What IS My Line?

On the very last day of the exhibition, I drove down to Lowell Mass. to see the "What's My Line?" art quilt show at the Whistler House Museum of Art.

***Note: I took these photos with my camera's highest resolution, so you can click them, and then click them again to supersize so you can examine them closely.
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One look around and I could see that my quilts did not match the Juror's vision.

I was allowed to take all the photographs I wanted.

The concept of a "line" seemed very literal in most of the quilts.

Most, but not all. While the prospectus said a "line" could be a line of music or a phrase, there were no quilts here with words in them.

Viewers were encouraged to vote for their favorite.

My "favorite" changed several times before I made my final selection.  Can you guess which one it is?

"Fractures 3" by Sandra Palmer Ciolino

 "Green and Orange" by Phyllis Small

"Plowlines I" by Stephanie Shore

 

"Linear One" by Rosemary Hoffenberg.

"Trippy" by Ann Brauer

"Sbagello VI Vortex" by Sandra Palmer Ciolino.

"Woods Walk" by Valerie Maser-Flanagan
 

"Spring Sneezes" by Marti Plager

 "Boulevard" by Maria Shell

"Time Line I" by Leesa Gawlik of Durango Colorado, was the one I finally decided was my favorite.



What's my takeaway from all of this?  These quilts seemed to me to be more "Art" than "Quilt." While the pieces were all supposed to be made in the traditional quilt "sandwich" of top-batting-backing, few of them really seemed to be quilts in the tactile sense.  My quilts are more "Quilt" than "Art."

*Update. I don't think of my quilts as less "Art Quilts" because they are more traditionally constructed. It was just such an obvious difference from the ones that were hanging at the Whistler that I had to mention it.  I thought the show was really good, and I enjoyed it a lot. I would have loved to be a part of it, but hey, bright lights big city. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Everybody has their own viewpoint. I'm glad the quilting community is as large, varied and diverse as it is, because there are a LOT of stunning quilts out there!

Rejected!

It came in an email today:

"Dear Lynne,

Thank you for submitting your work for the "What's My Line" exhibit. We regret that the work was not accepted for inclusion in this particular exhibit. The jurying process was indeed challenging due to the superb quality of the art quilts submitted. The quilts were chosen based on technique, quality of workmanship, relation to theme and visual appeal..."

I admit to being disappointed, but I was never sure either of the quilts I submitted was entirely appropriate to the theme.  I submitted The Quick Brown Fox,

and the Black Rules.

The jurying was done from digital photographs, and I know mine aren't great.

I won't know where I went wrong until I see the actual exhibit. My gut instinct is my quilts really didn't take advantage of the theme, i.e., I didn't play a lot with the concept of the "line."  That's a fair criticism. 

Bright lights, big city. That's the way it goes. No harm, no foul.

Accomplishments

I submitted the Quick Brown Fox and The Black Cat Rules to the "What's My Line" quilt exhibit at the Whistler House Museum of Art. I'll know by May 30th if I have been accepted. 

The Blue Exquisite flimsy is complete. I have sewn up the backing and binding, and now it needs to be quilted.

What's My Line?

The Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell Mass is seeking original Art Quilts for an exhibit August 7 to September 14th 2013 called "What's My Line?"

The show is looking for quilts that "explore the idea of using a line both literally and figuratively - a stitched line, a line of work, a line of song or a poem, a railway line, a line on a map, lines on a face, the possibilities are endless..."

You can find more information here.


Three very important facts:
The work must be original.
The quilts cannot be larger than 72" in any dimension.

The deadline for entries is May 15, 2013

So!

I am thinking of submitting this quilt:

I remember typing this line over and over and over when I was learning to type.