Threads of Existence at Festival of Quilts

Threads of Existence recently traveled to Birmingham, England for the Festival of Quilts.

Artists Pam Jenner and Sue Sherman, work by Katalin Horváth (partial) Carl Brown, Kathy Nida, Dale Stuart, Susan Brubaker Knapp, An Marshall, Maggie Vanderwelt, and Pam Jenner (left to right).

The show took place in early August and quite a few of the artists traveled to be a part of the exhibit.

Artists Paula Rafferty, Pam Jenner, and Sue Sherman, work by Debra Gluszczak, Helen Creasy, Libby Williamson, Paula Rafferty, Karen Kuranda, Katalin Horváth, Carl Brown, Kathy Nida, Dale Stuart, and Susan Brubaker Knapp (left to right).

In fact, some of the artists transported the quilts by hand from the last show in Lowell, Massachusetts, to England, and then back to the US, but also helped the FOQ crew with installation.

Including checking installation height.

Libby Williamson checking on Helen Creasey's Reclaimed Resistance next to her own piece, The Guardians.

Installing an exhibit of big pieces is not for the faint of heart.

Luana Rubin's Invisible Borders, Hollis Chatelain's High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture, and Sue Sherman's Fret.

Once the show was installed, people started coming in to enjoy the work.

An Marshall's The Healer, Maggie Vanderweit's Spirit Chairs - Where Are You Now?, and Pam Jenner's Mother Earth - May There Be Peace.

Debra Gluszczsk's Casey's Choice and Helen Creasey's Reclaimed Resistance.

Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?", Susan Avishai's Will it Bring Back Anyone?, and Marie Welsch's We Can, We Did, and We Are.

Susan Avishai's Will it Bring Back Anyone?, Marie Welsch's We Can, We Did, and We Are, Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence, Karen Kuranda's Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality, Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, Betty Busby's The Price of War, Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand, Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II, Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter, Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, and Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!,

Luana Rubin's Invisible Borders, Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, artists Pam Jenner and Sue Sherman sitting in front of Carl Brown's I Rise and Kathy Nida's Unsustainable, Hollis Chatelain's High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture, and Sue Sherman's Fret.

Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, and Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?".

Luana Rubin had a piece in the regular FOQ show, Uncompahgre Fritillary, that just happened to hang by her Soul Stories piece, Invisible Borders.

Betty Busby's The Price of War, Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand, Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II, Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter, Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, and Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?".

Hollis Chatelain and Sue Sherman with their pieces.

Libby Williamson's The Guardians, Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence, Karen Kuranda's Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality, Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, Betty Busby's The Price of War.

Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, Betty Busby's The Price of War, Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand, Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II, Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter, Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, and Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?".

Artists Pam Jenner and Sue Sherman at the table, with work by Libby Williamson, Paula Rafferty, Carl Brown, and Kathy Nida.

Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand, Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II, Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter, Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?", Susan Avishai's Will it Bring Back Anyone?, and Marie Welsch's We Can, We Did, and We Are.

Artist An Marshall talking to viewers, backed by Susan Brubaker Knapp's Midnight in the Garden, An's The Healer, Maggie Vanderweit's Spirit Chairs - Where Are You Now?, and Pam Jenner's Mother Earth - May There Be Peace

Libby Williamson's The Guardians, Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence, Karen Kuranda's Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality, Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, Betty Busby's The Price of War.

Helen Creasey's Reclaimed Resistance, Libby Williamson's The Guardians, Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence, and Karen Kuranda's Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality.

Viewers getting up close to Libby Williamson's The Guardians.

From outside the exhibit, Luana Rubin's Invisible Borders, Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, then a view of inside, with Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence, Karen Kuranda's Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality. and Carl Brown's I Rise, with Hollis Chatelain's High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture and Sue Sherman's Fret on the outside.

Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul! and Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?".

Hollis Chatelain's High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture and Sue Sherman's Fret.

Libby Williamson's The Guardians, Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence, Karen Kuranda's Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality. Carl Brown's I Rise, and Kathy Nida's Unsustainable,

Kathy Nida's Unsustainable, Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?", Susan Brubaker Knapp's Midnight in the Garden, and An Marshall's The Healer.

Dale Stuart with her piece, "What was Earth Like, Mommy?".

Artist Katalin Horváth talking about her piece, with Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter and Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance to the left of herSoar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, and Dale Stuart's "What was Earth Like, Mommy?" to the right.

Once the show is done, it falls to the artists (and helpers) to take it all down.

The artwork was stored in a few golf bags to get it to the UK and back.

Artists Paula Rafferty, Sue Sherman, Carl Brown, Pam Jenner, Libby Williamson, and Hollis Chatelain all suited up for deinstallation.

Packing up the work.

We can't forget the artists' dinner; we do try to meet up with each other at the exhibits. We are located all over the world and it is a pleasure to be in person at least part of the time.

It was a great exhibit! If you want to see the work in person, maybe without all the other people standing in front of it, it will be at Road to California in January, in Ontario, California, with the the next part, which is debuting at International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX, in November. Come see the quilts and talk to the artists!