2017 Wrap-Up

2017 was a rough year for me, and blogging fell by the wayside.  Many weeks my I like posts were the only thing I managed to get up, and I'm so grateful to Lee Anna for keeping us going on those.  Sometimes I feel like I didn't really accomplish much on the creative front this year, but the act of going back through reminds me that I did!


2017 Quilts
1.  Confession.  This was started in 2016, but not finished until 2017.  I'm pleased to say it sold out of a show in the Episcopal Cathedral in Sacramento.  I miss it actually, but I'm glad it found a home with someone who loves it.

2.  Mammals of Oklahoma.  This was made for the SAQA Textile Posters show, and I'm pleased to say it got in.  I love this animal mandala design and it's something I'm likely to go back to at some point in the future.

3.  Listen Louder than you Sing.  I love this quilt.  It's one where the quilt turned out exactly how I envisioned it would, which is fairly rare for me.  It's touring around with Threads of Resistance right now.

4. Conformational Change.  This was one that assuredly did not come out the way I wanted, in fact, after finishing its run in the show for which it was made (Made in New Mexico: Structural Diversity at the NM State Capitol), I painted it and cut it up for a new quilt I'm working on.

5. VLA.  This one turned out ok.  I love the painted velvet sky, but I encountered a bunch of difficulties with the openwork.  It had the largest areas of openwork I've tried yet, and I learned a lot about how to deal with that, mostly by doing the wrong thing.   It definitely fits the call for which it was designed, Life Along the Rio Grande.

6. Experiments with Mariner's Compasses.  These were such fun to make.  They don't seem to be appealing to a broader audience, but I had a blast playing around with them.

7.  On Iris.  This was the second in my giant flower series, and I'm going to start a third one pretty soon I think.  I love mix of yellows and purples I got while painting.

8.  Self-Portrait of the Artist and her Father, c. 1988.  I made this for the SAQA Guns: Loaded Conversations call for entry.  Unfortunately, I didn't get in, but that's the way it goes!  I just realized I haven't blogged about this, hopefully I'll get a post written about it sometime soon!

In addition to these "main" art quilts, I also made some baby quilts, charity quilts, and other small quilts.  I also did a fair amount of crocheting and embroidery this year, thanks to the knitting group at church.

All-in-all I think this is a productive showing for me in 2017 and reassures me that I haven't been wasting my time willy-nilly.  In 2018, I'll be focusing on more dimensional work in preparation for an invitational group show for which I need 8 pieces in August.  I'm a bit stressed about it, so wish me creative thoughts!!