TIME MARCHES ON

81/2" x 10"

To conclude 2017, one more small study__ MARTIANS IN THE HOUSE__seems like the obvious title, unless you don't see them. Part of the fun of abstract design is giving the imagination free range to see and sew or sew and see, then loan the quilt to the viewer and let their imagination go!

Farewell 2017---Anticipate 2018

"discard the tendency to exclude things from possibility" words of e e cummings

May the future be filled with possibilities created in compassion, reason, class, hope, equality and persistence.

CHEERS

A DASH of RED

9" x 10 1/2"

On Dasher, Dancer

Six more reindeer with Rudolph

Who has the red nose

Living north of the 45th parallel north, places me closer to the North Pole than the Equator.  I can see Santa's sleigh from my back porch. 

8" x 10 1/2"

North country winter
Three dog night is not a crowd
Solstice brings the light

HAPPY HOLIDAYS one and all----------! 

hey, how did Santa's belt get in the middle of it?

Deck the Halls with BOOKS

Adding a couple of books to the library is a holiday tradition. This year I am returning to some classics that were not yet in my collection. I found, rather, Santa found good used books and I will act surprised when I open them, given from the dog with love.

hand carved by a friend

AMISH The Art of the Quilt by Robert Hughes and Julie Silber, 1990 promises stunning photos of the Espirit quilt collection with interpretation by Art Critic, Robert Hughes, and curator of the collection, Julie Silber. I will be lost in these pages for some time.

The Quilt Digest, Revised edition 1985, volumes 1-4 are in the sleigh. The Quilt Digest was an annual publication started by Michael Kyle and Roderick Kiracofe appealing to enthusiasts of antique and contemporary quilts. They weren't afraid to mix it up. Yes, that Roderick Kiracofe and he is well represented in my library.

In my search, I discovered a few copies of Quilting with Style by Gwen Marston and Joe Cunningham, 1993. I have had this book for several years now, but it was difficult to find then. 

Now for a few more in my possession. This short stack, old friends now, document pieces of our vibrant and rich tradition, reporting on the acceptance of quilts as visual and expressive objects. Art. Consider how making art would be unintentional to many of these makers.

A Communion of the Spirits, African-American Quilters, Preservers, and Their Stories by Roland Freeman, 1996 is a gem. Mr. Freeman, an award winning photo-documentarian and field research photographer for the Smithsonian Institution, completed this national survey of African-American quilt makers. In these pages, the reader will meet Fannie Lee R. Chaney, the mother of James Chaney, Maya Angelou, Faith Ringgold, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, Rosa Parks, Michigan quilter Carole Harris, and, and, and! This documentation continued for 20 years and covered thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia. 

Enjoy your holiday quilt traditions. Deck the halls. Gifts are in need of finishing stitches. The good books, old and new, will be waiting. 

WARM WISHES, Pam

IT MEASURES UP TO GRATITUDE

AMERICAN QUILTER'S SOCIETY April 2017

I GOT THE BLUES.....and it ain't bad.........................................................

QUILT EXPO September 2017

The awards are appreciated. The rewards are plentiful. 

My quilts were selected to be on exhibit with the work of my quilt making sisters and brothers. My quilts prompted invitations to fine venues where I met imaginative, energetic, creative, thoughtful students. They were a gift, as if in a pretty package with a multi-colored ribbon. 

Experiencing and expressing gratitude.  

WOODLAND RIDGE RETREAT JUNE 2018

A focus on MINIMALISM in quilts. A five day workshop for maximum discovery.  

Join me at Woodland Ridge Retreat Center June 5-9, 2018  Minimalist Design Maximum Impact  woodlandridgeretreat

Explore a subtle challenge. Simplicity is deceptively complex. What do you place on an uncluttered center stage? What is enough? Interpret minimalism as you consider color and contrast, composition and the essence of what is important. Consider influences from our quilting tradition, modern art and design, and the natural world. Consider the influence of using material at hand, simplify and repurpose. 

REPURPOSED SILK FROM A NECKTIE CATCHES THE SUNLIGHT

composition influenced by Marge Tucker, another quilter published in Minimal Quiltmaking

Perhaps some minimalist quilts are unpretentious with Wabi Sabi, a Japanese concept and appreciation of the beauty of things imperfect. 

Minimal Quiltmaking by Gwen Marston included several of my quilts. I will share my interpretation of Gwen's Liberated Quiltmaking methods. Working without a pattern invites creativity and liberates the imagination. 

A FIRST EFFORT TO SIMPLIFY
"ONTONAGON CLAY" SMALL STUDY

In five days together, maybe you will explore a series of small studies playing with a minimalist vocabulary. Maybe you will do as Gwen did at the conclusion of Minimal Quiltmaking and explore minimal piecing with maximum quilting. Maybe you will follow what develops in the moment. 

I welcome you to join me!  


                  optional resources:

Minimal Quiltmaking by Gwen Marston, AQS 2014

Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, by Leonard Koren; Imperfect Publishing, Point Reyes, California

Marge Tucker  margetuckerquilts.com

GWEN MARSTON and NORTHERN DAUGHTERS

Attention Quilt Collectors---Gwen Marston is now represented by Northern Daughters and you can own one of Gwen's quilts!  https://www.northerndaughters.com/gwen-marston

MADELINE ISLAND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS-- class report 2017

Mark making in quilts---lines

pieced small squares make subtle lines

marks in lines

pointed marks

floating marks

circular marks

dense marks

marks punctuated by moonset

Madeline Island School of the Arts provided an exceptional experience. The students expressed a zest for learning and liberated their creativity. Their quilts amazed and delighted me. As cloth was stitched together in imaginative ways, we too became stitched together. 

class dismissed

MADE BY HAND---MARK MAKING

When sewing without a pattern, a theme is one way to get started----

A curiosity about mark making originated when I took a nonrepresentational drawing class. Mark making is practiced usually in the context of drawing, painting or marking other objects. I think marks can also be seen in quilts as we consider lines, squares, triangles, circles. Explore these links and see what you think.

Rothko to Richter

In reference to the mark, "...a one to one correspondence between every stroke of paint and every movement of the artist's hand." When something is made by hand, it is nice to see evidence of the work by the hand. 

Marks can be made by scraps of fabric. Here are marks in leaves offered by my favorite historic quilter.  Vine quilt by Susan McCord

Multiple little abstractions, many marks and I find it hard to stop thinking about Erin's work.   Erin Wilson Quilts 

Amish quilts were some of the first to gain attention from the art world. Here are some of my favorite Amish quilts showing off their graphic style. Marks can be on a grand scale as well as small. Note the simple Chinese Coins Quilt near the end. There is even one "small study". 

Darwin D. Bearley Antique Ohio Amish Quilts

After all the piecing, the quilting stitches present tiny marks sculpting the surface, but that is a subject for another day----and another class.  

MENDING AND SEWING --- MARK MAKING

MENDED---That moth was no match for a few marks

Sewing little things together to get little things per Gwen Marston's notes. Plus there are big things to pack for the gathering at Madeline Island School of the Arts where I know students will be doing big things. In two weeks, class will be underway. A reunion with returning students and meeting new students adds to the excitement of all the quilt making that will follow. The last minute preparation will fill my two weeks. 

Today my quilt greeted me from the pages of the QuiltArt engagement calendar, marking time, reminding me of what a fine year it has been in my quilt world, and of the fine time to come in just two weeks!

QUILT EXPO September 7-9, 2017

DOG WALKS GIRL 49" x 54"
 original design, liberated piecing and hand quilting
by Pam Beal
vintage kimono silk & yukata cotton; Kona & hand dyed cotton plus a little batik
and published in the QUILTART engagement calendar 2017 

Dog Walks Girl is checking out the scene at Quilt Expo in Madison, WI sponsored by Wisconsin Public Television with Nancy Zieman---September 7-9, 2017

www.quiltexpo.com

UPDATE:  Dog Walks Girl was awarded 1st. Place in the Wall Quilts, Hand Quilted Category at Quilt Expo. Thank you QUILT EXPO! Dog Walks----away with a blue ribbon


ps---if you like my quilt maybe you would like to join me for a workshop! Two classes in Wisconsin are coming right up, Madeline Island School of the Arts in October; Woodland Ridge Retreat in June, 2018----Visit the workshop page for details and I'll see you in class.

STUDIO HAND QUILTING OCTOBER 2018
MADELINE ISLAND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

And here is a photo from Quilt Expo---courtesy Terry S.

October 2, 2017 MADELINE ISLAND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

detail of CRAYONS 45" x 44"

In a few short weeks class will be in session! Make Your Mark with Pam Beal, October 2-6.

I think of Mark Making quilts as a style of abstract quilt resulting from improvisation, liberated thinking, and construction adapted from Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking methods. Consider lines, squares, triangles and circles as the vocabulary of mark making. Little pieces and parts coming out of nowhere, seemingly going nowhere. The very curiosity of it interests the maker and the viewer.

The Madeline Island "magic" is legendary. It feels magical when you experience your creativity. Five days offers immersion in discovery. 

I hope to mark you present in class!


Follow the link from my Workshop page, or the post on the upper right side for registration information, or wander to the MISA page Madeline Island School of the Arts 

I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

Crayons 45" x 44"
Pam Beal in Hand Quilted Quilts

The show is over and the quilts have returned home, yet I am still thinking about what I saw at QuiltWEEK in Grand Rapids, MI....and many of us can use a moment of diversion about now.

Allow me to share quilts made by other semi-finalists---quilts from some of my favorite people. The ambitious Karen Duling had 3 quilts on exhibit! I love Karen's finely crafted quilts containing subtle messages and thoughtful content. 

I could say the same thing for Kristin Shields' quilts. She is another gifted quilter. I met both of these women at the Beaver Island Quilt Retreats with Gwen Marston, and that is all I'll say...don't want to share our secrets!

Tim Latimer is a popular quilter from Michigan. Tim's quilt was machine quilted using an antique treadle sewing machine. Imagine his hand/foot coordination as you gaze at his impressive whole cloth quilt! Absolutely one of a kind.

Finally, a couple more quilts by people I do not know--- I was really taken with these quilts!

CANARY MEETS GOLD MINE 48" X 59"
Stephanie Zacharer Ruyle

 

notice the wonderful random stitching & texture

GRID SYSTEM 56" X 65"
Mary Kay Price
I think the grid is trying to contain the little marks, but they want to move

WINTER FIELDS 62" X 64"
Cynthia L. Vogt

Beth Markel, another Michigan quilter

NOTE: all of these semi=finalists have been award winners in previous AQS shows and for photos of the quilts in the Winner's Circle, visit www.quiltweek.com

Visit my friends,
www.karendulingquilts.com

kristinshieldsart.com

timquilts.com

---and the shy don't often post photos like this, but as you can see we had a swell day---thank you Ellen, in your Holy Scrap t

Ellen and I were college roomies back in...oh never mind.