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Peru, part 1 – Lima

Lima Cathedral, Plaza de Armas, Lima, Peru

After 11 hours of traveling (which included a 2-hour stopover in the lovely George Bush Intercontinental Airport), we arrived in Lima at about 10 pm local time. Going through immigration and customs was quite simple, although lengthy due to a large number of people arriving at the same time. We were then met by a guide holding a sign with our name on it; the first time I’ve ever seen that for myself, but in such an unfamiliar situation and with my very limited Spanish, an extremely welcome sight.

Coming out of the airport late that night, we got to experience Lima’s famous garua, “more than a fog, less than a rain,” a heavy mist that keeps everything slightly wet and cold, and the sky leaden. I never saw the sun once while we were there.

The next day, our guide took us on a whirlwind tour of the city. Many of the streets were blocked off for events like marathon running or some such, so we spent a lot of time in the car stuck in traffic looking for alternate routes. We finally made it to the Plaza de Armas, Lima’s original city center and the home of the Palacio de Gobierno. We arrived in time for the changing of the guards. The presence of la policia is rather overt here, but when I asked our guide if they were expecting a riot, she said go have your picture taken with them. Evidently, they have a pretty good sense of humor, at least for the tourists.

From there, we went on to visit the San Francisco monastery and church, famous for its catacombs containing the bones of tens of thousands of people. I was hoping to start a collection of such visits, as this would be my second after the visit to the ones in Paris (detailed here), but much to my disappointment, they do not allow photography in San Francisco.

After a lovely lunch of local delights at the Restaurant El Bolivariano, our sight-seeing concluded with a visit to The National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History. Then it was back to the hotel for an early dinner and bedtime, as we had to leave the hotel at 3:30 am to fly to Arequipa the next morning.

October 22nd, 2012|Travel|1 Comment

Various matters

Returning to the Source, 78 x 32 inches, mixed media textile, ©2012

Yesterday I received word that my piece Tracings III (no, not the one you see here) has been accepted into Quilt National 2013. We aren’t allowed to have the work shown or published anywhere prior to the opening. There is an exception stating that you can publish it on your own site, but in these days of Pinterest, etc., that would be taking a huge risk. So I’m probably not alone in keeping it under wraps for the next 6+ months. Congratulations to all of the accepted artists!

The piece above is from Seasonal Palette, a new exhibition from SAQA featuring quilts by 37 artists, who were each chosen to express one of the seasons. The quilts are all the same size, 78 x 32 inches, which should make a beautiful exhibit when they’re all hung size by side. The exhibit will be premiering at IQF Houston on Nov. 1. There is a beautiful hard-copy catalog which will be available soon from SAQA; I’ll post the link when it becomes available.

Here are a few details from Returning:

The final bit of news is that I’ll be leaving on Saturday for a 2-week trip to Peru. The itinerary includes Lima, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Machu Picchu (of course!), y mucho más. Can’t wait!

October 9th, 2012|Exhibitions|6 Comments

SAQA Showcase

I am proud to be one of six artists chosen for the SAQA Showcase exhibition, which opened August 3 at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The exhibition description on the web site reads,

The artists featured in this exhibition are members of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), an organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through exhibitions, publications, and professional-development opportunities. The IQSCM is pleased to partner with SAQA in this collaborative exhibition project.

SAQA Showcase: The Studio Art Quilt Associates Invitational began with a large pool of SAQA members who submitted representative examples of their art quilts for consideration. From among this group the international Quilt Study Center & Museum and SAQA chose six artists whose works represent some of the best and most innovative approaches to studio art quilts. These artists were invited to select from their existing work or create new work for inclusion in the exhibition.

The other artists in the exhibition are:

Susan Shie (two works on back wall), one of the foremost artists working in the quilt medium today. Her unique style is instantly recognizable, with her all-over writing and stylized figures which are woven together in narratives that reflect themes of daily life, family, community, politics, and social issues.

Jan Myers-Newbury, another venerable artist whose groundbreaking work with shibori techniques and dynamic color explorations has been wowing viewers and influencing artists for twenty years.

Michael Cummings, who “draws inspiration from Africa and the art of African Americans, particularly the great quilters of the South” (from a New York Times article quoted in the bio on his web site), has work in numerous prestigious collections and publications.

Fellow Colorado artist Gay Lasher, who works with computer manipulations of her own photographs, enlarging small areas of them beyond recognition to create abstractions of intense color and dynamic composition.

Wen Redmond, another artist who uses her photography as a starting point for her textile work, which includes a variety of mixed media techniques. Wen says, “I enjoy pushing the boundaries to see ‘what if.’”

It is indeed an honor to be included with this group of outstanding artists. The exhibition is on view through Feb. 24, 2013.

(Thanks to the IQSCM for these photographs.)

September 19th, 2012|Exhibitions|4 Comments

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