Thursday, December 15, 2011

POAC Exhibit "Cabin Fever"


"Poppies & Peonies"
23" x 18" Art Quilt
Sheila Mahanke Barnes 2011

We hung the latest POAC exhibit yesterday, and yes, I got my quilt finished for it. "Poppies & Peonies" is my response to the theme of Cabin Fever - I always look forward to them blooming next to the house once winter is over and the weather warms again. On their face, they are not particularly tropical in nature, but using their orange and red palette in this piece does make me think a bit tropically.


Remember me saying I felt the need to work both larger and with more stitching? As I quilted away on the ferns in the background batik, I began thinking of this piece as my "return to stitch" - this is so much more heavily quilted than my other pieces this year. An unexpected (or perhaps just unremembered) advantage of such dense stitching is that it produced a very stable and flat piece once steamed. No stretching along the sides when I applied binding and couched that bit of yarn along the binding seam.



We have such a great crew at POAC. It made it a little less intimidating for my first time co-coordinating an exhibit. Still, with 37 artists submitting up to 3 pieces each, it takes about 5 hours to group and hang the art.


We've started asking artists to submit a framed artist bio or statement to hang with their art. Still, each piece of art gets its own hand-written gallery card. Karen & I were comparing notes as to which was worse - muscle cramps from wrestling large framed paintings up high or muscle cramps from filling out those cards.


Here's just a tiny sampling of the creative responses to our theme. I'll post better pictures later.


If you're in the area, please stop by - either for the reception tomorrow night or before the exhibit comes down in February. Details below:

“Cabin Fever” Exhibit opens December 16

The opening reception for the Pend Oreille Arts Council’s provocative new art exhibit will be Friday, December 16, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the POAC Gallery, in the Power House, 120 Lake Street in Sandpoint. Entitled Cabin Fever, the exhibit features exceptional new works from more than 30 of POAC’s member artists.

"Cabin Fever seemed the perfect theme for our exhibit that falls during the dead of winter,” says Sheila Barnes, one of the co-coordinators of Cabin Fever. “We envisioned our gallery creating a cozy respite, full of colorful art sweeping viewers away to exotic places or warm seasons. We all get cabin fever from time to time, and we all deal with it differently. We hope you will join us and see how our artists deal with it, escaping with them for awhile.”

The diversity of media and subject matter in this exhibit is extraordinary, and offers a great opportunity to enjoy a wonderful trip into some interesting perspectives, ideas, and beauty. Oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography, ceramics, jewelry, fiber and sculpture will be represented, and most of the work will be for sale to the public – just in time for the holidays! The reception is free and the public is encouraged to attend. Cabin Fever will remain on display through February 17, 2012.

The Pend Oreille Arts Council exists to facilitate and present the finest quality experiences in the arts for the people of the Sandpoint area and beyond. POAC hosts performing arts events and visual arts events throughout the year. For more information, contact POAC at 263-6139, e-mail at poac@sandpoint.net, become a ‘Fan’ on Facebook, or visit the website at www.artinsandpoint.org.

1 comment:

Cate Rose said...

I love that quilt, Sheila!