Quilt Show at Pasedena Museum of History (1 of 2)

-
The Pasedena Museum of History is featuring a quilt show, Community Stitches: Quilt Designs & Stories, now through September. This is a relatively small collection of quilts displayed in two rooms. But the show contains several lovely examples of techniques and trends from an historic perspective. I thought I'd share some of my favorites. 

First there were several crazy quilts on display. This was a quilting trend that was very popular in the late 1800's, the height of the Victorian era. The crazy quilt phenomenon feels like the precursor to the very popular "improv" trend in modern quilting right now, with its random shapes and unstructured design.

Once again it is fascinating to see "variations on a theme" displayed in the same show. Though we may not always be able to identify the creators of these crazy quilts, their individualities can't help but emerge in their work.

The random shapes in each of the blocks of my first example are obviously placed on a traditional grid. This can be seen even in these detail photos because the blocks have been outlined in decorative stitching. Open spaces were expertly decorated with embroidery work in a floral theme. Just gorgeous! (Sorry I didn't get a full pic of this one.) 

For this second quilt the gridding is less obvious, perhaps because there are more pieces in each block and the center circle hovers over the gridding. 

Check out the amazing workmanship of this unidentified creator:  

This quilt from 1917 is attributed to Elsie Giddings Royce. Her work incorporated souvenir silk ribbons from the 1854 Grand Exhibition in England and it is hard to discern how the quilt was pieced together. The yellow interspersed within the composition brightens the surface and gives it a very modern sensibility. 

Carrie Ann Stocks, created this quilt, which features rich tones, a wide variety of fabric textures, and several different embellishment techniques.

This detail shows that painting images on fabric is not a "new" technique. (For example, note the drawing of a pipe on the cream diamond shape at the center.) 

And this charming three dimensional umbrella in the upper left corner hints at the whimsical nature of its creator as well as the proclivity to experiment and push the boundaries of her medium.

As with all artistic forms, quilters build on what came before them. These early quilts set the stage for more contemporary examples of innovation and skill in this show. . .     

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 29, 2023 at 3:28 AM

    This are amazing! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

The Huntington- Galleries (3 of 3)

-
Image
If you're not into gardens, or there's just so much sun you can tolerate, there are plenty of indoor galleries to visit at our destination spot. After all we're talking about The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. ( https://huntington.org/ ) The gallery exhibits cover a wide range of art movements, styles, and periods. (In fact this would be a great place to study millinery designs for women's hats. LOL)  This vast collection is not exclusively one of painting.  Many art forms and disciplines are represented. And it's really interesting to have divergent styles to compare and contrast in one visit. We happily stumbled on the American Art Galleries. Walking into this room felt like coming home, with it's nod to American quilts and textiles.   This yarn sewn rug attributed to Hannah Rosina Maynard Phillips stood out to me. Loved the rich colors and the intricate floral design.  Contrast Hannah's piece with this one by artist Cai Guo-Qiang a
Read more
-
Ability to be Creative Ability , ( noun )- aptitude, intelligence, innate qualities, powers, potency, talent, capability, competence, proficiency, knowledge, technique, craft, skill, dexterity, artistry, facility, mastery, experience,understanding, faculty This is a partial listing of the synonyms for the word "ability" in Webster's New World Thesaurus . It seems to me that these words can be divided into two categories. The first category would be nouns which people generally think of as qualities that come naturally to the individual-  "innate qualities" . I propose that everyone has intelligence, capability, dexterity, even artistry, though some might say people possess them in varying degrees, and in different combinations. But isn't that called "individuality"? Now consider the second group of words. These are nouns that can be acquired: knowledge, experience, technique, skills, mastery . These are things you have with practice !
Read more

The Huntington- Textures & Colors (2 of 3)

-
Image
  There is so much to visually take in when you're surrounded by the natural beauty at The Huntington! Whether you soak in the vibrant colors and incredible textures of the many floral species, . . .  Or you pull back to absorb the magnificent collective textures created in the various themed gardens like the bamboo forest: or the cactus garden: There are also subtle color palettes created in garden displays that include a variety of plants: And then there are the man made textures that are thoughtfully scattered throughout the gardens: Plenty of inspiration for, say, quilt textures, and color choices; even shapes and design elements to borrow for future projects.
Read more