The Textile Artists of Virginia (TAVA) supports each member as fiber artists, explores boundaries of the medium and works to educate and increase public awareness of fiber art. The members are from south western Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.
Consequences is the result of a dialogue during our meeting that occurred shortly after the major earthquake in Japan with the resulting tsunami and scare at the nuclear plants. How many of the crises have occurred over the years were the result of human error? Certainly decisions were not all deliberately made knowing there would be problems later. Greed, poor or no research, bad advice, ignorance etc. often played a part. "If we just hadn't built there, clear cut the forests, rushed that medical research...". That led to a discussion pondering the choices we had made in our lives and what the consequences were the result of those...and the paths not taken.
Sometimes consequences have a lighter side including kitchen mishaps and successes. Since this discussion we have become more aware of our choices, decisions, and wondering what the consequences will be from those decisions. It's like a DNA spiral, really. One thing leads to another and hopefully we will spiral up, not down, more often than not.
Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends: VinescapesFA@LE (Fiber Artists at Loose Ends) responded to an invitational exhibit at a Virginia winery by creating Vinescapes - landscape quilts featuring the fruit of the vine. Artists were inspired by the scenic environs of Virginia's beautiful wineries. Each artist responded to the challenge and interpreted the theme by including a vine somewhere in the quilt. Vinescapes has been featured at several wineries in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Chicago Modern Quilt Guild
The Chicago Modern Quilt Guild instigated a challenge to create mini quilts inspired by other works of art. Each participating member prepared a package including a photo of an inspirational work of art, details about themselves and their quilting style and a small piece of fabric they felt represented them. Packages were exchanged. Over the next two months, participants used their partner’s pieces of inspiration to create a mini quilt that could range in size from 9” x 9” to 20” x 20” – or anything in between. See how these talented quilters interpreted someone else’s inspiration in this unique challenge. Maybe your guild wants to try a something similar…
15 Minutes of Play
Victoria Findlay Wolfe, author of the new book 15 Minutes of Play from C & T Publishing, encourages quilters to take 15 minutes per day, for "Made-Fabric" PLAY! Taking time to PLAY, allows you to explore new ideas, sewing techniques and to find fabulous color combinations you might not have been inclined to try before. Let inspiration happen organically and build your quilting confidence! Victoria makes her quilts from scrap fabric, sewing pieces together to build her own "made-fabric" -- her quilts are bright, bold and original. As president of the NYC Mod Quilt Guild with a blog/website at Bumble Beans Inc., Victoria has collected some of the quilts from her book to show quilters the amazing results play brings about. www.bumblebeansinc.com
Quilts and Kimonos
by June Colburn
The love of Japanese and Asian art and culture are a continuing inspiration for designer June Colburn, whose textile works feature traditional motifs, often thousands of years old. She infuses her quilts and clothing with the joyful appreciation of the old, while employing new artful techniques and fabrics.
Longarm Showcase
Explore the artistry in longarm quilting. With seemingly endless possibilities, longarm machines are capable of creating stunning quilts. See the variety and skill from several longarm artists who stretch the limits of quiltmaking today.
Georgia Quilt Show
Comprised of a sampling of the 103 quilts from the 2012 Georgia Quilt Show competition, these quilts showcase the variety of entries. In 2012, National Quilting Association certified judges Beverly Fine and Holice Turnbow awarded over $12,000 in prizes. Georgia Quilt Show is an annual event, so if you’ve ever dreamed of entering a quilt show, now’s your chance. Georgia Quilt Show will take place September 19, 20 & 21, 2013 at the Cobb Galleria. Visit www.georgiaquiltshow.com for details.