Virginia A. Spiegel

My Boundary Waters 53 is part of the exhibit.

Form, Not Function
Opening Reception
Carnegie Center for Art, New Albany, IN
Friday January 6, 6-8 pm

Tour with the Form, Not Function Jurors
Saturday January 7, 10:30-11:30 am

Enjoy refreshments and music by the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Quartet at the opening reception (free and open to the public) for Form, Not Function, a national juried exhibit of contemporary art quilts featuring 24 works by artists from across the United States. Over the nine years that this exhibit has been held, it has served to broaden the concept of art quilts and gain recognition for this evolving art form.

The exhibit runs through March 3, 2012.  The twenty-four juried artists include:

Katherine Allen; Fort Lauderdale, FL; EVENTIDE(Triptych)

Brooke Atherton; Billings, MT; They Melt Like Mist, the Solid Lands

Deborah Bein; Poughkeepsie, NY; ALLELE (The Genome Project Series)

Peggy Brown; Nashville, IN; Changing Colors III

Betty Busby; Albuquerque, NM; Fracture

Erika Carter; Renton, WA; Cradle 2

Marcia DeCamp; Palmyra, NY; Jacob`s Coat

Jayne Gaskins; Fernandina Beach, FL; Morning Train

Martha Hall; Vernon, NJ; Double Talk

Liz Kuny; Mendham, NJ; Airborne

Valerie Maser-Flanagan; Carlisle, MA; Chrysalises # 2

Patricia Mink; Johnson City, TN; Tapia Study

Kathy Nida; El Cajon, CA; Feeding Time

Sandra Palmer Ciolino; Cincinnati, OH; Fractures #3: Intersections

Pat Pauly; Pittsford, NY; Pink Leaf 4 (Yellow)

Lisa Penny; Ridgefield, CT; Wall Street

Julia Pfaff; Richmond, VA; Contrast IX – Yellow

Shawn Quinlan; Pittsburgh, PA; The Fix Is In

Mary Ruth Smith; Waco, TX; Crossover

Virginia Spiegel; Byron, IL; Boundary Waters 53

Janet Steadman; Lanley, WA; Why,Why,Why

Linda Walburn; Grand Rapids, MI; Entropy 3

Marianne Williamson; Miami, FL; Pollution in the Gulf

Charlotte Ziebarth; Boulder, CO; Autumnal Equinox 3: Before the Frost

BJ Parady attended the opening of Stitched Together: Art and Science at Fermilab Gallery in Batavia, IL.  She sent me this great photo of the exhibit with my “Boundary Waters 52 (Knowing)” in the center of this group of artwork.

More information is here with photos of all the artwork.  The exhibit is sponsored by Studio Art Quilt Associates – Wisconsin/Illinois.

More information about Knowing.

I won’t be able to attend due to a prior commitment, but you will be able to see my artwork “Harder Than You Think.”  Photos of artwork and more information are here.

Home by Virginia A. Spiegel

An exhibition of surface design fiber art, Watershed was be held at the Textile Center in Minneapolis, MN in June  and July. I just received word today that my artwork, Home, won Best of Show and a $500 prize. The juror was Pokey Bolton, Editor-in-Chief of Quilting Arts magazine.

Part of my artist statement: The first time I sat on a rock in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, my life and art totally changed. Here was a place where I could most truly be myself and feel a power that continues to drive my art making. I now plan my year and my life around the journeys my sister and I take to this quiet and wild place.

The artwork was required to be 18″ x 12.”  This artwork is obviously part of my ongoing Boundary Waters series and proves to me, once again, that the best art comes from the heart.

Offline

This is the second artwork that I am shipping this week to the Northfield Arts Guild for their exhibit WWW.  This exhibit asks artists to consider the impact of the web on their lives. You can read more about the exhibit with notes from participating artists here.

As I noted in this previous post, I was already considering this very topic in terms of my own life and the direction of my work in early 2011.

This artwork sprang directly from my worry that sometimes I was living my real life in the spaces in between the life I had created online with my website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.,etc. accounts. How I could/can I balance my personal and professional lives when, as an artist, they are so inextricably intertwined?

I’m endeavoring in 2011 to make my real life more than just the space between all the online words.

Offline, detail.
Materials:  Mystery fabric from a textile garage sale, thread, ink.
Techniques:  Stitched, lettered.
Photos by Deidre Adams

A very unusual aspect of working on this artwork was how much this mystery fabric felt like human skin.  It was quite disconcerting to letter on it; I won’t be starting a career as a tattoo artist any time soon.