Scholarship and other wonderful news!

Sunday was a wonderful day! I went to Rocky Mount, NC to meet Linda Lynch, the incredible woman who posed for the Decision Portrait Series piece On Fighting Ovarian Cancer. We could have spent more than a few days together discussing art, embroidery, and life but managed to cram the most important points into a few precious hours!

While there, we went to the Imperial Art Center and saw "Handcrafted", the national juried fine craft exhibition that includes two of my pieces. I also dropped of one of my Grave Rubbing Quilts, Memory. It was recently accepted into the upcoming national juried all media exhibit....one of only 24 total works to be included! In fact, the acceptance came as a telephone call! (As opposed to a self-addressed, stamped envelope!) This gave me the courage and opportunity to ask if I could also submit a proposal for a solo show! The answer was "Yes!"

Now that I've walked through this large, impressive former tobacco plant with its textural walls of exposed brick, sweeping hardwood floors, perfect professional lighting system, high ceilings, informative signage, and educational areas, I REALLY HOPE THEY WANT ME! Of course, the more outstanding the facility, the more talented artists desiring this opportunity! My fingers and toes are crossed!

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In the meantime, I'm busy stitching. Above is a detail of the kantha styled stitching on Epitaph, another piece in my Grave Rubbing Quilt series. Below is another one of those photos that stubbornly WILL NOT UNLOAD properly! I did, however, include my sandals for a sense of size. The entire outer edge is finished.....lots and lots of meditative running stitches over the layers of recycled material....kantha! This is my "in the evening" work...in front of the television.

I'm also experimenting in my studio with some of my collected epitaphs....free motion embroidery using a dissoluble stabilizer on the sheerest chiffon (Photos coming!) and Cold Turkey, the next piece in the Decision Portrait Series (Photos coming!).

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Recently I shared the disappointment of being turned down for a scholarship to Penland. Well, it wasn't the only location to which I applied. I just received a wonderful message! I was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Split Rock Arts Summer Program (part of the University of Minnesota...continuing education) to study with Emily Richardson! The class is called The Art Quilt: Exploring Painted Cloth and Composition! (The link is the course description and includes a brief biography for the instructor.) I'm totally excited.