Anyone expecting to see a few bedspreads on show at the arena of the Gibsons and Area Community Centre last weekend would have been in for a surprise. The Sunshine Coast Quilters' Guild held their biennial quilt show over three days, exhibiting about 200 entries.
Quilting has come of age in the art world and every quilted project, including the traditional heirloom quilts intended for grandchildren or a daughter's wedding, were works of art.
The creators could choose to submit their pieces for jurying and many did so; those who did not choose to be judged also displayed excellent work.
For Leslie Bing of Gibsons it was an inaugural win for her wall hanging, Ginkgo, a three-dimensional piece incorporating leaves of the plant.
Martha Tatman also took home a first prize for a small art piece along a similar theme to her larger banner pieces, poppies in bloom. Tatman is one of the Out of Bounds Quilters who had a featured display at the show. The group is local and it started under the direction of quilting guru Judy Ross who still participates, but now lives off-Coast. Ross's banner managed to incorporate contemporary design with a superimposed traditional sunflower.
Quilted art from the Fibre Arts Network was on display on loan. One wall hanging told a story about a Canadian trooper killed in Afghanistan, titled Young Canadian, by Brandy Maslowski of Summerland, BC. Others featured landscapes or nature scenes such as Kokanee Run from Judith Panson of Manitoba.
The Quilters' Challenge drew a few local entries in which contestants were to quilt a scene that makes the Sunshine Coast a special place for them. The winner was Joan Baker who described walking the beach at Porpoise Bay Park.
Members of the public were asked to pick their favourite during the three-day show run. Quilters' Guild past president Fay Bullock was the winner with her Bargello pattern in blues and whites that she called Surf Song.
More about the local quilters' activities can be found at: www.scquiltersguild.com.
