Virginia A. Spiegel

Nevermore by Linda Teddlie Minton
Acrylic paints and thread painting on cotton fabric.  

Linda Teddlie Minton is a fundraising whirlwind for Fiberart For A Cause.

Noting that Lynda Thompson of the Quiltart list organized a Raven Challenge to honor the 200th birthday celebration of Edgar Allan Poe during January, Linda proposed a subset to the challenge for members of the Quiltart list wanting to donate their raven artwork to Collage Mania 2009. 

The artists are still making a 4×6″ postcard per the challenge rules, but will be mounting it to 8×10″ on Bristol Board to meet the Collage Mania guidelines. 

I am personally interested in ravens as an archetype and also as just a very clever member of the avian family.  One of my favorite books about ravens is Mind of the Raven:  Investigations and Adventures With Wolf-Birds by Bernd Heinrich.

I am always excited about the artwork donated to Collage Mania, but this grouping of raven art is sure to be a stunning, and much sought-after, addition to Collage Mania.

Collage Mania is May 5-7, 2009.  Our goal is to raise $20,000 for the American Cancer Society. Ninety artists have already said they plan to donate artwork.

Won’t you join us? Here is the Call For Artists.

Sanctuary

We’re back in the snow and cold zone again.  My yard looks very messy in the winter as I leave my ornamental grasses up all winter.  

The birds inch out to the tops of the grass fronds for the seeds and then swing down to Earth before jumping off, flying up and starting all over again.  I don’t mind when the grasses finally succumb and tip over. The little snow caves underneath make sanctuaries for birds and beasts.

The birds are so use to me putting out seed, and so desperate in the cold weather for fuel, that they let me stand quite close while they feed. Can you tell it was a mini-blizzard yesterday? 

Boundary Waters 31 (North)
An interpretation of the moss layered on the north side of trees in the Boundary Waters. Upholstery fabric, white cotton cloth, acrylic textile paint, felt, organza, and copper wire mesh.

The 3-in-1 fiber and stitch exhibit at the Coos Bay Art Museum in Coos Bay, OR can now be seen online here. Just click on the Tour The Exhibit link next to each exhibit name. 

The New Focus art quilt exhibit, including my artwork above, consists of 50 small format art quilts from invited artists from five countries.

Also being shown is Transformations ’08:  Icons and Imagery, a traveling juried exhibit from Studio Art Quilt Associates.

Stitch, contemporary works of fiber art by five Oregon artists, rounds out this bonanza of stitch and fiber exhibits.

Boundary Waters 19
18″ x 102″

The SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Journal Winter issue is out and features the above artwork as illustration for my article, What Makes A Series Work?.  In summary:

A series works when I am passionate about the topic, when I have something to say that is both personal and profound.  This stirs my emotions, tickles my brain, makes me wrestle with myself or my materials.

The issue also contained an outstanding article by Leslie Gabrielse about his artwork.
 

You Try New Things
8.75 x 6.75″ 

On a slightly less serious note, the above artwork was featured on the inside back cover of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine in an ad for Quilting Arts TV Series 300.  You Try New Things is part of the Third Thoughts series.

You Try New Things – Detail

One of the most interesting pieces of feedback I received from those who saw the first show was that they really enjoyed seeing my over-stuffed collage book which formed the basis of the Third Thoughts series. It’s hard to show in a still photo how visually overwhelming 365 collages in one small book can be.

I Beelieve by Judy Coates Perez

Judy Coates Perez is an award-winning textile artist who is well known for her highly detailed, colorfully painted whole cloth quilts. She explores themes drawn from folklore, mythology and nature, working in a variety of media.

Often blending quilting skills with techniques drawn from her graphic arts background, she uses textile paints, dyes, inks, acrylic powders, artist’s pencils and craft metal on her art quilts and mixed media textile work.

Judy has generously donated this artwork to Fiberart For A Cause’s fifth annual Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberarts to be held March 24 – 26, 2009.  

100% of the proceeds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society.

I Beelieve includes cotton fabric painted with textile paints and paper collage fused to heavy weight interfacing and machine quilted. Aluminum metal was machine stitched and embossed with freehand drawn designs. The doors of the house are open to reveal a glimpse of nature. The artwork is 5.5×9.5”

Judy has written numerous articles for Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines and has been a guest multiple times on Quilting Arts TV. Judy has also been published in The Quilting Arts book, Mixed Mania, Prize-Winning Quilts: The Best of the International Quilt Association Shows, Contemporary Quilting: Exciting Techniques and Quilts from Award-Winning Quilters.

Update:  Judy has generously written a little technique talk about this artwork on her blog.