I had a great time at QuiltCon. I learned plenty of things during the workshops I attended. I saw quilts that inspired me. I met people who have touched my life. I made new friends. I had time away from my family to recharge and energize.
Here are the odd revelations from the QuiltCon show portion. Number of Quilts were Low. I've been to a few shows. At QuiltCon, walking the show and looking at all the quilts took about 30 minutes while taking pictures of my favorites. The next day, I needed to take a new picture of my favorite as the label was out of focus. I didn't remember where it was in the room so I quickly walked the entire exhibit area in less than 7 minutes. To put this in perspective, on Friday, my little toe started to re-break due to arthritic swelling. I couldn't walk too fast. My local traditional quilt guild's local show takes two hours of exploration. For an international show, I expected a little bit more.
Even Large Quilts were Small. In 2010, one of the descriptions of Modern Quilts were useful, beautiful simple, useful quilts. Quilts that were intended to for regular use. I was floored by the thought that there were Large quilts that were more likely table runners or doll quilt sized. Some of these Large quilts would be too small to be a baby blanket. I love the artistic value of many of these Large-small quilts. Putting these Large-small quilts in the same category with quilts triple their size, modest lap quilt sized, diminished the increased work that went into the larger quilts.
Smaller in Real Life. Quilts that I saw before on blogs were so much smaller in real life. Many of the bloggers and book writers were shorter, too. I'm okay with the people being shorter. The quilts being smaller was a shock to me. Most bloggers post their work but do not give the dimensions. If they take the picture outside, I try to use grass height and tree size to figure it out. Not all trees were created equal. My trees are 50 to over 100 years old. I have no problem with modern doll quilts or wall hangings. It would be nice to know dimensions of quilts posted online for perspective of size and time. Smaller quilts take less time. Making lots of smaller quilts can make one blogger look prolific to a quilter like me who makes and quilts bed sized quilts.
About 20% of the quilts did Not Hang Flat. Some of theses quilts were Not Even at the bottom, Curled Rippled Edge, or had Uneven Sides. I've seen plenty of art quilts that utilize the edge to cause drama. Could be the intention of these quilters, but I doubt it. The look of these quilts was hampered. The quilters did not take the time to square up the quilt before binding. While the quilts were beautiful overall , using poor technique, and being shown at an international show really dumbs down the Modern Quilt movement. A few of these quilts received ribbons. All sorts of people went to the show, this type of problem can be easily noted by any educated quilter. I'll probably get some flack for wanting these beautiful quilts to be finished just as beautifully. Its like a painter not waiting for the paint to dry before mailing it off.
Not all art or quilts are meant to be liked. Jackson Pollock Phenomenon. Either you like it or you don't. Some people don't appreciate it. Others will love it. The worst is to be Boring. There was a handful of quilts at the show that evoked no feeling, thought, or emotion in me. It doesn't matter if you don't like the work, art brings out emotions. I love art. I see it everywhere. I want to feel. Jackson Pollock's work has its lovers and haters, but not a lot of eh'ers. What do you think?
Here are the QuiltCon show quilts I found inspirational. Press play to see the slide show.
If I already follow your work, you won't be posted. These are new to me pieces.
Jenny this makes me a little sad for you, I know several people that went to the show and the expense put into going. I was expecting this show to be over the top (esp being the first year) and many of the pictures showed great quilts but I to would have been disappointed if I had been able to go and there had not been a large array of quilts (esp if I had not been able to take classes). I have been a follower of many of the bloggers that were in the convention and to noticed that many times sizes are not given and was wondering if this is why. I know I don't have as much time to quilt as a professional blogger(that pesky job thing gets in the way)but in a way to see some of these people popping out 6 - 12 finished products in a month had been discouraging to me but if I'm making smaller quilts then I could see the math becoming much easier. As for the poor finishing -- your right, that's just bad. Some of this could have been due to shipping and handling once the quilt got to the show but from your description it sounds that this might not have been the case. I went to the quilters expo here last year and was surprised by the low number of quilts but they at least took 2 hours to walk through and see them all and could have easily taken longer but you were being pushed along by the crowd -- had I not been able to take a class I might have not stayed for the whole day. Hopefully they will iron out some of these issues in time for Quiltcon for 2014.
ReplyDeleteKatie, Don't feel sorry for me. I had a great time. I took three workshops, but I didn't do any lectures. The vendors were amazing. I still have to posts to write about my favorite vendors, shops, and gluten free eats. I got to know a guild mate better and now she is a friend. I actually feel better as an artist after seeing the show. There were amazing quilts no matter the size.
DeleteThe next show in 2015 will be a good time. With everyone following the show and wishing they were there, I wanted to provide a thoughtful look on what you aren't going to get from other blogs.
Most quilts were sent in fabric bags, there was lint on a few of them. Proper cleaning and careful storage would have helped here. I picked lint off a few of them if it was within reach and I could do it without touching the quilts. I know that all the quilts were steamed, the weight of the quilt would straighten them out over a few days. I didn't get to see the show until the third day.
I want everyone to be encouraged and informed. With such a low number of quilts, its an honor to be shown.
Hi Jenny, what an interesting and insightful view of one the most talked about shows in the blogs that I read. Thank you for sharing it. It seems a shame that an international quilt festival couldn't have pulled more quilts into it, here is to hoping next year the amount of quilts will be more and the show more impressive. I also like that you have mentioned quilt dimensions, something I do sometimes do, sometimes don't do. Something I will try to do always on a finished quilt:) Have a great weekend. Dianna
ReplyDeleteDianna, The next show will be 2015 so they'll have more time to prepare. I'm vocal about everything, and still I had a hard time deciding how or if I would remark on my more critical thoughts. In a number of quilters I talked to, there was a small grumble of confusion and discontentment. Some were so willing to talk to me about some pieces in the show that they took pictures of them about, "Why do you think this was here?" Some even believed it was because of nepotism, favoritism, or blog following/worthiness. All possible, but I believe it was more of a possible definition of what "modern" meant. In most cases, the answer was negative space.
DeleteThe time I had there was amazing and unforgettable. Had I traveled all that way to just see the show, I would have been disappointed. All the people following quiltcon posts to see how amazing, interesting, fun it was would miss some of these insights. Most bloggers are unwilling to even approach the subject of disillusionment. Rachel, stitched in color approached how she was able to get out of this in a few posts. Define your style. The Post Modern Quilter
I too was a bit disappointed with the number of quilts, but I agree I did not feel that the show was the majority or even the focus of Quiltcon. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not.
ReplyDeleteBethany, I wonder if the show part of the Con was limited based on the board's comfort with handling, shipping, and hanging all those quilts. Part of it might be attributed to knowing the space and how much could hang. There was a lot of space between everything.
DeleteThey did say they had almost 700 quilts submitted for the 200+ hanging in the show...so only 1 in 3 were chosen. It has been interesting to hear/ read all the discussions about "what is modern" Thomas Knauer has an interesting post on his blog- http://www.thomasknauersews.com/impasse/ I enjoyed the show, but I have not been to very many others. I did try to not get all "quilt police" on some of the quilts but I will agree that some of the standards were not up to some of the other show I HAVE been to, in terms of construction techniques etc. But I just enjoyed the view I had ....as well as a great time with some terrific people! TMQG peeps rock!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that they had 700 quilts submitted. The submission fee on the non accepted quilts would have been around $15K. Vendors had to pay, too. I've heard a few QConers wonder out loud if the MQG can continue to be a non profit after the QCon and the fees for local guilds to be part of MQG.
DeleteQuilt Police, I tried but after seeing so many poorly finished it really started to piss me off. There were people who came to see this "Modern" show, what do you think they thought of us if we can't square up a quilt?
Thanks for linking to TK's post. I feel the same way. I've been trying to unburden myself from this modern conundrum.
DeleteThanks for such thoughtful comments Jenny. There were a couple quilts with ribbons I could see from pictures did not well finished. Can't wait to read your future posts.
ReplyDeleteColleen, All the people who I know online and off, who had quilts in the show, their quilts were finished perfectly. Do you think the ribbons should have been based on modern aesthetic only or that the overall piece should be part of the process?
DeleteI saw the modern quilt guild display at IQF and I was very upset that the quilts were poorly made in some cases...not all (or even most), but the bad ones were really bad. While I would never even notice or say anything if a friend made those for her child, if you send these in to the Big Show demanding people respect your artistry, you better be on your A game!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. In a local show, I showed one of my quilts that rippled at the bottom. It was my first king sized quilt, happened right at the border. So I have an open mind, but when the quilt is leaping off the backdrop, that's rough for an international show that is trying to garner respect in the art world.
DeleteI saw the modern quilt guild display at IQF and I was very upset that the quilts were poorly made in some cases...not all (or even most), but the bad ones were really bad. While I would never even notice or say anything if a friend made those for her child, if you send these in to the Big Show demanding people respect your artistry, you better be on your A game!
ReplyDelete