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| Challenge Title: Black and White and One Color Ardy Tobin "Circles & Squares" 43"x47" An on-line class showing that if you can draw it, you can piece it! Getting all the pieces to fit and lie flat was my biggest challenge. I'm really happy with the piece. Winner of MAQ's "Best Original Design," also tied with member Darlynn Evans. |
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| Lorri Wolfe "Black & White & Red all Over" 16 1/4" x 28" Part of the challenge for me was a personal challenge to use the magic product that makes the bumps on the black & white check. |
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| Joy Waggener "Fugue in Fuchsia" I was inspired to tackle this challenge by the "Black & White with a Twist" exhibit at the Long Beach Quilt Show. The background is a rectangular grid with curvy shapes in fuchsia overlaid. New things I tried: working with silk and Terial Magic, couching yarn and floss. |
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| Carol Walsh Untitled 311/2" x 22" Technique used from Quilting Arts article "Batik w/soy wax" by Melanie Testa. Biggest challenge was the removal of soy wax. I should have used a thinner paint (not thinned Versatex), such as a textile paint Jacquard, Lumiere, or neopaque brands. This was a lesson in trying new techniques, problem solving and making do. |
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| Pam Berry "Lone Tree" 14" x 11" I wanted to show the stark whites of winter. The tree was made several years ago in Suzanne Schmidt's studio. |
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| Margaret Vodicka "Impermanence" 45" x 30" I began working on this quilt when several events were occurring in my life that reminded me of the concept of "impermanence" - that there is nothing that is fixed and permanent; everything is subject to change and alteration. Symbols of our ever-changing world are represented in my quilt--nature, love, life and chaos. |
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| Karla Rogers "Do Not Grieve" 25" x 25" I used a Crayola Colored Pencil, no fabric medium, and as you can see had issues with smearing! This is a technique I will revisit once I can spend some time researching the options further. The quilt is entitled Do Not Grieve, for, as most of us do, I often turn to fiber arts as am working through the more difficult issues of life. The center motif of Joy was chosen as a reminder that no matter what losses we face, if we look, there are always things that can bring us joy. |
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| Challenge Title: Self-Portrait Robin Hart "Myself in Eclipse" 17" x 60" I have decided to do a self-portrait with the theme of an eclipse in phases. This suits me as I am involved with amateur astronomy and it is part of the art I do as a fine artist. The phases of the eclipse are also a metaphor for phases in life to which we travel. |
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| Lynda Lasich Self-Portrait 24" x 29" To start this challenge, a digitized portrait was done thanks to Beth Donley, a member of Needle Nellies, who provided me with the plans from a computer program which involved placing 3/4" squares together like a puzzle determined by numbers for the fabrics. |
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| Lynda Lasich Self-Portrait 23" x 28 1/2" I read an article in the Oct-Nov Quilting Arts magazine, "Working With an Artist Coach" by Jane Davila. Here within Mountain Art Quilters we have 50 artist coaches who have shown to me that they are willing to share their knowledge, or teach a class, and cheer me on. I want to thank specially Jan Reed for being my coach on this challenge. I wish she would teach a class. |
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| Sandra Bruce Self-Portrait 80" x 80" I wanted to make a quilt inspired by portraits done by painter Chuck Close. I put a grid on a photo of my face and worked in squares of 4"x4." There are forty rows of forty, 1600 total. The features, particularly the eyes, were the most difficult. I had to resist making things line up at all times. I stitched things about me into the background to complete the concept of "self-portrait". Winner of MAQ's "Best Interpretation of Challenge" |
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| Darlynn Evans "Contemplation" 44" x 42" I wanted to do a quilt with a whole cloth approach to stitching. I got the idea of doing a self-portrait of myself doing my favorite thing, going to a quilt show. I chose the nautical shell because its sections would naturally highlight my different stitches and colors. I chose a split complimentary color scheme in the dominant areas of the quilt to highlight myself and make the body come forward. Winner of MAQ's Best Original Design |
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| Lin Schiffner "Feeling Crazy" 20 1/2" x 25" My most "crazy" times occur when I become overwhelmed by worries that at times can deeply affect my body and soul. This piece was inspired by and created during one of those particularly stressful times while working on a drawing in my journal. Interestingly, I developed a case of shingles while making the piece and began to heal when it was completed. Hand and machine quilting; trapunto; hand embroidery, Jaquard Dynaflow and textile paints; embellished with beads. Winner of MAQ's Best use of Color |
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| Carolyn Woods "Heritage" 25" x 20" A self-portrait consists of many facets, and since I've been doing a lot of genealogy research lately, I chose to evoke the women, my mother, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, great, great-grandmothers, etc., because they each and every one contributed to what is my modern day genetic DNA profile. I am descended from each woman whose name is written on the quilt, including many women designated "unknown" whose names have been lost in history. |
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| Jan Reed "Coming of Age" 27" x 33" I began this quilt in a class taken from Esterita Austin at Asilomar this March. As much as I didn't want to be constantly looking at an image of myself, it was educational learning how to find all the values needed to get a decent likeness from one yard of hand dyed fabric. Batiks, metal chain and turquoise stone, colored pencils and ink pens were used. |
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| Challenge Title: Unconventional Materials Dee Jones "Contrary Mary's Garden" 24" x 17" Materials used: handwoven rayon/linen, rice paper, pet screen, scribble scarf, cut up handmade tube beads. |
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| Challenge Title: Whisper Whisper #1 Pat Nelson "Super Nova" 24" x 24" Inspiration for quilt: Went thru color & design & art quilt books until I had an idea. (After Super Nova was completed, it was passed onto Rita who in turn creates a piece based on or influenced by Pat's piece). |
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| Rita Stevens "Bali Flower" 25" x 25" Whisper #2 Batik fabrics were used. Leaf template. Rayon, silk cotton and metallic threads. Crystals and sparkle netting was also used. (Rita now passes Bali Flower to Nan Curry who creates a piece based on or influenced by Rita's piece. Super Nova is returned to Pat Nelson without Nan Curry seeing the piece). |
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| Lorna Straka "Poppy" 24"x24" Whisper #4 Inspiration for quilt/Georgia O'Keefe and Nan Curry. The participants of the Whisper Challenge viewed all four pieces for the first time on the Challenge Reveal date. |
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| Ruth Robinson "Dance of the Black Swan" 18"x18" Whisper #1 I was inspired by the dance performed by Miss California. When I saw how she turned her body, I grabbed a pencil and sketched her body movements. She was dancing the Black Swan. |
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| Millie Ruffalo "Swan Lake" 18"x18" Whisper #2 Whisper #1 is a ballerina all in black and bent over backwards. The first ballet that came to my mind was Swan Lake. I went on-line and looked up the story of Swan Lake. The story is that of a young prince, who on his birthday must find a princess to wed. The prince goes down to an enchanted lake where he finds swans that are under a spell. One of the swans is the princess the prince is looking for. |
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| Pat Gillings "Winged Goddess" 18"x18" Whisper #4 Received Pam Berry's quilt, which was an Asian-inspired portrayal of 3 flying cranes. It made me think of cranes being the symbol for long life and how symbols seem to give us comfort. Also how we as humans are fascinated with wings and flying creatures. So I decided to create a winged goddess in a mandala form to covey that idea. I used a new technique to piece one circle inside of another. The main challenge was to create the individual units of beading and then to get them to fit together along with the fabric dress. I had to make each unit separately as I had to improvise each shape as I went along. |
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| A room full of enthusiastic artists and guests. |
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| Marylee Drake's show and tell piece. "Gearing-up for the Future" |
