Uncommon Threads: Relevant



My book on display in Athens, Ohio



I was honored to appear on the Diane Rehm show live in Washington, D.C. One sister-in-law came with me, we stayed with another sister-in-law, and I got to visit my half brother right before he passed away.

I was invited to present a lecture on my book last night, one program of half a dozen on my schedule for this spring. When Uncommon Threads: Ohio's Art Quilt Revolution came out five years ago, I never dreamed that there would still be so much interest in the story of the contribution Ohio artists made to the emergence and evolution of the art quilt.


At the local Barnes and Noble bookstore, my tArty artist group friends all came out to support me. The fabulous Susan Shie, part of my tArts group, was one of the artists featured in my book.

 re-read my book yesterday in preparation for my lecture, and when I was finished I thought, "I am so glad I wrote this book." If I hadn't written it, I would want to read it. I am so glad I wrote it, so privileged to tell the story of the amazing artists I interviewed, and happy that I put in writing the revolution that occurred right here in Ohio back in the day.

In Cincinnati, after a radio interview, I arrived to a large crowd, and was happy to see some friendly faces in the audience, such as old friends Susan and Dave Voegtly and David Walker, also featured in my book.

 I must admit it bothers me that new practioners in my field do not seem familiar with the pioneers in their chosen art medium. I look at the magazines out there today, what still exists in our new media world, and I wonder if many of the young artists featured are aware that what they are doing has already been created? I wonder if they have done their homework, have studied what came before as artists should do?


At the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., I actually got to speak at one of my favorite museums. Of all the lectures I have given, this audience had the best questions.

The famous Malaprops bookstore in Asheville, NC was the last stop on a swing of several book signings from Cleveland to Dayton to Quilt National, the Kennedy Museum and several others. Bonus: I got to visit my daughter, and one of the artists in my book, Jane Reeves.

Back home, a lecture for the Textile Art Alliance, a fabulous organization focused on the fiber arts.

Into the Swing of Things

Home, one of my mixed media paintings

This past week, my life slowly began to return to normal. As I have written before, in my world, family comes first. Over the past month, family duties called, and frequently! My primary duty has been as nurse to my husband, as he recovered from foot surgery. Between carting ice bags, food, a guitar, laptop, tea and water up and down the stairs of our home, I had little time to think about work. When I wanted to work, I had to find alternatives to sewing, since my studio is right next to our bedroom, and I didn't want to wake my sleeping giant with the noise of the sewing machine motor.

Along with some new handwork, a baby quilt for my etsy shop, I re-read a few books, including one of my favorites, How the Irish Saved Civilization. I took the time to also read a new book from the Ohio University Press Ohio Quilt series, Philena's Friendship Quilt, the same series in which my first book appeared, Uncommon Threads: Ohio's Art Quilt Revolution. It was actually nice to have some time to read for pleasure.

A new book, which just came out, and which I have not yet read, was written by former Shelburne Museum curator Robert Shaw. Entitled American Quilts: The Democratic Art - 1780-2007, Shaw's book promises to be a great read. As a leading scholar in the field, Shaw's previous books, including The Art Quilt, numerous articles, and his concise introduction to Art Quilts: A Celebration, have vastly contributed to an understanding of the art quilt movement in the United States.

To get back into the swing of work, and with fall coming on here in the midwest, I moved my 'garage' workspace into the house this week. My upstairs studio, with just one very large work table, does not have enough room for me to spread out and work on some of my other design items. I needed a place to work on my TagTalk greeting cards, collages made from recycled clothing tags and product packaging.

By moving a few side chairs in my family room, I was able to create a space to organize my vast collection of tags. It's nothing fancy, but has already improved the speed of my composition process.

Some of my TagTalk cards

So, as you can see, I have been busy, as I get back into the the swing of things. As the days shorten, and winter approaches, I look forward to many happy hours of sewing bliss.