Artist Alisa Burke poses with a fan.
For those of you who didn't come to International Quilt Festival/Long Beach and Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors, we sure missed you!
Some pictures for you…
Surviving the Runway Luncheon (Thursday)
The fun began when our Surviving the Runway Luncheon lecture commenced on Thursday; class attendees didn't know what they were in for when they signed up to eat lunch with their quilting friends during their class break, but when I told them what they were going to do, they got right into the spirit of the challenge. Their task: designing a couture outfit out of dollar store items ranging from paper doilies, hair curlers, and ponchos to pipe cleaners and bikini briefs. They were given permission to use anything on their table (table linens, silverware, bread baskets) just as long as everything was returned in their original (unaltered) state. The stakes were high: the first place winner would receive a brand new, 12-needle Babylock Embellisher, plus a huge assortment of thread, courtesy of the generous folks at Aurifil.
The effervescent and talented Jane LaFazio models her outfit before the runway show:
The front table with the Quilts Inc. folks (Kim DeCoste and Jill Benge along with quilting instructor Charlotte Angotti, who happens to be a total comedian) cracked me up. Look how calm they are amidst the chaos. Just another day at the office…
When it came time to the modeling, the hilarity began…
Our second place winner:
And our first place winner:
Open Studios at Make It University!™
Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors was definitely a happenin’ spot on the floor, thanks to the wonderful workshop teachers, vendors and open studios artists who joined the area this year.
Below are Jennifer Bitton and Linda Blinn who braved Long Beach and convention center traffic to volunteer in Open Studios. Show attendees were delighted by their clever, mixed-media home décor creations. (Look for Linda’s mixed media home dec. article in our November/December issue of Cloth Paper Scissors).
Beryl Taylor demonstrated her method for making fabric paper and freely let people touch her delicate pieces of intricately stitched and embellished artwork. She flew all the way from New Jersey to be in Open Studios and I as well as and hundreds of other folks can't thank her enough for making the cross-country trek!
Jamie Fingal also shared her highly embellished quilts. A number of people told her they had just seen her earlier that day on Quilting Arts TV!
Jane LaFazio shucks her dollar-store couture and fascinates everyone with her mixed-media quilts:
*** A special thanks to all of the artists who joined us including the others I don't have pictures for: Liz Berg, Ruth Rae, Lisa Engelbrecht, Allyson Faulkner, and Larkin Van Horn.
The Artist Trading Card wall buzzed with activity. We were on the honor system this time for our "Take 'Em and Leave 'Em ATC Trade." People could trade as many as they brought. (We'll be doing the same honor system in Houston.)
I met a very kind quilter who told me she had been a fan of Quilting Arts for years. WhenI learned her name was Punkin, well, of course we had to have a Punkin and Pokey picture…
Make It University!™ Workshops
This picture of Alisa Burke truly captures how much fun everyone had…
People of all ages and abilities participated in the Make It University!™ workshops:
But this picture below of a couple might be my absolute favorite shot. Here the wife took a workshop while her husband pulled up his scooter to watch as she enjoyed her time. I saw a number of couples at this show holding hands and walking the show floor together; it was charming to see.
Surviving the Runway 70s style
Thanks to Craig's List, we were able to get an assortment of old record albums and scratched records for this 70s mixed media challenge where participants were asked to make their own 70s rock star outfit with supplies given. It was a lot of fun and of course we had some 70s rock to get into the spirit of the event.
Here's Quilt Art's own Maggie Winfield (a talented Bernina designer) showing off her outfit...
And Maggie's daughter...
The three winners:
We loved how our third place winner turned her Men at Work album into a Women at Work hat! The record on the second place winner actually spun on top of her head (quite the engineering feat), and the first place winner did an exceptional job of painting the record to match the landscape in the album, while adding a bit of a Van Gogh twist.
Quilt Exhibits
Helen Gregory (managing editor) and myself get sand in between our toes as we posed at the "Surf's Up!" exhibit. Helen conned me into this pose (on the surface she seems demure, but trust me, she has a wild side and loves to get me into trouble) so I made sure I dragged her along to geek out with me. I was very impressed with the lengths Quilts Inc. went to for propping the exhibits. Check out the entrance to the "Silver Screen" exhibit below:
Quilting Arts will be featuring a few of the quilts from each exhibit in the October/November issue of Quilting Arts so be sure to look for some of the highlights!
All in all, Long Beach was an incredible time, and I'm just sorry it's already over. Thanks to Quilts Inc. for their Make It University!™ program, all of the Open Studios artists for generously donating your time and expertise, to Barbara Delaney for all of her prep work, and many heartfelt thanks to the vendors and teachers in the section for joining us!
Houston's calling…
If you are a published mixed-media artist, are going to International Quilt Festival in Houston and want to spend a couple of hours showing your art in Open Studios, let Barbara Delaney know that you want to be an Open Studios Artist as soon as possible.
If you are interested in vending at Make It University, please let Quilts Inc. know!
Thanks again!
P.S. It was assistant editor, Barbara Delaney's birthday yesterday (August 3). Please join me in wishing her a happy birthday!