Artistic Visions Show 2023/24

 VISIONS 2023 Peoples Choice Winners

The 2023 Visions show closed on March 26th.  Thirty-three original art quilts were shown and over 1350 viewers visited the show.  The guild received many positive comments about the show and the quality of the work displayed.
 
The winners of the Viewers Choice awards for the 2023 Visions show were recently announced.  First place went to Jillian Roulet for her quilt of a dog called ‘Namaste’.  Second place went to Lorie Jocius for her quilt entitled ‘For my Dad Who Abides Amongst the Stars’.

Jillian’s quilt was hand appliquéd and machine quilted.  She provided the following information on her quilt.
“This quilt was partly done and marinating on a wall in my studio for a little while.  Well, okay….since 2011!  When trekking in Nepal I saw a lovely, clean, white, dog sitting in the entrance to a tea house.  He looked like he was greeting all the people who passed by.  I started this piece in a course by David Taylor of Colorado.  I found the face a particular challenge, so the quilt was temporarily abandoned.  I decided to tackle finishing the quilt for this Visions show.  I have named the dog Namaste which is a greeting of respect in Nepal.”

Lorie’s quilt is an original design, free motion quilted on a mid-arm machine using a variety of quilting materials and 3-D additions.  Lorie provided the following information.  “Years ago, I was working on a star quilt while caring for my ailing Father.  When he died on January 29th, 2000, I mourned, placed a quilt square in his pocket, and then put away the pieces of that unfinished quilt.  Twenty years to the day of his death, I accidentally found the pieces and decided to create a quilt in memory of all the joy, love, fun and moments of colour and courage that he gave to me.  It now hangs over my bed and serves as a guiding star.

 
There will be an original art quilt show by the MCQG in 2024, in the Canmore Art Guild gallery.  The show opens on Saturday March 2nd and will close on Sunday, March 24th.  A theme has not been identified yet. Stay tuned for more information!
 
No Visions Art Show was held in 2022
 
Virtual Visions 2021

The theme was  2020: A Year to Remember
The theme was open to interpretation.
The size was restricted to 12 X 12 inches.

2021 was a virtual show due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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A Little History

The guild’s first original quilt art show was held in 1999 at the Canmore Library Gallery. It ran for ten days, breaking all prior attendance records for the gallery.

Members are challenged to produce their own original quilt art for display in the visions show.

What Do We Mean By “Original Art Quilt”

  • The design is your idea
  • Shows originality, artistry, creativity and imagination
  • May use any style or technique to express your design
  • May be inspired by another work, as long as it is an interpretation, not a copy
  • Can contain elements of published work (e.g. a block or border idea) incorporated into your original design
  • Can use techniques developed by others (e.g. fusing or improvisation) but cannot copy a quilt used to demonstrate the technique
  • Can be started in a class or workshop but must have significant elements of your creativity, to make it different from what the instructor or your classmates helped you with
  • Must be a ‘quilt’ – three layers sewn together
  • Ultimately, we rely on you and your honesty in saying it is original

Potential Sources of Inspiriation

  • creativity is not a gift that some people have and others don’t
  • silence the inner critic – ideas evolve – inspiration leads to more inspiration
  • inspiration from  the theme
  • inspiration from works of art – Kandinsky, Picasso, VanGogh, Miro, Mondrian
  • collaborate or work with someone else
  • be inspired by a photo or landscape
  • create an abstract design – creative use of colour, pattern, texture, line
  • print an image on fabric – change it , embellish it
  • improvisational design – just start and see where is leads
  • can use mixed media (paints, paper, metal, etc.) use of embellishments

JUST START – IT WILL LEAD TO SOMEWHERE NEW

Visions 2020: March 21 to April 7 – CANCELLED

In light of the COVID -19 pandemic the Mountain Cabin Quilters Guild gallery show, Colour Speaks – Visions 2020 was cancelled.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visions 2019: “Skylines” March 20 – April 16

                                                                                                                                Viewer’s Choice

Wylie’s Favourite Spot
By Connie Payne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visions 2018: “Doors” March 2- 20

                                               Viewer’s Choice

Archway at Scotney Castle
By Pamela Yonge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visions 2017: “Canada My Home”  March 25th to April 11

Viewer’s Choice

Retreat in Chinook Country
By Cecile Lafleur

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art Quilting – “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby!

Article by Lynn C., art quilter, Canmore, Alberta

Like the introduction, art quilting has come of age over the last 50 years. Although there have been quilts that have been considered works of art throughout quilt history, the evolution of art quilting has been very challenging.  For generations, quilts were not considered works of art but rather “craft items” and then were often referred to as “women’s work.”

As women fought for equality in the 60’s the art quilt world was born when several well-known American artists, several of them females, started using fabric as their medium.  Over the next fifty years adventurous artists brought new creative designs and techniques to traditional quilting.  The art quilt movement has fought a challenging battle for acceptance even within the world of quilting.

In 1961, the Whitney Museum of American Arts seminal exhibition Abstract Design in American Quilts introduced the concepts of quilts as objects of art to a national audience for the first time.  In the mid 70’s individuals like Nancy Crowe and Michael James were the prominent artists working with quilts as their medium.  The first Quilt National exhibition in 1979 created a venue for the increasing interest in art quilting all over the world. Many of the artists who displayed their work at Quilt National next took their quilts and techniques to share with quilters in Europe, Canada and Australia.  The world of art quilting thus became a movement. The world of quilting today graciously includes both art and traditional quilting.  Contemporary quilters continue to evolve and inspire others.