Color and Inspiration at MAQF

I’m on my way to Portland, Oregon for the first Art & Soul of 2016 as you read this. I left the Artistic Artifacts/Batik Tambal booth at the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival (MAQF, February 25 – 28 in Hampton, VA)) in the good hands of my husband Dave, son Kyle and help from Cyndi Souder of Moonlighting Quilts and Kathy Lincoln. Chris Vinh (StitchesnQuilts) was a huge help to me packing, driving down, setting up the booth and working the first two days of the show. Thank you to all!

I never get to see as much of a quilt show as I’d like...Here I have shamelessly borrowed some photos from Artistic Artifacts friends and customers to give you a bit of a taste of the show here.

The above stunner (detail below) is by Nancy Hershberger. Nancy is one of our long-time Creative Minds who has been working with Cyndi Souder, Moonlighting Quilts in one of her art quilting groups which meet monthly at Artistic Artifacts.

Look at that amazing range of batik fabrics and how the colors are graduated!

Catherine Etter of Powatan, VA has made the trip up to Artistic Artifacts several times over the years to attend our classes--we are honored she makes that effort! She created U2 4ever (pictured above) for an “Alphabet Soup Challenge” with her Colonial Piecemakers guild, having drawn the letter U.

Catherine’s label reads, “Love this group and all their philanthropic efforts and global vision. And bonus round, their music rocks!!! Mixed media of course... ” Such amazing details and embellishments (see above) in this quilt!

Catherine’s quilt Fledgling was created for the “Bring Hexy Back” Challenge with the Richmond Modern Quilt Guild. Her label reads: “Inspiration: in life, we all take flight. Being born, growing up, leaving home and nest, creating a new home, a new home with fledgings of your own. So spread your wings, take flight and simply soar. Embroidery, appliqué, bead accents.”

Catherine: “my own personal brilliantly plumed Hexy takes flight, leaving a trail of hope, heart, dreams and creativity along my life’s journey.”

And speaking of hexies...

Above is Mary W. Kerr’s Flower Power quilt, which won a ribbon for Best Use of Negative space. Mary is an American Quilt Society certified appraiser and the author of Recycled Hexie Quilts, among other titles. Mary's beautiful work was quilted by Linda Jackson Thielfoldt.

Above, “Beauty's in the Cosmos” by Susan Sladek. So intricate, and a gorgeous use of so many different fabrics!

MAQF had as its theme “Sew Far, Sew Good,” a reflection on how the festival has progressed over its 27 years of existence. Entrants were asked to explain how far their quilt making journey has taken them and where they are today as artists, and gave entrants an opportunity to tell show-goers about the secret treasures hidden in their fabric stash!

This year they added modern quilting to its categories; entrants in were asked to draw inspiration from the Mid-Century Mod period of mid-20th century design and reflect their own exposures or from the work of artists such as Joan Miro, Piet Mondrian, Victor Vasarely, and Frank Stella. All accepted quilt entries for the show compete in Traditional, Innovative, Modern and Wall Quilt categories as well as for the “Best of Show” title. There is also a Wearable Art Competition on display at the show.