Metropolitan Capital Bank Chicago, CannonDesign (owpp.com)
This quaint little bank (which doesn't feel like a bank at all) is running a program called "Art Works Chicago" to showcase prominent local artists -- and its current installment is devoted to Jane Sassaman and her quilts. I have admired her work ever since I started quilting and think it's nothing short of amazing to begin with, but seeing it up close? All I can say is...WOW.
There are well over a dozen of her pieces on display. Some of them were familiar to me, others brand new. The pièce de résistance is "Willow," named one of the "Best American Quilts of the Century," and definitely deserves the title. This quilt gave me goosebumps years ago when I first saw a picture of it, and there it was!
"Willow" by Jane Sassaman, 1996
75" x 75"
It's much larger than I expected, and as a result, very overwhelming, there's so much going on. I could have looked at it, awestruck, for hours, but the bankers seemed to be eager to use their conference room so I went on my way to go home and sew something. Jane's website indicates you can call the bank for a viewing appointment, which might be better so you're not wandering through people's workspaces like I was -- they're probably used to it by now, but it was a little weird for me.
The quilts are there until January 14. If you're in Chicago, there is no excuse big enough not to get your quilty butt down there and see what greatness looks like. And come away inspired.
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And sorry for the delayed announcement, but Stephanie D is the winner of the orange and purple giveaway fabric, as determined by Archie (I put names on scraps of paper and left them in a pile on my desk -- the first one to hit the ground was the winner, and it didn't take long!). Congratulations, Stephanie!