Catherine Whall Smith

Catherine Whall Smith invites you to see the 19th Regional Art Exhibit at ACGOW

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

"ALONE . . but not lonely" 2012 CWSmith All Rights Reserved

The Artists’ Cooperative Gallery of Westerly presents it’s 19th Annual Regional Art Exhibit.
Show dates: May 2nd – June 2nd.
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10-5

Two of my pieces were juried into this show;
GOLD HAY #5; and shown on the left “ALONE” – 28h X 19w inches. All cotton materials – Hand Quilted – Free Cut – No Pattern. Part of the “Roasting Marshmallow” series that incorporates my digital images of hay bales wrapped in white plastic for storage.

www.westerlyarts.com (401) 596-2221

Catherine Whall Smith suggests that you check out the Windham Textile and History Museum

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

"Which Way to the Windham Textile & History Museum"

The Windham Textile and History Museum is working on several new initiatives. One of these initiatives is being developed by the recently formed Quilt Committee. A major “Then/Now” Textile Show is scheduled for the Fall of 2013. Stay tuned to the museum’s website; www.millmuseum.org/ to learn about all of the other museum events and to eventually view the images of 10 – 12 of the museum quilts that will be the inspiration for the artists who will be creating the “Now” pieces for this show. So, if you are in the Willimantic, Connecticut area don’t forget to visit the Windham Textile and History Museum at 411 Main Street; Willimantic, CT 06226
Phone: 860-456-2178 OPEN: Friday, Saturday & Sunday – 10 am – 4 pm
Admission: Adults: $7.00 • Students, Seniors $5 • Groups: $4
Guided Tours: Sunday 2:00 pm – - Also Self Guided Tours during hours of operation.

Posted in Art Quilting, Fiber Art, Quiet Corner Artist | Tagged Art Quilts SAQA Auction, Windham History & Textile Museum | Leave a comment

Catherine Whall Smith wishes you a Happy Spring, Happy Easter, and Happy Passover

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

To me part of the beauty of a piece eventually lies in the details. A detail that I remember of growing up during my grammar school years at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School was the need to have the perfect Easter outfit along with the over the top Easter hat. A bonding experience with my mother – we would go downtown to Pariseau’s to select it. One year straw was in, another year it was flowers on a stretchable knit cap. Thinking back several Easter’s before those hat bonding experiences, I can still clearly visualize the details of a dusty pink coat and matching round pocketbook in the shape of a cat’s face – with little ears. The set made by my mother also had hand stitched whiskers, nose, and eyes. That attention to the details has stayed with me as I incorporate gently curved pieced seams and hand stitching in my work as shown in this detail section of “Tribute to Truitt”.

2010 Tribute to Truitt (detail) 44H x 46W inches (112 x 117 cm.

I have no idea what happened to that wonderful coat and cat purse, but I still remember the fine construction and the stitching of the details – so what do you remember?

Posted in Art, Art Quilting, Fiber Art, Hand Quilted, Quiet Corner Artist | Tagged Art Quilts SAQA Auction, Catholic Grammar School, Easter Hat, Fiber Art, Hand stitching, Studio Quilts | Leave a comment

Catherine Whall Smith returns from Philadelphia and the SAQA/SDA Conference

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

Back from four days in Philadelphia at the joint Studio Art Quilt Associates/Surface Design Association Conference – lots to see, especially at the Snyderman-Works Gallery http://www.snyderman-works.com/ One of my favorite installations was the piece shown here;

"Sisters" 2011 Ann Coddington Rast

titled “Sisters” (6′ x 7′ 6″) 2011 by Ann Coddington Rast – the show runs through April 28th. These large black and beige pieces reminded me of something I am presently working on in my studio.

Black, White, & Beige (in progress)CWSmith 2012

I’m using many, many black and white prints of varying scales on a beige background with lots of slashing lines across the surface of the piece. The shapes are my bodice, sleeve, skirt, and pant pattern pieces that were drafted many years ago when I was taking an Advanced Pattern Making class at the University of Connecticut. Not sure if these pattern pieces would still fit me – what do you think??

Posted in Art Quilting, Fiber Art, Quiet Corner Artist, Univeristy of Connecticut | Tagged Snyderman-Works Gallery | Leave a comment

Catherine Whall Smith suggests that you only roll your quilts

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

Like many of you, I usually fold my large bed size quilts before storing. As expected fold marks appear even though as suggested, I would refold them in different ways when not being used for a long period of time. That changed when I started creating pieces in my studio that were meant to be a visual presentation to be hung on a wall. Rolling them for storage meant that those fold lines were eliminated. The best product that I have found to roll my artwork are those colorful foam tubes that appear in stores like WalMart and CVS when the weather warms up. This photo shows a pile of those tubes that I purchased from CVS last Fall. The end of the season close out sale of 75% off made them very affordable. As you can see I bought all of them. I cover each foam roll with a cloth sleeve. My art work is then rolled around the cloth covered tube and slipped into another cloth bag, labeled, and stored. When a piece is sold the foam tube and cloth bag go with the quilted piece. So far, I have been pretty happy with this arrangement, but I am always open to new storage ideas . . . So what do you use???

Posted in Art, Art Quilting, Fiber Art, Hand Quilted, Quiet Corner Artist | Tagged shopping | Leave a comment

Catherine Whall Smith is thinking “Green”

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

This piece that includes my photo images of the “marshmallows” and hay bales that I view while driving by the local farmlands near my home/studio was just sent off to meet the early deadline for the Fall 2012 SAQA One Foot Square Auction. Titled “Twins with Matching Hats” (12H x 12W inches) it is made of all cotton materials, some vintage fabrics, and is hand quilted. The September SAQA Auction is a wonderful opportunity to purchase fiber art priced from $75 – $750. More details on the viewing of all the works on line and the bidding schedule for this fundraiser will be posted on my blog sometime during the month of June. So is it time to start saving up that “Green Stuff” – what do you think!

Posted in Art Quilting | Leave a comment

Catherine Whall Smith asks – do you “sew” or “stitch” ?

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

So, when asked what are you doing – do you say “stitching” or “sewing”. Does one term have a different connotation than the other? My mother, Rose (Puglisi) Whall as a teen-ager was a stitcher in a shoe factory. She often told the story of arriving home after working in the shoe mill and being “invited” by her mother to sit and sew. She was the maker of family clothing that was needed for her siblings – many of these pieces were sewn on a sewing machine or stitched by hand. She obviously at an early age had that talent to be an amazing seamstress. I too, continue in that tradition of enjoying sewing and the meditative state that comes from repetitive hand stitching. All of my quilts are hand quilted with thousands of stitches. I’ve documented many of them by the number of stitches in the piece. My signature technique of hand quilting from the back of the quilt rather than from the top allows me to concentrate on the design lines of the fabric that I’ve carefully selected for the back of the quilt. This final layer of stitching allows me to create another design plane that adds the shadow lines to the quilts surface. The detail image shown above is from my “Yellow Series”. All of the pieces in this series were hand quilted from the back.

2012 "Alone but not Lonely" CWSmith. All Rights Reserved

My more recent work, like this piece titled “Alone but not Lonely” was hand quilted from the top and the back of the piece – following the design lines of the fabrics. I’ve named the studio where I work “Smith Stitch Studio” – so I guess I stitch. So, what do you think, do you “sew” or “stitch”?

Posted in Abstract Impressionist, Art, Art Quilting, Fiber Art, Hand Quilted, Quiet Corner Artist, Shoe Mills | Tagged Hand quilting, Studio Quilts | Leave a comment

Catherine Whall Smith finally got her “Cow Girl” boots!

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

Last May 2011, while attending the annual SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) meeting in Denver, Colorado, I had a little time to do some shopping and dining with close friends Rita Hannafin, and Cynthia Long of CYN WORKS (www.cynworks.com). While out, I spotted a beautiful pair of leather boots that “almost fit” – they were very patriotic, red, white, and, blue leather with amazing heart cut outs and beautiful stitching. I tried to rationalize buying them, even though they were not a good fit – maybe they were beautiful enough to just look at from time to time. Well, I did not buy them, but thought of them many times – the workmanship was just wonderful. – - In creating my quilts I try to use the best workmanship that I can and are constantly refining my hand stitching to ensure beautiful quilting lines across the surface of the piece. Fast forward from last May to a recent trip to “Treasures” in Old Lyme, Connecticut when my husband spotted these new boots by Ariat – the fit was perfect – So even though they aren’t “Red, White, and Blue” they do go well with my piece “Rolling in the Hay” photographed in the background. – This quilt will be included in my 20 Year Retrospective at the University of Connecticut from July 8th through October 12th, 2012. So, should I wear my “Cow Girl” boots to the opening – what do you think??

Posted in Abstract Impressionist, Art, Art Quilting, Fiber Art, Hand Quilted, Quiet Corner Artist, Retrospective Show, Univeristy of Connecticut, Used Furniture Stores | Tagged abstract impressionist, Cowgirl boots, Fiber Art, Hand stitching, Used Furniture Stores | 3 Comments

Catherine Whall Smith – invites you

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

The 68th Annual Connecticut Artists Juried Exhibition at the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, CT will have it’s Opening this Sunday, February 26th from 1 -3 p.m. Award winners will be announced at 2pm. I plan to be there to see the show which includes “Gold Hay #5″ – why not join me.

Posted in Art Quilting | Tagged award winners, connecticut artists, norwich ct | 2 Comments

Catherine Whall Smith sharing good news from Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Catherine Whall Smith

The Schweinfurth Art Center’s Quilts for Art Small Quilts Raffle raised over $3,000 during the Quilts=Art=Quilts 2011 exhibition. “Pearls in the Sunlight” CWSmith 2011 was one of the donated pieces in this auction.

Posted in Abstract Impressionist, Art, Art Quilting, Fiber Art, Hand Quilted, Quiet Corner Artist | Tagged Art Quilts SAQA Auction | Leave a comment