Long Beach Quilt Festival-Wednesday evening

A portion of the "Edges" exhibition,

curated/juried by Jamie Fingal and myself

another view of "Edges"

Dinner with friends!  (L to R:  Iris Karp, Yvonne Porcella, & Jamie Fingal)

After a long, hot (no a/c inside the exhibition-area of the convention center during installation) day of hanging the "Edges" exhibition, I enjoyed a wonderful, laughter-filled evening with Iris Karp, Yvonne Porcella, and roommate Jamie at the hotel restaurant.  It was a true pleasure to catch up with these remarkable women and hear the latest about their families.  I purchased a copy of Yvonne's small "zine".  It is the same size as my favorite moleskine journal, approximately a "half-page" cover-area. 

The photos of our Edges gallery-area show the quilts before the lighting was properly adjusted.

Many thanks go to Vicki Mangum, of Quilts, Inc., for her cheerful assistance during the hanging process.  She went the extra mile to assure that the lighting was adequate in some tricky spots!  

In addition, I want to thank the artists who submitted the wonderful quilts for "Edges" (all of you).  It was a difficult process of selection, as there were so many great pieces.  To those of you who are part of this exhibition:  Congratulations!  To the rest whose quilts were released:  thank you so much for allowing Jamie and I to consider your quilts.  As I have personally gotten MANY more thin versus thick envelopes, I want to say this:  there are many reasons why a quilt is not selected.  Sometimes it is that the quilt simply doesn't "play well" with the others selected to be in the exhibit.  It could be that the photos lack the necessary quality to allow the juror to see the quilt in the best light.  Often, I don't get any feedback when a piece is declined from a show.  I try to be philosophical about it, asking myself if there is anything I would/could change about this piece to improve it.  Sometimes, I am able to see where a piece can be improved, or I know that my photography did not show my quilt in the best way possible.  I have worked hard to avoid

feeling "rejected", or that my work has no value.  It was harder in the beginning to avoid taking it personally.  Now, I realize that it simply comes with the territory.  My oldest daughters, both art school graduates, shared something that their professors said, "If you can't wallpaper a small room with your "rejection" letters you simply aren't trying hard enough"!

I think this is a wonderful way to look at it:  nothing ventured, nothing gained.

May all your letters be "fat", or at the very least, an opportunity for personal insight.