SAQA's Traveling Trunkshow

SAQA - Studio Art Quilts Association has a traveling trunk show that will start at the SAQA conference in Washington DC this april and continue across the United States and around the world. It travels for 3 years. A group of quilts from this exhibition will be chosen by jurors Linda Colsh and Margaret Keeney to become a permanent part of the collection of the National Quilt Museum in  Paducah, Kentucky.

 The piece I created for the trunk show is based on another small piece I recently finished. I have this old photo of my mother in law - it is over 90 years old. I love the picture, the outfit and especially the high button shoes. She was a very pretty woman and such a sweet little toddler, I knew I had to do something with it.

 I scanned it and put it in Photoshop Elements and using the "filter" option across the top, I went to "stylize" and then "find edges" - an instant line drawing.  I did remove some of the "noise" using white out.

 I also wanted to use my screens of writing from my grandmother - some were screened with textile paint and some with discharge paste.

 The textile painted words were made more subtle by the use of gauze as an overlay (left side) and the discharged words were used in the middle as a backdrop. All the fabrics were deconstructive screen printed fabrics.

 I loved the high button shoes and used them along a strip on the bottom....

 and then screened "Hilda" in the center of the piece. This is the original and it's called "High Button Shoes". It's only a 12" square piece but still too big for the SAQA show. The ones for SAQA were to be 7" x 10" in a portrait orientation.

Here is the one I did for the SAQA show which is 7" x 10" and named "High Button Shoes II".  I did bind this one unlike the original which has a facing. To keep the binding soft and subtle, I use silk organza - it gives a nice edge.
Til next time....stay warm...brrrrr.....