2015 – Page 4 – Deidre Adams

A little mid-week inspiration

Confession: I am guilty of a crime. Evidently it is very serious. I know it and I feel terrible about it. My feelings of guilt over this crime create a negative feedback loop and have led to a paralysis of inaction.

What is this crime, you may ask? It is the crime of inconsistent blog postings. Unforgivable – or so I’m told!

The last few months have been overwhelmingly busy, unfortunately taken up completely with things that have little or nothing to do with making artwork. This week, I finished up a couple of big projects, and I’m finally able to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I was even able to sneak in several hours of studio time this week, although there is nothing I really want to show at the moment.

But how to solve this problem of trying to get back into a more regular schedule of blogging? In the past, the kinds of postings I’ve done for the most part have taken a lot of time and thought. But lately, I haven’t felt that I have anything really involving or deep to share with the world, and that has led to me just avoiding it altogether. The solution came to me this morning: it’s for me to do something that takes the pressure off.

I was looking through my photos today searching for a specific image, and I realize I have a vast trove that I’ve never shared. Many of them are integral to my development as an artist. Although rarely do I ever make a piece based on a particular photo, my photo-taking process is critical in developing my eye and understanding what I find interesting as far as texture, composition, and aesthetics. I’m not much of a one for Instagram, so what I’m going to do is try some quick-hit type posts here on my blog, perhaps with little to no explanation, as I and I alone see fit. At times I may have more to say, and that’s OK too. Isn’t it great to have a space that’s all yours, to do with as you like!

Today’s selection comes from my time in Vermont (see more on my Vermont Studio Center residency here, here, and here).

It is also another example of my ongoing love affair with white and white work.

August 13th, 2015|Inspiration|2 Comments

Quilt National 2015 Opening

Following on from my last post, here are more images from this year’s Quilt National opening weekend. Above is the legendary Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens. The opening reception this year attracted a huge number of the artists – I think the count was 62 – with many of them traveling from Europe and beyond. The Quilt National Executive Director, Kathleen Dawson, does such a wonderful job of organizing all the various aspects of the event, from the catalog to the hanging, to all of the mini-events that are part of the opening weekend. Each artist is made to feel like we have done something very special! It’s a huge treat to meet everybody, and I especially enjoy trying to get a portrait of each artist with their work. This time, I managed to get almost all of them, with just a couple managing to escape me. (And many thanks to Betty Busby for taking the shot of me!)

(If you are one of the artists pictured and you’d like a high-res copy, just let me know and I’ll be happy to send it to you directly.)

(Click image for full view)

Here’s a group photo of all of us together. Quite the crowd!

And here are shots of the interior so you can get a feel for the entire show.

May 26th, 2015|Exhibitions|21 Comments

disruption

Quilt National 2015 is now officially open! If I have any readers who aren’t familiar with QN, this is the most prestigious exhibition of art quilts in North America (and possibly the world). From the Quilt National website:

Quilt National was intended to demonstrate the transformations taking place in the world of quilting. Its purpose was then, and still is, to carry the definition of quilting far beyond its traditional parameters and to promote quiltmaking as what it always has been — an art form.

The works in a Quilt National exhibit display a reverence for the lessons taught by the makers of the heritage quilts. Many of the works hold fast to the traditional methods of piecing and patching. At the same time, however, the Quilt National artist is intrigued by the challenge of expanding the boundaries of traditional quiltmaking by utilizing the newest materials and technologies. These innovative works generate strong emotional responses in the viewer while at the same time fulfilling the creative need of the artist to make a totally individual statement.

Out of nearly 1,000 entries, only 84 pieces made the cut this year. I’m honored to be among those chosen by jurors Rosalie Dace, Anne Johnston, and Judy Schwender. Because it’s very important that Quilt National be the first to show these innovative new works, they have a very strict rule that no accepted piece can have been published anywhere in print or on the web prior to the show opening. So in order to avoid the heartbreak of disqualification, most of us keep our work under wraps until the opening.

But now it’s safe to do the reveal, so above is my entry, disruption. (Yes, the lack of capitalization is intentional.) Here’s a detail shot:

disruption, detail

Coming soon: Scenes from the opening reception at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio.

May 24th, 2015|Exhibitions|16 Comments