been friends for many years.  We each have a passion for fiber art; love, love, love our grandchildren;  and share the belief that both the Art and the Children are Gifts in our lives.  

We belong to the Milwaukee Art Quilters Group (MArQ) and were discussing the upcoming exhibit of the group challenge - PORTALS -  at the Ben Franklin store in Oconomowoc, WI.  for the month of November.  Each year the group challenges it's members to stretch their creativity muscles with a specific theme, size, or design element to be incorporated into an art quilt.  This years challenge had size restrictions and vertical orientation, otherwise the portal itself was open to interpretation.  Being the mandala enthusiast that I am, my portal had to have a circular form to it.  Pictured here is the finished piece with its description.  ENJOY! 

Portals:  Past, Present, Future
 When we think about the evolution of this artist's sewing passion, we can see that her hands have always been busy with all types of fabrics and applications.  The embroidery projects as a young girl are represented in the recycled embroidered tablecloth that was too precious to discard.  The upholstery  fabric spiral represents the home decor projects that surrounded her family raising years and the piecing techniques that every quilter knows.  The future of this artist's passion is represented by the hand painted ultrasuede center.  The shiny metallic threads that hold this piece together and draw the viewers eye inward represents the Light of the MUSE that has been a constant thread throughout all of the different stages and is the core of this Portal.



Until next time ~