Virginia A. Spiegel

Pomegranate Cross by Susie Monday
24″ h x 20″ w x 1.5″d
Art quilt mounted on wooden frame.
Original fabrics: dyed and screen-printed; photo transfer, machine and hand stitching.

Susie Monday has donated this complex art quilt created from her own original fabrics to the Invitational Reverse Auction of Fabulous Fiberart.  The Reverse Auction Preview begins Thursday, March 19 with information about minimum donations for each day, the artwork and the artists.  The link will be posted here on Thursday.

The Reverse Auction opens Tuesday, March 24.  The Reverse Auction continues through March 26 with the minimum donation to the American Cancer Society decreasing each day. Wait too long and your favorite piece of artwork might be gone!

Susie is known for her use of colorful and eclectic fabrics, her storytelling in fabric (see her Angels, Saints, and Sinners series on her website), and her teaching. 

Susie has a degree in studio art from Trinity University in San Antonio, and after living and working in the shadow of the Alamo for 35 years, retreated to the Hill Country just four years ago where she now works and teaches in the studio of her dreams. Her fiber art and surface design work has been deeply encouraged by study with Jane Dunnewold, and expanded by her work with Sue Benner, Arturo Sandival, Kerr Grawbowski and other great and generous teachers in the fiber arts field. Susie serves on the board of directors of Fiber Artists of San Antonio, is an active member of the Art Cloth Network, and also participates in the work of SAQA and SDA. 

She is on the faculty of the Majestic Ranch Arts Foundation in Boerne and at the Southwest School of Art and Craft, and has also taught nationally at the Textile Center in Minneapolis, at the International Quilt Festival in Houston and other venues. Her work has been displayed and purchased for private and public collections in the U.S., Israel, Great Britain, Italy, and Mexico.

Susie is also the co-author, with Susan Marcus, of New World Kids:  The Parents’ Guide to Creativity.

Sir Winter McDormant by Roxanne Stoner

The Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberart donates 100% of its proceeds directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.

Invited artist Roxane Stoner has donated Sir Winter McDormant in memory of Gaylene Stoner (01/17/09) and Fran Reed (09/11/08).  ”They were amazing ladies who died too soon of lung cancer.”

Roxane created this artwork especially for the Reverse Auction and shares her inspiration:

This quilt was born out of a little sketch and grew in colors and shapes. The title, Sir Winter McDormant, says it all: Under his hat, he protects the hope of the future in those dark hours when alpenglow is laying only a few colors on the horizon behind the trees. He is patient and helps nature take a break for a spell. When his time will come he will leave, retire until next time and waving his final goodbye to the coming of Lady Spring like the perfect gentleman that he is. He will release enough energy to help the birth of a new season take hold.  

Sir Winter McDormant was created with hand-dyed fabric by Judy Robertson of Just Imagination, collected beads from around the world and the ages, and variegated cotton and monofilament thread. Machine pieced and machine quilted. This irregularly-shaped quilt measures 28X18″.

For an inside look at the creation of this artwork, visit Roxane’s blog.

The Invitational Reverse Auction opens Tuesday, March 24.  Click here for more information.

Photo editing by Gloria Hansen.

Cricket in the Thorn Tree
Leandra Spangler
8.5″ x 10.25″ 
In honor of Gloria Page  

Leandra Spangler of Bear Creek Paperworks has donated a VERY unique and wonderful “quilt” to the Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberart.  Leandra is very well-known for her contemporary vessels of reed forms covered with highly textured handmade paper. 

Cricket in the Thorn Tree features a removable book with an original drawing on artist-made paper of abaca, okra and day lily mounted on folio of vintage fabric and paste paper.  Part of the stream of consciousness text explains the title of the artwork:

Helen Suzman died January 1, 2009 in Johannesburg.  For 13 years – from 1961 to 1974 – she was the sole representative in Parliament of the liberal Progressive Party, forerunner of the Democratic Party.  

During her parliamentary career she was hailed as apartheid’s most effective parliamentary critic and a thorn in the flesh of the NP government.  This earned her the accolade “cricket in the thorn tree”. This quilt honors Helen Suzman and others of strong conviction who fight for their beliefs. 

The removable book is held secure with appliqued “thorns” of fabric and copper wire.  Materials include vintage fabric, fusible webbing, handmade paper, paste paper, card stock, Sharpie, copper wire, sewing thread, museum board, brass rings, waxed linen.   

The Invitational Reverse Auction is March 24-26 with all donations being made directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. More details here.

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.

Rusty Grove 
Linda Teddlie Minton

Linda has donated this gorgeous art quilt to the 2009 Invitational Reverse Auction to be held March 24 – 26, 2009.

Rusty Grove is 26×28″ and created from Linda’s own rust-printed and monoprinted fabrics. The artwork is also hand-painted, hand-embroidered, and machine-quilted. 

Rusty Grove was juried into the Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts’ Unifying Threads exhibit, but was marked Not For Sale in order to remain available for this Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberarts.

100% of the proceeds from the Reverse Auction, sponsored by Fiberart For A Cause, is donated directly to the American Cancer Society with an immediate electronic receipt for the donor from the ACS. 

Linda lost her husband to cancer in 1999 and has supported Fiberart For A Cause since its beginning. “Being asked to contribute a piece to the prestigious FFAC Reverse Auction is a great honor and I am very happy to participate in this fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.”

You can read more about Linda’s work on her blog. Her work is also for sale in several Texas galleries and can be seen in Creative Quilting:  The Journal Quilt Project. Linda recently curated the online exhibit, Braving the Elements.