Mining Chaos, 36 x 36 inches, acrylic on panel, ©2010 Deidre Adams

The past week has been a crazy emotional roller coaster, with extreme highs and lows. Briefly, one high was that I received notice that my textile piece Façade VII has been accepted into Quilt National 2011. This is just about the most prestigious juried show there is for art quilters, and it’s a great honor and achievement to be accepted. Readers who’ve been with me for a while will recall that I complained bitterly about being rejected from QN’09.

(Update 10/6/10: Note that the image above isn’t my QN piece. They have a rule that accepted works cannot have been published or shown on a web site other than the artist’s prior to May 2011. So even though this is my web site, I’m not taking any chances of being disqualified. The image shown here is a painting that will be part of the “Urban Beauty” show, details below.)

One very low was learning over the weekend that one of my favorite professors at Metro had passed away most unexpectedly. Eldon (“E.C.”) Cunningham was Professor and Printmaking Coordinator at Metro for many years; he was mostly responsible for building the shop and the department into a respected force in the printmaking world. He ruled the shop with a velvet-gloved iron fist, and while I can still hear him admonishing all of us to do our “shop jobs,” I also learned a great deal from him about being an artist, about developing intent and a strong work ethic. He didn’t suffer fools lightly, but he could find the good in all of his students and their work. He was incredibly generous with his time and knowledge, and he never hesitated to offer individual assistance. Critiques with him were an educational experience in which I learned some things not only about how to talk about art, but also how to deal with egos both overblown and fragile. Dear E.C., you will be missed!

Finally, I have good news about an exhibition. I will be participating in a group show called Urban Beauty at the CWCC Art Gallery. Details:

Oct. 20, 2010 – Jan. 5, 2011

Fall Art Show: Urban Beauty
Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce Art Gallery
1624 Market Street, Denver
Mon-Fri, 8-5