The Sunshine Coast Quilters' Guild opened their biennial showcase last weekend at two Sechelt locations, the Seaside Centre and the Holy Family Church hall. Though the styles varied wildly -from innovative wall hangings depicting Elvis to traditional crazy patch quilted in a bee by the Fat Quarters group - the work was of a high standard, wonderfully creative and pushed the boundaries of fabric art.
Judy Ross, the featured quilter, set the tone. Her work is more than just quilts - they are social comments in fabric. Though best known for her astronomy quilt series - one of them, Home Astronomy, was celebrated by NASA, the space agency - for this show her theme revealed much about her life. Ross, who lives part time in Roberts Creek and part time in the U.S., has been active in many causes throughout her years and she takes delight in using needle and thread to satirize such bodies as the U.S. Congress and the soulless heads of corporations. Her figures are lively and raise protest signs calling for peace and justice on various issues.
One artwork, Suzanne, depicts the famous woman of Leonard Cohen's song serving tea and oranges and holding up a mirror to the world against a backdrop of a large modern city. It recalls the '60s to Ross: "It's the sense of freedom. We had the whole world spread before us," she said.
At the Seaside Centre the public could examine the work of a younger generation of novice quilters.
"This is the second year that we've really made an effort to do outreach," explained the Quilt Show's co-chair Carol Bowie, pointing to a patchwork display by the Girl Guides. "Some of these kids were using a sewing machine for the first time."
With a grant from Canadian Heritage, the quilters also offered a youth workshop to ages nine to 17 during the weekend to teach fabric techniques such as paint and foil, in an effort to interest the next generation of quilters. Bowie's own work, Cosmati Rings II, earned her first place with the judges in the Small Traditional Quilt category.
The wearable art, organized by the Out of Bounds Quilters, also at the Seaside Centre, was a terrific display of gorgeous clothing, purses and jewellery. M. Jill Sullivan's classy jacket entitled Show Off was delightful. As one of the quilters who submitted her work for judging she also won first place in the small innovative category for her wall hanging, Holding It Together, a piece that includes rusting and over-painting.
The SC Quilters' Guild, a non profit society, promotes the joy of quilting and can be reached at www.user.dccnet.com/scquilts
