Philadelphia - 3

We had the day to explore the galleries participating in Fiber Philadelphia 2012.


Our first stop was at the Wexler Gallery, but we moved on to find a spot for some coffee.



The Wedge & Fig was very inviting, and was already occupied by some fellow fiber artists.








The food looked so good, that our quick stop turned into a little longer stay for delicious breakfast goodies.












Our next stop was the Snyderman Works Galleries with wonderful work by several well-known fiber artists.



To see the work on display there, go to www.snyderman-works.com












Priscilla and I both drooled over the great turquoise stoneware.
















And I would have liked to bring this horse home with me too!

Philadelphia - 2

The gang, in their best Angelina poses, waits for the bus to take us to the opening of Art Quilt Elements.












The exhibit is at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA, and is open until May 13, 2012.

There are 48 pieces on display, selected from almost 700 entries, by jurors Elizabeth Barton, David McFadden, and Sandra Sider.










Several artists donated fiber postcards to the "Hang with AQE" postcard sale.



















The sale drew lots of viewers, and we hope lots of buyers too.










I'm very happy to have my Whirlpool quilt in the exhibit, and it was great fun to be at the opening.

Philadelphia -1

 Several of us from this area made the trip to Philadelphia for the joint conference of Studio Art Quilt Associates and Surface Design Association.


The conference was held the last weekend in March in the Marriott in West Conshohocken, and this is the view from the 15th floor.







A closer view shows all the rowing activity that was happening on the river.

As people arrived, the hot spot to meet up was Pat and Jeanne's room. 

The opening keynote was given by Bruce Pepich, Executive Director and Curator of Collections at Racine Art Museum.










There were 275+ attendees, representing all parts of the country and Canada.

Arena Art Group

The Arena Art Group of Rochester opened its exhibit at Finger Lakes Community College on March 22nd.

Jeanne Beck is currently serving as President of the Group. With her is Stu Chait, one on the artists with work in the exhibit.

This is Jeanne's "Fall Equinox" (acrylic on canvas).







The College is completing a large addition that will house student activities and related services.  The space where these functions were originally housed will be remodeled into classrooms.






The look of the campus has really changed from when I last taught there in the 80's!

Sewing day

Priscilla and Beth were at the studio for a day of sewing.

Priscilla was finishing the green borders on this colorful quilt.

And she was auditioning what she might add to the center square that she started in a class last summer. She got some votes for adding more red in the large blue triangles





Priscilla also has this piece in process. The boots were done with needlepoint.

Beth was working on dresses for her grandaughter, who likes yellow.

The yellow print fabric has very cute kitties.










She finished two dresses, that just need a couple of buttons and a little hemming.

Signs of spring

We've had lots of frogs out sunning themselves around the pond during our spell of warm weather.  This spot next to the ceramic frog was a favorite last year, and it looks like it's going to be again this year.








Our five fish made it through the winter with the aid of a small water heater that keeps the ice from forming over the top of the pond.
 






The guys from Clearly Aquatics were here to clean out the ponds.  They are about a month earlier than other years, but the ponds were already forming algae.








The cobblestone sides and bottom of this pond are pretty, but they are definitely not the favorite kind to clean.  There's usually a coin toss, with the loser relegated to cleaning this pond.

Studio visitors

A few of us got together for some Show & Tell a few days ago.



Nancy had her "Day and Night" pieces on the wall while she considered what kind of quilting she would add to the pieces.







Bev was finishing the facing on her larger piece and has the quilting well underway on the second piece.



Nancy made a 6" X 6" quilt to contribute to the 6X6 exhibit and sale that benefits the Rochester Contemporary Art Center. 











And Suki was very happy that I had taken my quilt off the wall so she could snuggle with it!

Florida visit - 7

On my last evening in Florida, we ventured to Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach for dinner and window shopping.

There were many art galleries, and we found one that was open even though it was a Monday night.

This is Delray Beach's answer to Tuk Tuk service -- and it's free!

Isn't this a great building?   I understand it dates back to the 1920's and was originally a hotel.

Spunky kept me company as I packed for the trip home.  I'm not sure if he thought he was helping, or if wanted to take a little trip.

Florida visit - 6

We enjoyed a lovely walk at the Wakodahatchie wildlife habitat. 

It's a constructured wetland that serves as a water treatment facility for the Water Utilities Department to recycle water. 

 It also provides habitat for wetland wildlife species and offers open green space for people to enjoy.

We saw a few alligators, and I think this guy might have been the largest.












This lizard was not very big, but my camera was able to get a close-up picture.


This green heron had just caught a small fish.