Thousands gathered in Houston for the 39th annual IQA Festival, most with the goal of seeing all 1300+ quilts, 1000+ vendors and taking in as many of the 380 classes as is practical.
My goal was quilts first, selected vendors (I always have a short list) second, then 2 lectures. It’s always fun to find friends and share their excitement of work hung in the exhibit.
Jeanne Marklin wasn’t there but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Traditions
and a detail
and Going in Circles.
It was fun to catch a few minutes with Sarah Ann Smith. She was teaching and trying to see the exhibit — not an easy task! Here she is with Listen to the Song in the Night, her entry for An Exquisite Moment.
I was fortunate to meet and enjoy the company of two art quilters from the Northwest. Here is Sherri Culver’s much-deserved 3rd place winner, Emmy Tovo:
and Emily Stevens’ entry for West Coast Wonders, Into the Woods:
Then there are those artists who I wanna be friends with, like Ruth Powers. I’ve seen her work for several years, in many venues. Her work is always worth lingering over. I found myself in front of In the Bleak Midwinter many times.
Another very moving piece I went back to again and again was A Leap to Freedom by Esther de Visser of the Netherlands.
And a detail
Staying in the Netherlands, here is Deanna Shafer’s tribute to van Gogh:
A detail of Vincent: Haunted Genius:
I stopped by to visit Mendelssohn, of course.
I’ve come to think of him as Ambassador Mendelssohn since he’ll be on the road for the coming year. You can read more about that here.
And you can see installment number one about Houston here. More quilts and retail therapy are up next. I hope you’ll join me.
Thanks for the photos.
I saw the Berlin one a few weeks ago, it had won a prize on the OEQC in the Netherlands.
Your Mendelsohn is lovely!
All the prize winners from OEQC were at this exhibit. They were very powerful. Esther’s was my favorite.
Enjoyed this post Franki, since I didn’t make it to Houston. I will be the lucky owner of Ruth Powers Cardinal, one of the SAQA 12×12 auction quilts (joining one of your gingko leaves). Your Mendelssohn is wonderful.
Sue in Mendocino
So nice to hear from you Sue! I haven’t run into you in ages. Congrats on snagging the Cardinal. I admired it greatly *sigh*. I feel honored to be in her company anywhere.
Nice work, Franki! Meeting you was a highlight for me.
It was great to meet you and Emily! I’m counting on seeing you in the future.
Really interesting piece. Beautiful, too — it just makes me want to stare at it so I don’t miss something.
That’s the great thing about good art — you can look at it time and again and get something new from it each time. Thanks for stopping by!