Catching Up and Breaking New Ground

Last Sunday my friend Marlene arrived from London and we spent the week gallivanting. Tuesday we went to the Met to see the Jasper Johns exhibit,which was wonderful. If you are anywhere near NY, you should go see it. For us, at least, it was food for lots of thought. Afterwards, we walked down 5th Ave. for about 35 blocks till we simply had to take the subway. Along the way, we saw this sign. What do you think it means? Who determines what noise is unnecessary? Unnecessary for what? Last time I looked, there were no noise police in New York (or, for that matter, anywhere else). Wed and Thurs we shopped and we still can't decide which was more fun - New York City or the Eileen Fisher warehouse sale in NJ - very successful for Marlene, I might add. Friday we drove to Wayne, PA for the SDA/SAQA conference and the opening of Art Quilt Elements that night. The place was mobbed and it was almost impossible to see the work properly through the throngs! Pokey Bolton, Karey Breshahan and Linda Fowler were at the opening; I missed Karey but had a chance to spend time chatting with both Pokey and Linda. Too busy, of course, to take pictures - and anyway, I would only have gotten backs of heads. Saturday's conference sessions ranged from the sublime (Michael Olszewski & Jason Pollen; Susan Brandeis) to the disappointing, but on the whole, it was an exciting and valuable day of networking and discussion. Sunday, although the buses were intolerably late, we had a day full of art and stimulation in Philadelphia. First stop, the Design Center at Philadelphia University and a fun textile exibit that included a Drunkard's Path made of underwear. Then, we had an interesting tour of the textile labs at the University, where they learn about everything they need to learn to go into textile design/interior design/fashion design - etc. While they are really into digital printing these days (see examples below) they still have a hands-on screen printing course. I would KILL for a screen storage system like this - and as many screens on hand. Later, at the Crane Building downtown, we saw an installation of what looks like my husband's shirts after they have been through the wash. I don't remember what the price was, but maybe there was not one because this installation was priceless. We finally made it to the fabulous biennial at Snyderman Works. To die-for. Get there if you can!! Outside, a mini-bite of spring. and a piece of natural street art I couldn't resist. Philadelphia is always a treat.

Art day in Philadelphia

Joanie & Rachel do Philadelphia

My friend Seema and I take one day a month to see an art exhibit. Today, Seema, Rachel, and I drove to Philadelphia to see the Fiber Biennial at Snyderman-Works and we met Joanie in the gallery. It was a huge outing for Joanie, who hasn't gotten out much lately. The show at Snyderman was wonderful -- but that was just the beginning of our fun day. After lunch, we walked around the Old Philadelphia neighborhood, which is peppered with galleries, shops, the wholesale restaurant supply district, and Betsy Ross' house. Just about everything we saw today was art. Look at the talent in this gallery window.

Then there was the street art. A doorway being restored. An old glass sidewalk grate whose gems shone pink and purple in the noonday sun.

Buildings being rehabbed.

Along the way I passed a sign on a door that said">"Plumber you are 1-1/2 hours late. Perhaps we should reschedule." Sounds like an understatement my father would have made. Perhaps, indeed. Or not.

This wonderful wall is a piece of sculpture. But apparently, not for long.

Around 2:00 Joanie headed for home and we headed for the wholesale restaurant supply store because I was looking for a big stockpot for steaming fabric. What a wonderland!

Plastic bread baskets. How festive! Seema said they reminded her of the restaurants in Mexico that have placemats hanging up outside as decorations. Well, you can't say the place is drab. i saw some items on this wall that I would have loved, but they were special order.

The man who owned the place -- well, they don't make 'em like that any more. Everything I asked the price of, he answered "one hundred dollars!" ha ha - jokester. I found a pot but the lid was extra. "Not everybody needs a lid." HUH? Well, I bought it anyway. With the lid. Extra. And then I needed something to put inside that I could use as a steaming thingie. I found a pot with holes all over it: all I have to do is find a way to remove the handle and it will fit inside the stockpot. Seema bought a frying pan and Rachel bought I don't -know-what, but she was busy snapping pictures. Here is Seema in the background, and me with Mr. $100 entertaining me as I paid. I grew up in a hardware store, so I loved it here. Still laughing, loaded down with pots and lids.

Finally time to go. It wasn't our last stop of the day, but it was the most fun.Everybody needs a day of such hilarity and nonsense at least once every six weeks or so. It was so much fun, it felt like a Friday!

the Philadelphia story

Friday morning, Marty and I headed down for the weekend to attend the opening of Art Quilts at the Sedgwick. This is the Ben Franklin Bridge, the gridwork of which I could not resist shooting and which will undoubtedly turn up somewhere in my work. I didn't have a piece in this year's show but several of my good friends had pieces juried in: Diane Savona, Judy Langille, Judith Plotner, and Jette Clover, so we went to celebrate with them. Anyway, it is always such a fabulous weekend for textiles in Phila that we go no matter what. Weather on Fri wasn't promising but it ended up being a perfect day for walking - mild and sunny. Not so for Sat, which was COLD (I was wearing 5 layers, including my ski jacket) raw, and pouring rain. No matter. We had a great time. Friday afternoon we headed straight for the Snyderman-Works Gallery for the Fifth Biennial Fiber Exhibit. An eclectic show of fiber pieces to-die-for, and I mean to get back there before the exhibit ends on April 29. I think it is the strongest fiber show Snyderman-Works has had to date. I did not like everything -- but all of it was stimulating. Go if you can. It was great because I saw some people I knew and met some I had not previously run into but had wanted to meet among the members of Friends of Fiber Art as well as Art Quilt Network New York who were there. At the Sedgwick opening, Friday night (henceforth called Art Quilts Philadelphia because it will remain in center city). I finally met Lisa Call and Pam Rubert, both of whom had work in the show. It was so hectic and crowded that we hardly had time to chat, but it was great to see them. And of course, I kept running into my friend Mary Manahan, which is always a treat. Mary wasn't so crazy about the exhibit at the Snyderman and I can certainly understand that, since there were some rather strange pieces and everything from gut to wire. Fiber at Snyderman-Works is defined very broadly. I didn't like everything but there were a couple of pieces I would gladly have acquired if I had won last week's lottery. Here are just a few links to the artists I thought did especially interesting work. There were many more. Yvonne Bobrowicz Barbara Lee Smith Dorothy Caldwell Mary Merkel-Hess Shizuko Kimura Rebecca Medel Meantime, back at the Sedgwick opening and the next day at the brunch, I was so busy yakking that as usual, I forgot to take a lot of pictures. But here are the few I did take. I might note that everybody looked about ten times better than my photography makes them look. But, oh well.

Lisa Call, Pat Autenrieth, Pam Rubert

Valerie Goodwin & Sandra Woock

and in a moment of pure, spontaneous joy --

Corni Forster and Jette Clover

My high-living and late nights for the weekend have caught up with me and I'll try to finish up my report tomorrow night