Courageous Souls, Turbulent Times

Courageous Souls, Turbulent Times

We members of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective are on the move.

Today, April 29, we hung our sixteenth art quilt show, Courageous Souls, Turbulent Times, at the Unitarian Society of Hartford, 50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut.  Less than a week ago, we took down our fifteenth show, Soulful Journeys, which hung at the Windsor Art Center, Windsor, Connecticut, from March 12 to April 23, and which was memorialized on local television  http://www.wfsb.com/clip/12373367/turning-quilts-into-works-of-art

This show focuses on social justice issues, a timely theme in this election year. 

Here's a look at us as we hung our art quilts today in the ambulatory of this iconic building.

Here's Carol Vinick hanging Homage , a fabric collage tribute to Martin Luther King by Linda Martin.

A better look at Linda Martin's Homage.  You can see more of Linda's work on her website, Colored Girl Art, http://www.coloredgirlart.com/

Here's Carol Vinick's The Long Walk, a tribute to Nelson Mandela.

Here's Diane Cadrain's contribution, Fragile Ties, a statement on the fragility of interracial relations.

 You can see more of Diane's work in the quilt gallery on her blog at http://stitching-it-all-together.blogspot.com/p/quilt-gallery.html

Here's Christina Blais' quilt, Determination, inspired by a quotation from Rosa Parks.

For more of Christina's work, check out her website at http://www.onebobbin.com/

Here we are, collaborating. That's Linda Martin's piece, Righteous Soul, in the center.

Here's a better look at Righteous Soul.

And here's a better look at Linda:

 

Linda Martin and Carol Vinick, collaborating.

Courageous Souls, Turbulent Times will hang during the month of May 2016 at the Unitarian Society of Hartford.  To view the quilts, stop by on a Sunday morning when the building will be open and occupied.  But that's not the only time for viewing:  for other opportunities, call the Unitarian Society of Hartford's office at 860-233-9897.

The Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective: Hanging Together

We members of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective:  Not only do we hang together, we get around.

Recently, for example, we co-hosted a meeting of a national group of which we're all a part:  the Studio Art Quilt Associates  (SAQA).  The Connecticut chapter of SAQA meets a few times a year, and our April 2016 meeting took place at the Windsor Art Center, which is also the venue for the Collective's latest exhibit, Soulful Journeys.

Here's a look, not only at some of the folks at that meeting, but also of our work on the wall:

Here's our own Christina Blais, standing on the right in this photo, chairing her first meeting as SAQA's co-chair for Connecticut, an honor she shares with Kelly Chin  Caldwell, standing next to her.  Both are framed by my quilt, Buddhist Temple I. That's me, seated, center rear, with my head framed by Buddhist Temple II.

We all have so much to learn from one another at these meetings.  I think everyone agrees that Show and Tell is the best part.

Here's Dawn Allen with one of her fabulous three-dimensional flowers:

I'm going to let Dawn speak for herself on these beautiful creations, so I'll give you a link to her website:
www.dawnallen.net

Here's Dwight Lopes, showing off his marbled fabric.  That's his spouse, Maureen Lopes, on the left.  This photo is evidence that the author of today's blog post is far from the world's best photographer.

Here's Clara Nartey.  You have to see this lady's work.

www.ClaraNartey.com

And take a look at her blog while you're at it:  http://claranartey.com/blog/

Here's our new fearless leader, Kelly Chin Caldwell, who recently, along with Christina Blais, took over the reins of our Connecticut chapter of the Studio Art Quilt Associates.

Check out her work at http://kellyissuperneato.com/

Below, here are our lovely selves. Left to right, Carol Vinick, Karen Loprete, Mary Lachman, Carol Eaton, Christina Blais, Linda Martin, and Wanda Seldon.  Not present for this photo: Diane Cadrain, Rosalind Spann, Antonia Torres.

And now we're on Connecticut TV!

We members of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective have a show, Soulful Journeys, hanging in the Windsor Art Center, Windsor, Connecticut, until April 23, 2016

And now, we've had local television coverage of our show!

Here we are with Scot Haney of WFSB, the local NBC affiliate:

And here's a link to the  airing of our little piece of fame:


http://www.wfsb.com/…/1237…/turning-quilts-into-works-of-art


Please take a look!

Soulful Journeys at the Windsor Art Center

Soulful Journeys.  That's the name of the Connecticut Fiber Ats Collective's current art quilt exhibit, hanging at the Windsor Art Center until April 23, 2016.  The show takes its name from the nearby Connecticut River, which flows for several miles through the town of Windsor, bringing to mind a suggestion of journeys, both of the body and of the soul.

Here's the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective in its glory.  From the left:  Christina Blais, Diane Cadrain, Wanda Seldon, Carol Vinick, Linda Martin, Antonia Torres and Roz Spann.  Missing from this photo are Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective members Carol Eaton, Mary Lachman, and Karen Loprete.

The opening reception for the show was on Saturday, March 12, and it attracted a crowd, as you'll see below.  But if you missed the reception, the show itself is still on view at the Windsor Art Center, 40n Mechanic St., Windsor, Connecticut, on Thursdays from 6 to 8pm, Saturdays from 10am to 4pm, and Sundays from 11am to 4pm.  And there are a number of other related activities on schedule, such as artist's talks, a workshop on fabric collage, and a workshop to construct a felted finger labyrinth.  More details on those events later.  Meanwhile, take a look at our happening reception!

Here's a sampling of the excited crowd we attracted

And here's our own Wanda Seldon, welcoming the crowd and thanking our sponsors, Cigna and Vantis Life.

All of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective artists contributed pieces which demonstrate their dedication to, and love of, creating art from fiber. 

For example, here's Carol Vinick, with her art quilt Roots and Wings, which visualizes the journey of raising her daughters, Tasha and Chris, giving the girls both roots and wings.  Carol poses here with her husband Tom and daughter Tasha.

Here's Diane Cadrain with her art quilt Buddhist Temple, an image of a temple called Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, located in Chaing Mai, Thailand.  This piece reiterates the steps of the Buddhist eightfold path, a journey to enlightment.  Diane poses here with her daughters Lucia Rubin-Cadrain and Julia Cadrain.

Quite a crowd, no?

We members of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective have been together for five years, and Soulful Journeys is our fifteenth show.  

If you missed the reception, it's not too late to enjoy these related events:

Saturday, March 19 • 10am – 12 noon
Workshop: The Art of Fabric Collage 

Create original 8”X10” fabric
art pieces through instruction on the use of value, color, and design.
Workshop fee: $30; Materials fee: $5. RSVP at 860-688-2528.
 

Saturday, April 9 • 1 – 2pm
Artists Talk. Meet several of the exhibiting fiber artists and hear how
their work reflects their own life journeys. Free.

 
Saturday, April 16 • 10am – 12 noon
Workshop: Felted Labyrinth 

Create a felted finger labyrinth,
an effective meditation tool – both in creation and use, through
instruction on the technique of needle felting with wool roving.
Workshop fee: $30; Materials fee: $10. RSVP at 860-688-2528.
 

For more information, please call or visit www.windsorartcenter.org.

We of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective are very proud of our group's longevity, its track record of exhibitions...and most of all, of our growing skills and abilities, which enable us to express the spirits within us, and share them with you.