New Fiberexplorations Challenge

  A R C H I T E C T U R E    C H A L L E N G E

Decorative element on Ladd and Bush Bank building

Our group's latest challenge is something different.  (No, that's not the name or the subject.)  I've been referring to it as the Architecture Challenge.  Proposed by our member Chris, it's based on the ornately-decorative architecture of Salem's Ladd & Bush Bank, a downtown landmark.  Seemingly just for our purpose, the building recently received a new paint job!

A new layer of paint added to many others

Once I started examining the building's architectural details, I was surprised at all I found.  I've driven by this building, walked past it, and have been inside it numerous times, but never really LOOKED or SAW.  (There's a lesson in this that I probably don't need to spell out.)

A nice reflection

Curves, arches, and straight lines

Some architectural terms (such as dentil molding) came back to me, courtesy of a long-ago job with the Del. Dept. of Architecture and Historic Preservation:

Dentil molding at top; detail of arch

As I glimpsed this vignette through a window, I wondered . . . do you have to beat the banker at a game of chess before qualifying for a loan???

Chess set on banker's desk

Lots of possibilities, and that was a pleasant surprise!  My design will be something abstract, probably based on an architectural detail . . . maybe manipulated in PhotoShop, or maybe still identifiable by the viewer.  I'd better record these ideas before they float away!   I can't wait to hear what everyone else has come up with at our meeting next Mon.  The deadline for this challenge is our Nov. 14th meeting.

Our first juried show!

Both Torrie and I were thrilled to each have a quilt juried into the upcoming show, Bits & Pieces: Intuitive Quilts from the Northwest and Beyond.  The show is sponsored by Salem Art Association, and the Call to Artists went out to "established and emerging fiber artists living in OR, WA, northern CA, and ID."

Torrie's "Play Behavior #1"

My new & improved "Natural Symphony"

The show runs from Sep. 9 - Oct. 15 at the Bush Barn Art Center (Salem), with an artists' reception on Fri., Sept. 9, 5-7pm.   (It's open to the public, so please come if you're in town!)  A small selection of quilts from Gee's Bend will enhance this exhibit. What a treat to see them in Salem!

We both entered our quilts from the last Fiberexplorations challenge (Fabric Swatch Exchange).  I changed mine a bit before submitting my entry photos because I  felt that it was missing something  The large green section  seemed too empty to me, so I  brainstormed some design ideas.  All of a sudden, I spotted another (unfinished) project --the piece I presented at a critique group last month when Ore. Art Beat was filming a feature story about Jean Wells.  Of course:  LEAVES!

Leaves, ready for the picking!

They were only pinned in place, so I snatched them up and auditioned them on my current project, turning them this way and that.  With encouragement and feedback from my son and daughter (both college students and both visiting that day), the five leaves found their places on the quilt.   The top layer of each leaf  is made from an earlier session of deconstructed screenprinting; the bottom is black cotton.

Congrats to Maureen!

Maureen's quilt on left side of poster!

 

Up and down the Music Tree 

by Maureen Erhardt 

was juried into the

Independence Art & the City show,

winning a Special Merit Award at the opening reception, Aug. 6th.

 

This show (including

Maureen's 2-sided quilt)

is currently on exhibit  

until Jan. 5, 2012 at the NEW

 Independence (OR) Civic Center.

You may recognize this 2-sided quilt as one of about 23 "tree quilts" originally exhibited at the 2010 Oregon State Fair, followed by appearances at Quiltopia 2010 (Salem, OR), the 2011 Stitches in Bloom show (Oregon Garden), and the special exhibit at this year's Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.