Monday, March 27, 2006

Off to the Quilt Show

The local University is having its yearly Jazz Festival next weekend, so Sunday's paper had a nice spread in the Entertainment section about the featured artists. This quote from Lewis Nash (percussionist who's played with greats from Dizzy Gillespie to Christian McBride) was splashed in large print next to his picture. Where he says "instrumentalists" substitute whatever genre you work in - for me that would be quilters or artists, and for "listen" substitute "look" - and his advice to these students applies to all of us:
"Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen...in order to have something to draw from, in order to know the sorts of things instrumentalists are doing, in order to know the possibilities of your instrument so you can find the things that move you, the things that attract you, the things that inspire you."

So I'm off to go look at the possibilities, reaffirm what moves me, what inspires me. This quilt show is one of the oldest and most respected in Wisconsin. It draws busloads of quilters over its three day run. It leans more toward traditional quilting, but in recent years has included more & more contemporary and art styles. Hard not to with the likes of Natalie Sewell & Sue Gilgen (raw-edge landscape quilts), Betty Suiter (original applique designs based on oriental rugs), Ann Fahl (author of Coloring With Thread) and a host of others based nearby and submitting entries. And then, of course will be the vendors. I'm not planning on buying much, but it's always interesting to see what's new, just get the mind turning over, perhaps creating some new neural pathways. Chances are, I'll see some familiar faces too.

Will report in later on in the week, and maybe have a picture or two to share.

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