Posts Tagged ‘San Diego’

   “Visions” is a major quilt art exhibit usually held in Oceanside, CA, every two years. It’s like the Holy Grail for art quilters. The Visions Art Museum has now opened in San Diego, at the old Naval Training Center, and will now host its own show. Just to be able to finally get to the museum this last trip to San Diego was a delight. The docents were wonderful and took their time showing us quilts, as well as asking us about our work. It is SO NICE to be with other artists who GET your work! One of the disadvantages to being an artist in the Southwest is unless you’re a painter or sculptor who “does” the southwest, no one is really interested in your work.

The major exhibit was Urban Landscapes and Soft City, with a special collection by Marilyn Henrion. Pictures were allowed in the outer area and in the gift Gallery. You can view a gallery of work by Marilyn here.

Here’s one of the really intriguing quilts from Urban Landscapes by K. Vellis Turan:

I purposely left this large so you could see details.

The challenge had some really interesting small quilts – 12 by 12 inches, which is a size I have just started to work with. These are all by members of the Visions Museum. Sorry I don’t have names….

Here is an example of Marilyn’s work. Her Photoshop skills are superb.

There were a couple of quilts by members in the gift Gallery – really superb work – and again, sorry for no names.

An interesting take on the “log cabin” traditional pattern, with lots of details.

Love this one. Those are definitely my colors!

We bacame members, and I am looking forward to our November trip to see the new exhibit on “Interpretations.” LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing fiber!!

One of our regular stops is now the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park. They have the best exhibits! The “Bold Expressions” exhibit is African-American Quilts from the collection of Corrine Riley. They reminded my of the Gee’s Bend quilt exhibit I saw in Houston about 8 years ago. They’re utilitarian, basic, practical, and a simple beauty in their creation.

“The exhibition showcases more than fifty quilts made throughout the American South between 1910 and the 1970s. Stunning color combinations and distinctively free patterns epitomize an artistic vision that is unique to the American folk art tradition. African American quilts, made entirely by women, are celebrated for their bold improvisation and modern take on traditional quilting patterns, such as the House Top or Log Cabin, Star of Bethlehem and Pine Burr. Many of the quilts are made from materials that were readily available to the makers, including flour sacks, old blue jeans and work clothes and fabric remnants. This early form of recycling and reuse was a necessity that became the foundation for unique expression. The exhibition will also explore a variety of construction techniques and quilting.” (from the exhibit)

I took a lot of pictures, as some techniques really struck a chord with me.

I liked the color and secondary designs that were apparent in this one.

What struck me with this quilt was how much the ties became part of the overall design. I’ve always looked at the ties as something toat should not be obvious, but I did like what they did to this quilt.

Look at all those little pieces pieced together…..I love seeing remnants of shirting fabrics.

Once again with this quilt, I love the secondary design from the quilt ties.

Prairie points – tiny tiny prairie points!!

Love the backing fabric on this one.

Also in the museum was Maneki Neko – Japan’s Beckoning Cats.

“Made in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, each cat is unique. Most are made of clay, but some are wood, metal, ceramic and papier mâché….Since the Edo period (1603-1868) a fabricated cat with a paw upraised in the Japanese gesture of beckoning has been considered a good luck charm, drawing good fortune to individuals and businesses.  Maneki neko are common sights in local Japanese and Chinese restaurant windows, where they silently beckon to potential customers.” (from the exhibit)

Something I had no idea about, but I began to get a sense of where the “Hello Kitty” craze might have come from. I fell in love with this piece of furniture – absolutely scrumptious!

A third exhibit we saw was “In Their Own Words,” classic and contemporary Native American Art. Billy Soza Warsoldier has some amazing wolf paintings – you just get lost in the palette knife work – such a large amount of paint, and every stroke adds to the finished piece.

The Gallery shop here is one of the BEST I have ever been in. I settled for a picture of the cats on a great piece of furniture. I could spend a small fortune on books in this store!

Next time – the Visions Museum…..oh my!

This trip to San Deigo has been postponed twice, so we were REALLY glad to finally get there and see water again. Anything with water was our main destination. That and the fact that I am fascinated with texture. I’m thinking that is probably because I have no depth perception, and the vision just keep getting worse. So when I see texture I am absolutely fascinated by it.

As in this picture of water lilies in the reflecting pool at Balboa Park. I have never seen the pads with such striations to them. They were really gorgeous, and the only lily pads in the whole pond that had the multi-colored leaves. This would make a great quilt….

Water was the most important element to this trip, and we had a motel right across from one of the MANY marinas. Plus, as soon as we checked in, we headed to the point of land where Cabrillo landed, Point Loma.

I did not adjust any of these photos – my camera really captured the wonderful colors and weather. This is looking southeast from Point Loma, with the naval base on Coronado in the foreground and the skyline of San Diego barely visible. That water had some of the best shades of blue I’ve seen since floating back from Lanai in 1996.

Love the different colors of all the various flora and fauna.

The wonderful beaches of Coronado.

Look at these trees! This is at Embarcadero Park, at the base of the aircraft carrier Midway.

The memorial to the work of Bob Hope and all his USO tours – quite moving, especially at sunset and in this setting.

At the park at Seaport Village, looking south towards the Coronado Bridge, just at sunset.

Looking west to Coronado as the sun starts down below the persistent cloud bank.

I waited two years to get these pictures of these palms at the Prado Restaurant in Balboa Park – the first time we were there – no camera with us! The only touch-up in this photo was removing the security camera – the detail is just too gorgeous – this is part of the facade for the San Diego Museum of art.

Which leaves us ready for…

The Mingei and Visions Museums……