Art Quilts/New England
August 5 – October 31, 2004
Brush Art Gallery and Studios
In Lowell’s National Historic Park

Another venue for quilting during New England Images 2004 in Lowell, MA, was the Brush Gallery and Studios, which had a juried biennial exhibition titled, Art Quilts/New England. Juried by Carlotta Danzanté Miller (Textile artist, educator, and coordinator of the exhibition), Jennifer Gilbert (Curator, New England Quilt Museum), and Mary Walter (Quilt artist and owner of A Quilter’s Garden), Art Quilts/New England is a peek at what some of the finest Art Quilters in the New England States are doing. “The exhibition includes work by 23 quilt artists whose non-traditional quilts reflect the ever-expanding boundaries of the Art Quilt Movement.” Set in a large, beautiful, and well-lit gallery with enough space between each piece, the quilts were easy to view close-up and from a distance, so that one could get the full impact of each one.

The Brush Gallery and Studios is a non-profit service, education, and membership organization which provides studio and exhibition facilities for artists, and programs to educate the general public about the artistic process. Up to 15 artists maintain studio space in the complex, and resident artists participate in the daily operations of the Brush and yearly mount a Resident Artist’s exhibition in the Gallery. This group of talented individuals includes: painters, printmakers, ceramic artists, textile artists, photographers, and quilters.

It was thrilling to walk through the wide winding hallway that was connected to the Gallery area and view each of the studios on either side along the long walkway. One is encouraged to step into each studio, see what the artist’s are currently working on, and view some of their other works. (which are for sale, of course, and which we bought, of course!)

Don’t miss the Brush Gallery when visiting Lowell, even when New England Images is not in town.

View Quilts from other venues and activities during New England Images 2004

Brush Art Gallery and Studios
256 Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852
978-459-7819
Hours:
April 1-December 31
Tues-Sat 11am - 4pm
Sunday 12:00 noon - 4pm
January 1-March 31
12 noon-4pm
thebrush@thebrush.org
www.thebrush.org

©Dori Hawks
www.thequiltercommunity.com

The following quilts were a few of the works featured in this exhibit:

The Mill, 2003 21” x 29”
By Margot Stage
Silk, velvet, hand-dyed and commercially printed cottons, metallic, organza ribbons, and a painter’s drop cloth; machine and hand-stitched, acrylic painted background
The Mill was inspired by old mill buildings that populate my visual landscape. One sits at the heart of the village I call home, and a multitude dominate Lowell, Massachusetts, where I frequently play with fiber. Their repetitive patterns of brick and glass and their shifting perspectives of geometric angles always catch my eye; not to mention the colorful history they contain.

Pages I, 2002 16” x 20”
By Peggy Morris
Hand-painted and hand-dyed fabric by artist and Geology
My mind has recently been captivated by sayings old and new. I am at a point in my life where those sometimes-cryptic one-liners have crystal-clear meaning and relevance. This piece is the first in a series titled Pages that have been inspired by those sayings I’ve collected.

Bird’s Eye View, 2004 33” x 16”
By Karen Loprete
Fabric, felt, tulle, and threads
My landscape began as a flat horizontal view of the forest behind my house. While working on the quilt, I imagined how one of the many birds flying high above these trees would capture this view.

Spreading Joy: Opus III, 2002 48” x 48”
By Mary-Allen Latino
Silk noil, African kente cloth and cotton
As a fiber artist, I work with surface design to create diverse, complex cloth that is rich in color, texture, and pattern. In this piece, I was inspired by African artifacts and created a primitive icon, repeated it and surrounded each one with silk and cotton fabric that I dyed and made into complex cloth. I further enhanced it with damask and kente cloth from Africa. My wish is for the viewer to delight in the playfulness of this piece and feel somehow connected.

Potential, 2004 22” x 18”
By Karen Kamenetzky
Hand-dyed cotton and cheesecloth
I am fascinated with imagining how hidden parts of the natural world we see. After viewing various plant cell images, the form of this piece took shape. It depicts an imaginary point of transformative change on a cellular level.

Cellular Dance, 2004 26” x 24.5”
By Karen Kamenetzky
Hand-dyed cotton, tulle, and yarns; machine pieced and quilted
I am fascinated with imagining how hidden parts of the natural world affect the world we see. This image was inspired by envisioning shapes and movement on a cellular level.

Reflections, 2000 43” x 33”
By Rosemary Hoffenberg
Hand-dyed cottons, screen and block-printed; machine pieced, hand and machine quilted

Circumspect, 2001 34” x 32.5”
By Rosemary Hoffenberg
Hand-dyed cottons, screen and block-printed; machine pieced, hand and machine quilted

Field of Dreams, 2003 29” x 36.5”
By Marilyn Gillis
Nuno wool and silk-felt handmade by the artist; synthetic felt batting, cotton backing, beads, silk ribbon, and synthetic cords and yarns
Glorious flowers occupy my winter dreams.

Northern Woods, 2004 20” x 20”
By Michelle Chisholm Leavitt
Textile frazzlings, cotton fill, and backing
Along the state line between Kentucky and Indiana are my family roots. Recycling and folk arts such as quilting are family traditions born of necessity. Returning stuff to use (inventing and creating) is still a major source of interest for me. My own chicken coop is filled with saved stuff; colored plastic bags, children’s toys, fabric scraps, bottle caps, and so on. Frazzlin’ is the word my mother used for a piece of fiber or snippet of fabric. This landscape Northern Woods is the result of an experiment: using the sewing machine to top stitch textile bits, selected from the frazzlin’ sack, down to a cotton.

Inside The Line, 2003 41” x 48”
By Mary Allen Chaisson
Procion dyes, discharge (bleach), paste resist, and silkscreen on cotton and linen
This is one of my recent pieces in a series about the Iraq war. By using techniques of shibori, discharge, paste resist, and silkscreen, I have created many “lines” in which to seek a haven.