THROW

Remember this quilt??

Well, it's currently hanging in Union Art Gallery in Wisconsin!  I was contacted over the summer by the gallery manager asking if Racing Stripes could be included in a show for their fall line-up.  The exhibit is called, Throw: Great Lengths of Innovation in Modern Quilting.  So, I slapped on a label...

...then packed it in a bunch of bubble wrap... (thanks for the tip, Jacquie! - less wrinkled when it's unpacked from the box - brilliant!)

                                               

...And then prayed like crazy it would arrive where it was supposed to!  I emailed the gallery manager when I shipped it and said I felt like I had just packed up my baby in a box and handed it over to a complete stranger!  I even dreamed that it got laid down in a puddle of bleach right before the show and had these big splotches all over it.  Can you imagine?!  But the folks over at Union Art Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have been so wonderful to work with, and have really handled everything so professionally.  If you'd like to take a look at what else is in the gallery, click on this link for a 360 view of the exhibit.  As you can see, Racing Stripes is in good company, including Quilt Con instructor Sherri Lynn Wood's curved masterpiece. Her work AMAZES me, and I so hope I get the chance to meet her at the conference in February.  

And in case you are interested, here is a copy of the press release they sent out about the exhibit:

     

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            Throw: Great Lengths of Innovation in Modern Quilting

UWM Union Art Gallery shows work by 7 national quilt and mixed media artists

MILWAUKEE, WI (September 7, 2012)—The UWM Union Art Gallery will show a collection of 7 fiber and mixed media artists in their 2^nd fall exhibition Throw: Great Lengths of Innovation in Modern Quilting. The exhibition will run from September 21st through October 12th. The opening reception will take place on Friday, September 21st from 5-8pm, with a lecture given by Maura Ambrose, founder of Austin-based quilting company Folk Fibers, at 7pm.

The artwork represented will range from traditional quilts with a dye-farm-to-sewing-table modern twist (Maura Ambrose, Austin TX), to mixed media masterpieces of aluminum and steel with quilt aesthetic references (Greely Myatt, Memphis TN) and everything in between. The group exhibition includes artists from across the map: Maura Ambrose (Austin, TX), Sherri Lynn Wood (Oakland, CA), Julie Floersch (Oakland, CA), Greely Myatt (Memphis, TN), Cindy Friedman (Merion, PA), Kit Lang (Toronto, ON), and Valerie Luberecki (Raleigh, NC).

Throw seeks to expose the Milwaukee design audience to the forefront of innovation in modern quilt composition. As the resurgence of craft continues in the US, design aficionados are fortunate to witness the inspired movement of modern quilting. Innovative piecing and quilting methods, collaborative interpretations of the medium, and a sublime deviation from the shackles of tradition all inform the modern quilter. The works included in Throw are true graphic design triumphs with tangibility. These modern quilt designs will wake the sleeping memory of your favorite bedclothes with vivid style in form and function.

“It is truly an exciting time to be a quilter,” says Molly Evans, manager for the Union Art Gallery. “Innovation and the exchange of ideas and quilting methods is becoming widespread thanks to the ease of communication channels of our time. Challenges to the ‘traditional’ means of the medium are becoming celebrated rather than disregarded. We are beyond thrilled to host 25 examples of the modern quilting medium.”

Throw will be shown through Friday, October 12^th at the Union Art Gallery. For private group tours outside of gallery hours, or to arrange a quilting bee inside the gallery contact Molly Evans @ evans44@uwm.edu for more information. 

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I feel so thankful to be included with this talented group and organization, and once again am reminded of the thrill of how form and function unite in modern quilting.  Makes me wanna go cut up a bunch of fabric and sew it back together again...