Mole and Fern accepted for SAQA Fur, Fangs, Feathers and Fins

Mole and Fern

I am thrilled and honored to announce that my latest work, Mole and Fern, was one of 42 pieces selected for the SAQA Global Exhibition Fur, Fangs, Feathers & Fins by juror Emily Jan. The exhibit is scheduled to debut at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, in Tucson, Arizona in April 2022, with further venues to be announced as the work travels for 3 years.

Mole and Fern, detail 1

This is, incredibly, the fifth time my work has been selected for a SAQA Global Exhibit, and I am extremely grateful to the organization for the opportunity to share my work with a global audience. 

Mole and Fern, detail 2

Statement:

I am interested in the small mammals that make their homes in my suburban habitat. I enjoy observing them going about their daily routines. I am saddened but also intrigued by their eventual demise and their skeletal remains. For years I’ve worked on an ongoing series of quilts made with imagery from the skeletons. For Mole and Fern, I began by taking macro photographs of an eastern mole skull, Scalopus aquaticus, which I printed on transparencies and used to make cyanotype prints. I also made wet process cyanotype prints and a monoprint of the ferns that grow in the area where I observed mole activity. I made hand-stitched hexagon panels to loosely represent their underground tunneling activity. I combined all these elements with patchwork, layered the quilt, and heavily stitched it to add texture and dimension.

Techniques:

Original macro photography images used for cyanotypes, wet process cyanotypes and heliographic monoprint made with fresh botanicals, hand stitched hexagon panels, patchwork, stitching.

 

Materials:

Cyanotype panels, heliographic print panel; hand-painted and commercial cotton, silk, linen and wool fabric.

Size: 

57" high x 40" wide

Mole and Fern, detail 3

 This is the tenth quilt in my ongoing series, Flora and Fauna, which features cyanotype prints of animal skulls. Despite the subject matter, or perhaps because of my take on it, they always end up rather cheerfully presented. None the less they are among the trickiest of my works to find good venues for, so again, I am very appreciative that the juror chose Mole and Fern. 

Out of the Woods for the SAQA Benefit Auction

Out of the Woods

 I have been a lucky participant in four SAQA Global Exhibitions, including Light the World which will open in France this autumn. So I am very happy to once again contribute a 12" x 12" quilt for the SAQA Benefit Auction, the proceeds of which help to fund the exhibitions. The auction begins on September 10th, and I will be sure to post updates and reminders. I very seldom make work in this size, so this is a great opportunity to begin or add to a collection.

This began with a red mulberry leaf, a nice substantial leaf, that I collected in the fall of 2020 and pressed. This spring, on the equinox, I used to make one of my experimental wet cyanotype/solarfast prints on cotton. You can read about that process here. I then layered the print and stitched it heavily where the leaf veins would be, and added pebble stitching all around it. On the corners I added some of the hexagons I have been obsessively hand stitching in preparation for my JWST artwork. The final touch was to paint some transparent iridescence on the leaf.

As to the title, here's my statement: It’s been a long, strange path through the wilderness of the unknown, but now we can see our way clear again. The question remains: are we out of the woods? What will our new normal look like? I choose to be optimistic.

Circular Logic for the SAQA Auction

 

I contributed a 12" x 12" quilt to the SAQA Benefit Auction, which begins tomorrow, September 11. You can read all the details about how the auction works, and preview the works, here: https://www.saqa.com/auction

This piece began with a print I made of a plume poppy leaf from my garden. At the time I was experimenting heavily with combining cyanotype, Solarfast, and textile paints, and I thought this one turned out particularly well. For a while it was my "go" project; I carried it around and embroidered on the outline with variegated thread at the odd moment. 

I enjoyed turning the embroidered print into a very intricate small quilt. Here's my statement about the work:

Looking for valid information in the time of pandemic on which to base my decisions, I often run across circular reasoning, where the writer begins with the conclusion they are trying to end with. Searching for scientific accuracy keeps my wits sharp, and making art keeps my sanity intact. This piece began as an experiment using cyanotype and solar dye chemicals to print from a plume poppy leaf. I defined the edges of the image with hand embroidery. The patchwork on the side has heliographic print images of teeny plume poppy leaves. I quilted the main image using a multitude of circles. 

As often happens with fiberart, the picture cannot fully convey the way the silk shimmers, or the depth of texture and line that the quilting adds. It's a little gem, and I hope you are inspired to bid on it!

Solar Flare for the SAQA Benefit Auction

Solar Flare

Update: I was honored to learn that Solar Flare, as part of the SAQA Benefit Auction, was selected for a special exhibition at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, in Lincoln Nebraska, April through August. View selected works here: https://www.saqa.com/auction-quiltsIQSCM.php

Here's Solar Flare, a 12" x 12" art quilt I made for this year's SAQA Benefit Auction. The Auction supports the exhibition program, and since I have two quilts currently traveling in SAQA Global exhibits I was extra-motivated to make an auction quilt this year. The auction takes place from September 13 - October 6, and you don't need to be a member to bid. I don't make many works in this size, so it's a nice opportunity to own a piece of my work and support a good organization. I'll post reminders when the time comes.

Solar Flare began  with a solar dye print I made last July using a hosta leaf. I was deep into an experimental printmaking frenzy, and this was one of the more outre prints:

You can read about how it was made on this blogpost. For this quilt, I combined the print with some shimmering shot silks from Mysore, India, then heavily quilted it.

In general I focus on the my enjoyment of the process of making art, and am willing to let things go out into the world when I'm done, but I must admit to a small pang of desire as I mailed this one off. It's so cheerful!

Here's my quilts traveling with SAQA Global Exhibits and the line-up to date.  I could never set up  venue schedules like this as an individual artist, so I am most appreciative of the opportunity.

Heat Lightning

 Heat Lightning, SAQA Season after Season.
Texas Quilt Museum, La Grange, Texas, January 10 - March 24, 2019
European Patchwork Meeting, Sainte-Marie Aux Mines, France, September 12 - 15, 2019
Prague Patchwork Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic, April 3 - 5, 2020

Squirrel and Locust

Squirrel and Locust, SAQA Metamorphosis.
Quilt Festival Houston: November 8 - 11, 2018
Quilt Festival Chicago: March 28 - 30, 2019
Quilt Canada Ottawa: June 12 - 15, 2019
AQS Quiltweek Grand Rapids MI: August 21 - 24, 2019
AQS Quiltweek Fall Paducah KY: September 11 - 14, 2019
AQS Quiltweek Charleston SC: September 25 - 27, 2019

Heat Lightning acceptance for Season after Season

Heat Lightning

 I am delighted to share my latest work, Heat Lightning. I am equally delighted and somewhat astonished to also announce that it has been accepted in the SAQA exhibit Season after Season.

Heat Lightning, detail 1

 Season after Season will debut at the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, TX, on January 10, 2019, and will then travel to other venues TBA through 2022. The jurors for the exhibit were Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes.

Heat Lightning, detail 2

 I seldom make work specifically for a submission, largely because I have a large backlog of work already in progress that demands my time and attention. But in this instance, the theme fit perfectly into my existing body of work, so I was happy to size it within the guidelines. I was also motivated to submit because of how wonderful the SAQA Global Exhibitions are--after my initial paperwork and shipping, SAQA takes over and finds the venues and arranges all the details. As part of Seasonal Palette, The Organic Landscape traveled the world to exhibits it would have been difficult to participate in as an individual artist.

Heat Lightning, detail 3

 Consequently, the submission process is highly competitive, hence my astonished reaction at being accepted. But having acknowledged that, I am very proud and excited about this quilt. It was designed using some of the wet cyanotype prints, from plants in my garden, that I made last summer. I am in love with the process and the results, and am glad I will have an audience to share it all with.

Heat Lightning, detail 4

 I started my usual process blog posts for this one here, then got overtaken by events and didn't add to it, and the acceptance notices came out early so here we are....But one of the conditions for the exhibit is to produce and artist's journal for the work; I have all my notes and photos and samples, etc., so it will all get documented.

Heat Lightning, detail 5

As always, thanks for reading and commenting!

And a reminder that I also post on social media:
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Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/suereno
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Halcyon Days for SAQA Benefit Auction

Halcyon Days

 Here's Halcyon Days, a 12" x 12" art quilt I made specifically for the SAQA Benefit Auction that begins in September. It features one of the wet cyanotype prints I made last summer, and have blogged about extensively. The print has been heavily stitched, and I added borders made from my hand-painted fabrics. It's signed and finished on the back with a hanging sleeve.

 Above is the hosta leaf as a print in progress on a piece of treated cotton sateen; below is the print after about 24 hours exposure, before it was rinsed.

 Below is the finished and rinsed print. It's lovely as is, but one of the reasons I love what I do is how much the stitching enhances the print, adding line and texture.

I've been a SAQA member for many years, and have benefited from membership in numerous ways, most recently from my acceptance into the Metamorphosis exhibit. So I am happy to be able to make a contribution. I'll update in September once I have the auction dates for Halcyon Days.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.