CURRENT EXHIBITS

Underwater Garden- Plastica Sea Anemones; Danielle Bodine

Raising the Surface

Whidbey Island Surface Design Association
January 31 - April 29, 2018

Raising the Surface is an exhibit of the work of members of Whidbey Island Surface Design Association. The artists work with a variety of media including fiber, fabric, dye, paint, hand and machine embroidery, beads, and basket making materials.  Using their chosen media they create complex, multi-layered original works of art.

Featured Artists:
Liz Axford
Danielle Bodine
Fine Gelfand
Carys Hamer
Lorraine Kirker
Barbara Kuznetz
Nan Leaman
Pat Morse
Natalie Olsen
Marie Plakos
Diane Reardon
Bergen Rose
Laura Stangel Schmidt
Ilene Sorenson
Janet Steadman
Sancle Wascher-James
Lee Woodfin
Colleen Wootton
 

Songsters in the Peonies; Mary Ann Musgrove

A Little Garden Music:
2018 La Conner in Bloom Challenge

March 28 - April 29, 2018

We challenged quilters and fiber artists to create a "note of beauty."   Participants were encouraged to be creative and experiment with a variety of fabrics, fibers, and textiles.  We have received some very wonderful pieces and hope to have even a few more come in.  Come enjoy the music!  

Contributing Artists:
Christina Allen
Nancy Anders
Glenys Baker
Anne Brenaman
Janet Foster
Amy Green
Vali Groening
Maggie Hawk
Kathleen Kok
Darcy MacPherson
Mary Ann Musgrove
Sonya Smith Pratt
Jodi Scaltreto
Diane Weeden

A Clockwork Orange; Jim Vander Noot

Material Men 2:
Contemporary Masters

Invitational Group Exhibit
March 28 - June 24, 2018
Opening Reception: April 4, 2018
4:00 - 6:00PM

MATERIAL MEN 2: Contemporary Masters is the Museum’s second invitational exhibit organized by guest curators Kathleen Kok and Geoff Hamada of quilts and fiber art made by men. MM2 will present a wide range of work from six extraordinary artists, showcasing quilt and fiber art masterpieces running the stylistic gamut from traditional to cutting edge.
Despite being only a small percentage of the larger quilting and fiber arts communities, men are to be found everywhere today in these worlds as guild members, fabric designers, and teachers, running fabric stores and websites, writing books on technique and history, all the while exhibiting their work locally, nationally, and internationally. As MM2 will amply demonstrate: artistry, master craftsmanship, creativity, and innovation are not gender-based.

Men making quilts is not a new phenomenon: the first professional quilters in Europe were exclusively men, a tradition which continued well into the 19th century. There have also been non-professional male quilters in Europe and the U.S. since the mid-19th century, many of whom gained notoriety for their quilting prowess. In the 1930’s, Nebraskan Ernest B. Haight (1899-1986), invented a technique he called “speed piecing” (now known as “strip piecing”) and in the 1960’s re-engineered a home zig-zag sewing machine so it could be used for free motion quilting, subsequently publishing a “Practical Machine Quilting for the Homemaker,” the first guide to free motion machine quilting. The rest, as they say, is history.

Meet the artists of MM2:

Jess Berry (Walla Walla, WA) is known for his highly colorful, awarding-winning appliqué and wholecloth quilts, all based on his own original designs which feature extraordinarily intricate needlework, including exquisite hand appliqué and hand quilting.
Jack Edson (Hamburg, NY) is rapidly gaining national notoriety for his stunningly beautiful quilt portraiture, using an innovative technique incorporating figuration within traditional quilt blocks. His work was featured in the September/October 2016 edition of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine.
Michael Michalski (Brooklyn, NY) makes highly original quilts incorporating unusual materials and many unique, specialized sewing techniques. He is the founder of the Broadway Gentlemen’s Quilting Auxiliary, a group of Broadway backstage professionals who make art quilts for auction to benefit Equity Fights AIDS and Broadway Cares.
Shawn Quinlan (Pittsburgh, PA) is internationally re-known for his highly colorful designs incorporating a dazzling array of pop culture, religious, and other non-traditional imagery. In the past decade, the fine art world has started to pay attention, bringing him many solo shows as well as group shows at the Andy Warhol Museum.
James Vander Noot (West Chester, PA) is an all-around fiber artist, producing a wide range of original, improvisational work from unique blocks, to masterful free motion quilting and thread painting.
Ben Venom (San Francisco, CA) has gained an international reputation for his arresting quilt designs utilizing vivid heavy metal and punk rock imagery. He was Artist-in-Residence at the de Young Museum (San Francisco) in May 2015, and in April 2016 was named one of the13 Emerging Urban Artists Who Are Making Their Mark Around the World by the Huffington Post.

UPCOMING EXHIBITS

Local Material Men, Too
May 2 - June 3, 2018
Opening Reception May 2, 4-6pm

How I Felt...A Woolistic Approach by Flora Carlile-Kovacs
May 2 - July 29, 2018
Artist Reception, Saturday, June 2, 2-4pm

Civil War Quilts: 1850-1865
American Quilt Study Group
Jun 6 - Aug 26, 2018
Opening Reception June 6, 4-6pm

The "Telephone Game"
Fidalgo Island Quilters Challenge Quilts
June 6 - 24, 2018
Opening Reception June 6, 4-6pm

Make It My Own II - Creative Knitting
Guest Curator Carol Harrington
Jun 27 - Jul 29, 2018
Opening Reception June 27, 4-6pm

Fabric Poems; Quilts of Emiko Toda Loeb & New Zephyrs
Jun 27 - Sept 30, 2018
Opening Reception June 27, 4-6pm

PAST EXHIBITS

Water Lily; Reynola Pakusich

PAST EXHIBITS