Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland

My husband, Tim, and the film producer Farley Ziegler were invited to participate in a discussion with Q&A after the European premier of "Tim's Vermeer" during the film festival component of Art Basel.  Art Basel is what I would describe as the World's Fair of art fairs featuring contemporary works of art in all media.  It varied from large installations to paintings to performance art.  Open first to VIP buyers for two days, it opened to the public on Friday, June 20th, and ended on Sunday, June 22nd.  We arrived into Basel late afternoon of the 19th and immediately face-planted in our hotel bed.  I managed to shower and get in my jammies before doing this, but that was it:  no dinner or anything else!  Blam!
This seemed to work pretty well for me because I experience minima jet-lag afterward.
We managed to see most, if not all, the areas and galleries.  Tim discovered the design area, a separate part of the show for furniture design and lighting, and I loved it!  I'm a huge fan of architecture and industrial design so this was really fun to see.
I will share a sampling of the things I saw.  I must admit that it was an odd experience to walk amongst well-known works of art and see price tags next to them when one generally experiences these paintings and sculptures in museum settings!  It made being there seem a bit surreal.  Many well-known paintings and sculptures sold during the show which meant that the art market is alive and well.
Another exciting experience was the installation/performance piece called "14 Rooms".  I was able to see all but one of the rooms.  Tim and I stood in line for well over an hour but the time dwindled to the point where we had to step out of the line and move on with our day.  I concluded that the wait in the line was part of the experience of that particular room!  I believe I had one image of the open-area between the "rooms" that I will share here.  I may separate this post into two parts as I have a lot of images.  We shall see.  Enjoy!

The trip over consisted of changing planes in Chicago, then on to London Heathrow,

then to Basel.  Thunderstorms in the Chicago-area made for a lengthy delay, which then

caused us to miss our connection in London.  We waited in Heathrow for several hours before 

flying on to Basel.  Such are the joys of flying.  You just have to be flexible!

The wait on the ramp in Chicago encouraged me to draw and paint a bit...

Then I was able to watch a gorgeous sunset from the air...for a long time.

We arrived!  After sleeping, we were anxious to wander through the show.

I loved the fact that the "taco truck" in Basel was an airstream!  Also,

loved that the benches were covered in astroturf.

Tired, but happy!

This installation in the "Unlimited" area (meaning unlimited sizes)

really struck me.  I love the effect of reflections on glass through train, plane, and building windows.

It gives a very ethereal, immediate but fleeting, effect.

This installation is by Sabine Hornig, called "Double Transparency".  I love it.

Another, called "High Tide", is very compelling.

The architecture of the convention center buildings is quite unique.

Here is a cone-like opening in the building covered by a cool steel skin.

below is the placard for the Robert Rauschenberg collage, above.

This diptych was enchanting, and created with wrapped thread!

embroidery on paper.

tram riding throughout the city....

The following are images in the central area of the "14 Rooms" installation/performance.

Read about it, and watch a video about the experience, here.

For '14 Rooms', curators Klaus Biesenbach and Hans Ulrich Obrist invited fourteen international artists to each activate a room, exploring the relationship between space, time, and physicality with an artwork whose "material" is the human being.

Below is an example of what awaited the viewer inside the rooms:

Image taken from the Huffington Post article.

You may watch the video here.

Remembering Robert Genn

"Self Portrait with Emily"

by Robert Genn

(taken from his website, The Painter's Keys

Many of you have followed Robert Genn's online newsletter over the years.  I admit that I didn't always read it to the end, but found that there were morsels of insight and encouragement hidden in each.  Robert passed away recently after battling pancreatic cancer.
The following is an excerpt shared by his daughter, Sara, who, along with her brother, will carry on with the newsletter.  You can find a link to the newsletter at the end of the post.

Last Monday, friends and family gathered to say good-bye to Dad. We celebrated his life at The Surrey Arts Centre, a multi-faceted museum and performance space for artists - young, established, global and local - adjoining a sprawling public green space and gardens near our home.

Among those who spoke were my two brothers. Dave described Dad's lifelong commitment to art and to a global community of fellow artists. "One of Dad's most powerful gifts," said Dave, "was his enduring question to himself and to others: 'What do I want to do today?' " My twin, James, presented a collection of vintage slides revealing Dad's passions and friendships. It confirmed a life lived fully and fearlessly. Here is, in part, what I added:

Dad. Our flame. Our solar system's supernova, around which we've orbited in awe. Our source of all joy, all grace, all wisdom and wonder.

Once, while lying in the tall dune grasses at Hollyhock, I told my dad I was certain his exact location was visible from space. It would surely be seen as a throbbing orange, aura-like glow.

Dad's location could be narrowed down, for periods, to a four-by-four foot spot at our home on Beckett Road. Here, with his force of infinite dedication, he logged infinite moments of joy and toil, practice and patience, craft, love and boundless discovery: Dad's ardent becoming. His journey evolved by way of curiosity, through victory and dud, by way of experimentation, triumph and reflection, through impossible ideas and brilliant solutions, by examination, escape and devotion and through periods of quiet solitude, raucous conversation and playful play. This is the place where Dad expressed his essence, his heart, his soul, and from where he loved us.

He called his easel "the nuclear sun of an uncommon universe." Here, where the floor is a soft sponge of permanently damp boards and subfloor, under original 1974 linoleum. And a 1920's secretary chair, painted grey, with two well-worn spots where you lean back in it. When Dad started wearing suspenders a few years ago, he created yet another means of clocking his devotion, scratching away the chair paint, all the way to the wood. And hanging at the top right-hand corner of the easel from a Robertson screw is an ancient leather loop holding his maulstick - to balance his brush hand over a delicate counterpoint, his "colour surprise," and to sign his name. "Squeeze your paints like a millionaire," he told us. An original overhead spring lamp, wired by Grandpa, has a hand switch that goes "clack" when activated - the sonic signal to the beginning or to the end of a daily, magical transportation. Now and always, to work here has been to embody a spirit beyond reasonable comprehension - something to be cupped lightly in wonder, to be cherished in all its depth, detail and strength, while channelling the child-like wonder that bubbles there. Now, we endeavour to carry on, with astonishment and gratitude for its lingering warmth and power.

Sincerely,

Sara

PS: "Art is a path on which we honour our world." (Robert Genn)

Esoterica: When I was a little girl, Dad would describe for me a world by design. It became a myth between us - an idyllic place for being still and for doing, for creating, with room for possibilities and with just enough provisions for comfort and privacy, allowing the imagination to roam with what he referred to as "all the right sounds." His hints stuck with me.  All my life, I heard from Dad about this world, and when we were in some spot or another, while travelling, mosey-driving, or waiting for something to happen - like a ferry to dock, or plane to land, or a basket of fish-n-chips to arrive, he would remind me of this world and how it was up to all of us to create.

A few years ago, I walked into a friend's house in upstate New York and flipped open a small, linen-bound book on her kitchen table. A page fell open and my eyes rested on a familiar place. There read Dad's encouragement. Here's what it said:

THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE

"I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core."

(William Butler Yeats)

Artist and human being - Dad - lived at his highest expression in a world of his own design. He has poured love and inquiry in every direction. Living without him would be an agony but for the instructions he left for us. If he hasn't told you before, I'll share them with you now. They're simple:

"Be happy. Have a beautiful life."

---

Subscribe for free to the Robert & Sara Genn Twice-Weekly Letter.

Meadowlark Blog Hop: Making "Melly's Garden"

I am so thrilled for my friend Melanie Testa.  She is a wonderful artist, excellent human, and I am happy to call her my friend.  When she came to Quilt Market in the fall of 2013 with her samples for a new fabric line everyone was thrilled when Windham Fabrics fell in love with them.  It seems like a perfect match, and I am even more excited about the fact that each of these designs was created using Procion MX dye and multiple processes with stamp printing.  The process gives the fabric line a very handmade, organic appearance that is beautifully appealing.

Melly asked if I would consider making a sample using her new fabric for the Windham booth at Spring Quilt Market 2014 and I jumped at the opportunity to work with it.  Seeing the collection made me want to create a very scrappy-looking quilt because it all works so well together.

I decided to work with my large hexagon die (5" on each side!) and cutter from Sizzix.  I wanted this quilt to be very lightweight so I opted for a layer of diaper gauze as the batting.  All pieces, including the batting, were cut on the Sizzix.

Here is the fabric cut with the hexi die, to give a sense of scale.

Working in pairs the pieces were placed, right sides together with a layer of diaper gauze on top.

Using 1/4 inch seams five of the six sides were stitched together on the machine, leaving one side open.

Points were clipped to facilitate a crisp finished angle when turned right side out.

Turn the hexi right sides out.  Now the batting is already in place!

Press each side until crisp.

The open end is folded inward and pressed...

Like this.

Now it is ready to be stitched.

I used Superior MonoPoly to close each hexi.

Simple!

After deciding the placement of the colors I joined the hexies together using a zigzag stitch with MonoPoly thread.

Because the batting was so thin I opted to do the quilting after the entire quilt was joined.

Switching to colored thread I opted to echo the shapes inside the hexies

and finish with free-motion quilted flowers.

I love this quilt!  I made a generous sized crib quilt. 

The beauty of it is that if I ever choose to I could easily increase the size of it by 

adding more hexies using this technique.  Also, I like the angular edge.

If you are interested in more ideas about using hexagons in your work I would recommend Jen Eskridge's new book, "Hexagons Made Easy".  

To be eligible for a "fat stack" of 10" squares of each fabric(!) in Melly's new Meadowlark line please leave a comment here before midnight on June 10th.  I would love to have each of you as a regular visitor!  I will draw the lucky winner with my "randomizer" after the deadline and announce the winner.  Melly is also giving away three copies of her book, "Dreaming From The Journal Page".  One will be given away on her blog and the other two will be chosen from the blogs with the most comments at the end of the hop, so keep those comments coming all the way through June 10th to be eligible.

For more ideas about how to use Melly's new "Meadowlark" fabrics please continue on all the blog hop stops.  You will be glad you did!  

Melly – June 2 

Vivien Zepf – June 2 
Chrissie D – June 3 
Sue Bleiweiss – June 4  
You Are Here!  June 5 
Jamie Fingal – June 6 
Lyric Kinard – June 7 
Jen Eskridge – June 8 
Jacqui Holmes Calhoun – June 8  <——-Jacqui will be guest posting here!
Stephanie Forsyth – June 9 
Victoria Findlay Wolfe – June 10 
Teri Lucas – June 11 Blog-TBD
Scott Hansen June 12
Helen Eckard – June 12 <——-CHelen will be guest posting on Melly's blog

And the winner is.....Tawney!  Please contact me with your email address and I will pass it along to Melly.  Thank you, everyone, for stopping by and leaving a comment!  xoxo Leslie