SAQA Meeting and a Great Exhibit

Today Nike and I traveled to Storrs, CT to the University of Connecticut campus and the Homer Babbidge Library for a regional SAQA meeting.  It was an informative meeting, led by our CT reps, Kate Themel and Diane Wright.  We talked about the upcoming SAQA Connecticut traveling exhibit for 2013, had an interesting talk by a quilt appraiser, some inspiring show and tell and a chance to see this fiber art exhibit by Catherine Whall Smith.

I loved the exhibit, a 20 year retrospective by Cathy, and it was made even better by having Cathy give us a private docent tour.  This is just a small sampling of her work. Unlike most art quilters today, Cathy hand quilts all her pieces.  Even more unusual, she quilts them from the back, on which she uses striped or plaid fabrics and follows those lines, ignoring the design on the front.  Somehow, it all works out and looks terrific.  And all those crisscrossing strips are pieced in, no applique at all.

Here's Cathy with one of her quilts.  The exhibit, with 22 quilts, is in two sections of the library, some of them in glass cases, some hung on the walls.  It will be there until October 19 and is well worth seeing. If you click on the pictures you can see more detail and also read Catharine's artist statement.