Friday, March 16th was travel day to the Wayne Art Center, in Wayne Pennsylvania.  Arriving around 3:00 p.m. our first stop was the Wayne Art Center to view the Art Quilt Elements (AQE) 2018 show. The 48 art quilts in the show represented artists from 26 states and Japan.  As an exhibiting artist I was eager to view the show.  How will each piece look hung in a large (or small) gallery? Will the adjacent art compliment each piece and vice versa? As I entered the main gallery I felt confident that great care had been taken in hanging all the pieces in this show. One of the docents shared that it took a week to hang this show.

My piece (center) shares part of the large gallery wall with (right) “National Gallery of Art” (69″ x 39″) by Dan Olfe of Julian, CA.  His designs are created on a computer.  Photoshop was used to stack 3 interior photos vertically and then one more photo was layered with small bars in the skylight replaced by quilt lines. To the left is “Red Flags” (45″ x 38″) by Aryana B. Londir of Phoenix, AZ.  This piece was created in response to the realization that everything is not as it appears . . .   Finally, I will share parts of the Juror’s Statements;  Mi-Kyoung Lee, Program Director, Craft + Material Studies University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA stated “The selection of art quilts was extremely challenging with strong bodies of work from each artist. It was important for me to count how the artist understood the essence of the quilt, how the artist orchestrated the material of his or her chosen cloth, and the process of stitching and sewing as a tool of mark making as well as the construction.” And, Marsha Moss, Public Art Consultant and Curator stated “I personally relish evidence of the artist’s hand in skillful execution of the art quilt medium.  A demonstration of technical proficiency, mastery of the quilt-making process and fine craftsmanship all contribute to the aesthetic quality of this art form.”