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| "Rain" by Sandy Curran |
On both Friday and Saturday afternoons Lucy and I drove to the Hampton Convention Center for the Mid-Atlantic QuiltFest. This was the event's 30th year, and attendance was impressive and enthusiastic! We had a terrific time exploring the products of hobbyists' labors of love, and we also got to meet an amazing woman who contributed to America's journey to the Moon. But more on that later...
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| The gallery is open... |
I have to admit that this was my first textile-oriented event; I'm not especially crafty and have been known to avoid any sort of recreational activity that requires concentration or coordination! That being the case, why was I even there? A couple of reasons; (1) I'm a curious sort of fella, and (2) since Lucy and I are celebrating our 32nd wedding anniversary this weekend it seemed rude to pack her off on her own!
In the end I was glad to have gone. The "geek" vibe was strong and vibrant (and so were many of the quilts on display), and we both had a great time walking the display areas which featured hundreds of works by quilters all over the country, some of them--unexpectedly to me--by men. Some pretty impressive work was there to be enjoyed!
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| "Winchester, VA" by the Ladies of Winchester |
Much as in any sort of convention or like gathering the Convention Center's main floor space was broken up into display and venders' areas in alternating aisles--a clever way to ensure that strollers would be exposed to wares on-sale as well as to works displayed. I found it all interesting although I have to wonder how many $21,000 computerized quilting tables get sold per annum. Just as in Astronomical gatherings I have attended there is a serious tech-component to this sort of get-together!
This astronomer was particularly gratified by a display area titled 'Fly Me To The Moon'. This was a challenge offered to quilting hobbyists to create quilts on Lunar and related subjects, and resulted in a strong offering of "spacey" projects. I'll append a few examples of these works below, but first allow me a little hero-worship.
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| Helen Marie Marshall, Apollo Program Mathematician and Researcher |
We met Helen Marie Marshall in the 'Fly Me To The Moon' area; she opened the conversation by complimenting me on my astronomical patch-festooned jacket. Soon we were deep in discussion of her role in developing the heat-shield technology for the Apollo Command Module, working as one of hundreds of women engineers and researchers on the Program. A brilliant, gracious lady, and it was a joy and a privilege for us to meet her--one of the pioneers of women in STEM and the space program.
Overall, we spent a pretty amazing half-dozen hours exploring QuiltFest. While I can't see myself taking up scissors, needle and fabric swatches in creation of textile art, I AM inspired to appreciate the enormous effort and patience of the hobby's practitioners. Oh, and please reserve me a ticket for next years' Fest--If my schedule allows I would very much enjoy taking another look, and seeing what NEW discoveries await!
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"Earthrise" by Kay Campbell
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| "Eclipse" by Diane Kinney |
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| "Faces of the Moon" by Ricki Selva |
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| "Theia's Gift" by Kim Gibbon |
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| "Window Into Space" by Carole Nicolas |
These are great! My mom would like looking at these. My favorite is "Theia's Gift."
ReplyDeleteThey are terrific, aren't they? I was impressed with all the artistic skill and imagination on display at the show! Myself, I have trouble building a simple model kit; I'll leave the creative stuff to my wife and her friends.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting, Phillip!