Threads of Existence at the New England Quilt Museum

Name: Festival of Quilts
Start: July 30
End: August 2
Location: Birmingham, England

soulstoriesarts
1 day ago
3 min read

Soul Stories' artists recently traveled to the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts, for a reception of the most recent exhibition, Threads of Existence. There were 11 artists present for the artist talk. Founder An Marshall referred to her belief that images are the gateway to the soul. She believes each quilt is about something deeply important to the artist.

The exhibit is open now and continues through July 18. It includes over 20 large-scale art quilts, created by international textile artists, exploring the full breadth of the human journey. Below are some photos of the exhibit, although we would always suggest that these works are more spectacular in person.

Artists: Debra Gluszczak, Sue Sherman, Dale Stuart, An Marshall, Libby Williamson, Pam Jenner, Marie Welsch, Pamela Mick, Luana Rubin, Susan Avishai, Karen Kuranda

Libby Williamson with her piece The Guardians — Libby Williamson with her piece *The Guardians*

Pam Jenner with her piece Mother Earth - May There Be Peace — Pam Jenner with her piece *Mother Earth - May There Be Peace*

Susan Avishai with her piece Will It Bring Back Anyone? — Susan Avishai with her piece *Will It Bring Back Anyone?*

Marie Welsch with her piece We Can, We Did, and We Are — Marie Welsch with her piece *We Can, We Did, and We Are*

Karen Kuranda with her piece Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality — Karen Kuranda with her piece *Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality*

An Marshall (and friend) with her piece The Healer — An Marshall (and friend) with her piece *The Healer*

Dale Stuart with her piece "What Was Earth Like, Mommy?" — Dale Stuart with her piece *"What Was Earth Like, Mommy?"*

Here are some of the artists who were students of Hollis Chatelain, in front of her piece High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture.

L to R: Helen Creasey's Reclaimed Resistance, Susan Avishai's Will It Bring Back Anyone?, Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II, Luana Rubin's Invisible Borders, and Debra Gluszczak's Casey's Choice — L to R: Helen Creasey's *Reclaimed Resistance*, Susan Avishai's *Will It Bring Back Anyone?*, Sue de Vanny's *Changes - Diamond Dogs II*, Luana Rubin's *Invisible Borders*, and Debra Gluszczak's *Casey's Choice*

L to R: Betty Busby's Don't Touch Me, An Marshall's The Healer, Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand, and Hollis Chatelain's High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture — L to R: Betty Busby's *Don't Touch Me*, An Marshall's *The Healer*, Gail Garber's *Jaguar's Last Stand*, and Hollis Chatelain's *High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture*

L to R: Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence, Dale Stuart's "What Was Earth Like, Mommy?", Kathy Nida's Unsustainable, Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, and Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter — L to R: Paula Rafferty's *One Earth, One Essence*, Dale Stuart's "*What Was Earth Like, Mommy?",* Kathy Nida's *Unsustainable,* Candice Phelan's *Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance,* and Pamela Mick's *Give Me Shelter*

L to R: Kathy Nida's Unsustainable, Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter, Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, Susan Brubaker Knapp's Midnight in the Garden, and Pam Jenner's Mother Earth - May There Be Peace — L to R: Kathy Nida's *Unsustainable,* Candice Phelan's *Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance,* Pamela Mick's *Give Me Shelter,* Phyllis Cullen's *No Place Like Home,* Susan Brubaker Knapp's *Midnight in the Garden,* and Pam Jenner's *Mother Earth - May There Be Peace*

L to R: Candice Phelan's Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance, Pamela Mick's Give Me Shelter, Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, Susan Brubaker Knapp's Midnight in the Garden, Pam Jenner's Mother Earth - May There Be Peace, Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, and Marie Welsch's We Can, We Did, and We Are — L to R: Candice Phelan's *Earth's Harmony: Change and Endurance,* Pamela Mick's *Give Me Shelter,* Phyllis Cullen's *No Place Like Home, S*usan Brubaker Knapp's *Midnight in the Garden,* Pam Jenner's *Mother Earth - May There Be Peace,* Katalin Horváth's *Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!,* and Marie Welsch's *We Can, We Did, and We Are*

L to R: Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II and Luana Rubin's Invisible Borders — L to R: Sue de Vanny's *Changes - Diamond Dogs II* and Luana Rubin's *Invisible Borders*

L to R: Sue Sherman's Fret, Helen Creasey's Reclaimed Resistance, Susan Avishai's Will It Bring Back Anyone?, Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II, Luana Rubin's Invisible Borders, Debra Gluszczak's Casey's Choice (hanging perpendicularly in the middle), Betty Busby's Don't Touch Me, An Marshall's The Healer, Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand, and Hollis Chatelain's High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture — L to R: Sue Sherman's *Fret*, Helen Creasey's *Reclaimed Resistance*, Susan Avishai's *Will It Bring Back Anyone?*, Sue de Vanny's *Changes - Diamond Dogs II*, Luana Rubin's *Invisible Borders*, Debra Gluszczak's *Casey's Choice* (hanging perpendicularly in the middle), Betty Busby's *Don't Touch Me*, An Marshall's *The Healer*, Gail Garber's *Jaguar's Last Stand*, and Hollis Chatelain's *High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture*

L to R: Marie Welsch's We Can, We Did, and We Are and Karen Kuranda's Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality — L to R: Marie Welsch's *We Can, We Did, and We Are* and Karen Kuranda's *Awakening: Bridging Science and Spirituality*

L to R: Libby Williamson's The Guardians and Maggie Vanderweit's Spirit Chairs - Where Are You Now? — L to R: Libby Williamson's *The Guardians* and Maggie Vanderweit's *Spirit Chairs - Where Are You Now?*

L to R: Libby Williamson's The Guardians, Maggie Vanderweit's Spirit Chairs - Where Are You Now?, and Sue Sherman's Fret — L to R: Libby Williamson's *The Guardians,* Maggie Vanderweit's *Spirit Chairs - Where Are You Now?,* and Sue Sherman's *Fret*

Debra Gluszczak's Casey's Choice — Debra Gluszczak's *Casey's Choice*

L to R: Libby Williamson's The Guardians, Sue Sherman's Fret, Helen Creasey's Reclaimed Resistance, Susan Avishai's Will It Bring Back Anyone?, and Sue de Vanny's Changes - Diamond Dogs II — L to R: Libby Williamson's *The Guardians,* Sue Sherman's *Fret,* Helen Creasey's *Reclaimed Resistance*, Susan Avishai's *Will It Bring Back Anyone?*, and Sue de Vanny's *Changes - Diamond Dogs II*

L to R: Luana Rubin's Invisible Borders, Debra Gluszczak's Casey's Choice, An Marshall's The Healer, and Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand — L to R: Luana Rubin's *Invisible Borders*, Debra Gluszczak's *Casey's Choice,* An Marshall's *The Healer*, and Gail Garber's *Jaguar's Last Stand*

L to R: Phyllis Cullen's No Place Like Home, Susan Brubaker Knapp's Midnight in the Garden, Pam Jenner's Mother Earth - May There Be Peace, Katalin Horváth's Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!, and Marie Welsch's We Can, We Did, and We Are — L to R: Phyllis Cullen's *No Place Like Home, S*usan Brubaker Knapp's *Midnight in the Garden,* Pam Jenner's *Mother Earth - May There Be Peace,* Katalin Horváth's *Soar Up High and Heal, My Soul!,* and Marie Welsch's *We Can, We Did, and We Are*

L to R: Betty Busby's Don't Touch Me, An Marshall's The Healer, Gail Garber's Jaguar's Last Stand, Hollis Chatelain's High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture, and Paula Rafferty's One Earth, One Essence — L to R: Betty Busby's *Don't Touch Me*, An Marshall's *The Healer*, Gail Garber's *Jaguar's Last Stand*, Hollis Chatelain's *High Flying Rüppell's Griffon Vulture*, and Paula Rafferty's *One Earth, One Essence*

Setup for artists' talk and presentation

Stay tuned for a link to a video of the artists' talk. Until then, make sure to check out the exhibit in person through July 18.

The next time you'll see most of these works will be at Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England, from July 30-August 2. Stop by and say hello to our artists. There will be a Soul Stories Gallery Talk on Thursday, July 30, at 1:45 PM. Use Code 602 on this FOQ page; tickets are limited, so don't wait. We will be in the back, in the gallery next to SAQA.

Comments