Quilts take over FMAAA in May

Posted

BY BRIAN RIGGS
FORT MADISON AREA ARTS ASSOCIATION

FORT MADISON - Ft. Madison Area Arts Association has been reserving the May feature for textiles for the last few years. In fact in May 2020 a weaver looms in the distance.

For 2019 the Tri-State Quilt Guild has filled the feature space with examples of modern and traditional quilt making. A reception for the Guild will occur May 10th from 5:00-7:00pm. Mobile Nursing Services is the sponsor for the exhibition.

Tri-State Quilt Guild has been in existence for 30 years and has 22 members. Membership requirements are to live in Iowa, Missouri, or Illinois and to merely have an interest in machine or hand quilting. From there you just show up with meeting occurring monthly on the third Thursday at 6:30pm at Keokuk Art Center.

The Guild displays all skill levels and everyone is welcome whether your interest be contemporary or traditional. A Baker’s Dozen of the Guild membership is displayed in this show with all work being completed in the last 2 years or less.

Illinois artists include Linda Apple and Joyce Taylor from Warsaw. Barbara Clark hails from Kahoka, Missouri. Iowa is home to Rita Hickey and Linda Waldren of Montrose, Sue Dowell and Marilyn Holmes of Ft. Madison, and Sandy Seabold, Janet Hausch, Tessa Johnson, Louise Orozco, Kathy Routh, and Sharon Pillard of Keokuk. Kathy Routh and Sue Dowell will present at the Lunch-ala-Art program on May 31st at noon at the gallery to wrap the show (sampler quilt door prize alert!).

There are 3 examples of President Quilts. A president serves for 2 years for the organization. Upon retiring the needle, each member creates a quilt block. The outgoing President must seam it together and gets to keep the quilt. Quite an appropriate rite of passage for leadership transfer.

There is also an example of a Challenge Quilt called “African Tribal” by Kathy Routh. The challenge is a throwing down of the quilt gauntlet per se with the latest one at a meeting being the Cantril Challenge. Dutchman’s Store was giving away folders of fabric.

The challenge was to go to Cantril to gather said folders with 50% of the piece coming from that fabric to create a 400 square inch piece overall. There is a date set for completion and the artist creates entire piece themselves.

There are more coming from the Cantril Challenge as Kathy Guess, Linda Apple, and Sandy Seybold have all picked up that particular quilt gauntlet. See all the wonderful quilts open for viewing at 825 Avenue G Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-5pm. Open later til 7pm on Guitar Tuesdays with Musicians Pro-Shop.

Brian Riggs, Fort Madison Area Arts Association, iowa, May exhibit, Pen City Current, quilts

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here