Showing posts with label Festival of Quilts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Festival of Quilts. Show all posts

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Looking Back at 2014, Part 2

Happy New Year!  I'm hitting some of the things that happened in 2014.  It was a crazy-busy year with more travel and events (mostly good) than I have ever packed into a single year.  Here is the second part of the year....
Throughout the year I guest-blogged for Stencil Girl products.
I love all the amazing ways I can use their exceptional stencils in my work!

June:
Tim and I traveled back to Europe for Art Basel.
"Tim's Vermeer" was a featured film at the festival.

If you ever find yourself in Basel, Switzerland, you must go to this museum.

We also took in a Paul Chan exhibit.  He is Iris Karp's nephew!


I love trains!  I convinced my husband to take an adventure with me into the Alps on
the Bernina Express!  It just seemed right, don't you think?
We boarded this great observation car and had it all to ourselves.
The train is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Take the trip if you ever have the chance.


We ended up in the small Italian town of Tirano, 
where we spent the night.


It is so breathtaking these pics seem fake.



What a great adventure!

Late June/early July:
I was honored to be present for the birth of these identical twins
in Los Angeles just a few days after I returned from Switzerland.
These girls held hands in the delivery room!


We had babies closer to home:  this is our great-niece.

Later, I bumped into this wild animal, er, I mean Mark Lipinski!

We both serve on the board of the Quilt Alliance.

Here I am with a rare "blow-out"  Straight hair?  Only for a few minutes...

August:
Back to Europe!  This time for the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK.
I was honored to have a quilt in the Art Quilt Masters category.
Tim accompanied me.  His first quilt show.  Ever.

We traveled into London as Tim had a business meeting.
I tagged along and went my own way, as I was anxious to see the Matisse Cut-Outs
exhibition at the Tate Modern.  Amazing!

I turned 60!
What do you think of my new crown, made for me by Jamie Fingal?

My curator's piece for "Whats For Dinner?", entitled "local flavor".
Inspired by my trips to London, I created "Matisse and the New London Skyline"

My amazing "Bizzi At the Bernina" birthday cake!

The creation of a dry creek bed through my garden...

September:
A trip to Cleveland to tape episodes of Quilting Arts TV.

On to New York for Quilters Take Manhattan.  We filled every seat.

Two of my favorite women:  Melly Testa and Yvonne Porcella

late September/early October:
Then we went back to Italy!  We met Jeannie and Mike Moore in Tuscany.

I love all the old surface textures.

Beautiful tomatoes on the vine.

Grapes.




I came back to Texas and met Ringo Starr prior to the All Star Band concert.

Then, I traveled back to Ohio and took a week-long workshop with Nancy Crow.

Here is a work-in-progress.

Then, on to Quilt Market!
Jamie and I pose in front of "Selfie" by Kristin LaFlamme

We ran into our friend, Marie Bostwick!

November:
And, after almost 2 weeks of work and play, we returned to San Antonio.
Breakfast outdoors!

Tim and I traveled to Puebla Mexico to another conference,
where I met Piper Kerman, author of "Orange Is The New Black".

December:
In early December the Modern Quilt Guild had our holiday party and gift exchange.
I am the fortunate new owner of this beauty by Allison Chambers.

And a photo booth at the Newtek party.


There were extreme highs and deep losses in my life this year.
Tim and I lost family members so there was profound sadness mixed into all these bits.
It was a crazy, creative year.  
Let's hear it for the year ahead!  A very Happy New Year to you all.  
What does the new year hold in store for you?   Do you have artistic goals?  I would love to hear about them.  Drop me a line!  xo Leslie










Saturday, August 9, 2014

To The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK!

I'm slow to post about my adventure to the Birmingham Festival of Quilts.  Nose to the grindstone in my studio since returning as I have had a lot of work to do and was behind!
What an adventure!  Three best parts:  my husband Tim went along with me and it was his FIRST-EVER quilt show! Second best part was reuniting with my dear friends from Committed to Cloth!  I used to see them every year as they would travel to San Antonio for a week-long independent study.  Times changed and we haven't seen each other for a number of years.  What fun we had!  Tim and I elected to stay in the small village of Knowle at the same place as our friends so we had wonderful times together throughout our stay.  Third best thing:  I had a quilt juried into the "Art Quilt:  Masters" portion of the show.
Heading back to the UK for the second time this year!

Working on a "Sweet Little Something" in-flight

Here are some more....

Wha..?  Quite a shocking change from the 100' S TX weather!

A lovely piece in the Art Quilt Masters by Marion Hall,
a student of my friend Claire Benn


Posing with the sign and my quilt.

Ann Johnston had an exhibition of her work at the show.
It was great to see her again!
Her work was stunning and I adored how well it was hung:  gallery-like setting and 
some of the pieces were free-hanging.  
Really impressive!

The Virtual Studio:  such an incredible thing to see at a quilt show!
A true working sink and all the rest of the wet studio bells and whistles.
Now this is truly an Open Studio.  I was gobsmacked.

A wonderful piece by my friend, Susie Koren


Okay, if you know me at all (rock-obsessed) you already know 
how much I adore this installation of "Granite Pebbles" by Jacqui Cotterill


Afternoons sitting outside under the market umbrellas with Daline Stott and Claire Benn
stitching, chatting, drinking tea...

and Pimms

The sweet village of Knowle.  
Enchanting!
An installation of wearables...

Meeting Sandra Snowden in-person after years of virtual friendship.
I was so impressed with the entire show, but one exhibition really stood out in my mind:
The collaborative group "Art Textiles:  Made In Britain".  Wow.
Eleven women artists who make very different sorts of work, creating a show bound by the 
theme, "Identity".  Powerful work.

This piece by Rosie James really struck a chord with me.
Here is Claire Benn walking through it.
So beautiful and ethereal.  Sigh.

machine stitched organza panels.  Beautiful!
Also the work of my friend Cas Holmes.
I was fortunate to take a workshop from her this spring in San Diego.
So fun to see her!


And then there was Eszter Bormemisza!
Just....wowza!

Her work is absolutely thrilling.


I got to meet the lovely Deborah O'Hare.
She had just seen my husband's film so I took him over to meet her.

Our final gathering was for dinner at a Thai restaurant.
What fun to have all these wonderful people together on the 
night before my 60th birthday?!  I headed home on my birthday with a full heart.
So thankful to know these amazing people.