Galleries: Current Show
We represent will known Pacific Northwest artists, many of whom show nationally. We take special delight in featuring emerging artists who have become “gallery ready”. For these artists we offer a growth environment and an outlet for their talent. All work is juried and each show runs for approximately two months. Our shows are planned and scheduled up to two years in advance.
The artist invests many hours to build a body of work in excess of 20 pieces for a show. All work must be submitted “show ready”.
Once the artist has been juried and accepted for a show, the show committee is responsible for collecting and hanging the pieces, coordinating publicity with our regular mailing, and preparing and hosting the reception for the honored artist. The shows are funded through donations, proceeds from the sales gallery, and from our general funds.
Valley Art Gallery presents Westside Quilters Guild
Quilting is a passion for the Westside Quilters who will be showing their work in January and February of 2010 at the Valley Art Gallery. With an artistic eye for fabric, color and pattern – whether traditional or abstract – these artists construct useful, usable works of art. All one-of-a-kind, the work is meant to reflect the world around us or beautify it.
Stephanie Hinsvark, of Hillsboro, has quilted for 11 years and is inspired by bold shapes and colors. ”I love contemporary quilt designs and traditional quilt patterns made with modern fabrics. I am inspired by unconventional embellishments also.”
Her one quilting challenge is one faced by many artists everywhere: finishing projects.
She says, “Quilting is a huge passion for me. I've loved making quilts for my friends and family for years. Now I've been able to turn my passion for quilting into a career. I quilt customer-made quilt tops with a long arm quilting machine and I also make custom quilts from start to finish. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about quilting. I love it!”
Another Hillsboro quilter, Jean Laswell, has quilted for 20 years. Of course she loves fabric all kinds and thinks that quilting combines fabric with creativity. She says, “Often seeing a fabric I like will spark the idea for a design.”
She finds a deadline encourages her to finish a project. And she prefers to design her own quilts rather than purchasing a pattern, but sometimes finds herself in too deep, with ideas beyond her skill level.
Jean also says she's not a detail person, but a big picture person. “Technically my quilts aren't great, but I love color and graphic design. To me, quilts are like paintings; I'm not a painter but I can sew.”
See her quilts for yourself to see if they aren’t great. One of her quilts, Winter Birches, has fabric chosen for its cold, icy appearance, and to convey the idea of patterns in nature. She used free motion quilting, decorative stitches, specialty threads and sheer fabric overlays on this quilt.
Aloha quilter Carolene Ginocchio is inspired by nature, magazines, art work and graphic designs. She has quilted for 18 years and has some quilting challenges, but still loves the handwork of this craft. She started quilting when she was 12 years old and finds it to be the perfect combination as an extension of her sewing and creative desire.
One of her quilts, Our Christmas Tree, became the “snowbird family's” real Christmas tree for the holidays. She also sewed Icy Splendor from a similar pattern in a quilt magazine. She used this bargello technique in blue and white.
Melissa Kluser, of Aloha, has quilted for 17 years. Her inspiration for quilting is exploring pattern and color. Her challenge, also, is completing projects, but quilting, she says, “is relaxing to me.”
She did complete a six-sided snowflake table runner, machine, paper pieced and machine quilted.
Since age 11, Hillsboro resident Ann Marie Cowley has quilted and drawn inspiration from everything she sees in nature, magazines and at shows.
Her quilting challenges are time and money, but quilting she says, “is one of my passions and I love seeing the colors in fabric and the finished product.”
Her quilt, Cuties, brings out her admiration of those winter wonders, clementines. She loves the stickers on the fruit and how the design on them changes from Christmas gifts to Valentine hearts as the winter months pass. For Cuties, she handpieced four Orange Peel pieces and joined them together with red, and then machine quilted her project.
Jackie Dunckley, also of Hillsboro, says “My quilt inspiration is simply by seeing a pattern on a fabric that I love. The beautiful colors, often those that seemingly wouldn't 'go together' end up making the most beautiful and interesting quilt.”
With her personality type she likes quick results, so finding the patience to undertake the heavy piecing of quilts is a challenge, although she loves the results.
“I love working with my hands and creating with them. While fiber arts are not extinct, I think it's sad that more young people are not taught these beautiful creative arts.”
Jackie has made Showy, Snowy Fun and Crown of Thorns, a quilt from a pattern by Judy Niemeyer.
Hillsboro resident Clara Mashek has quilted more than 10 years. Even though she doesn't have a lot of spare time and is also challenged to finish projects, the colors and geometry of quilting inspire her.
The quilts she will show are Bear Paws on the Snow, or Crunch, Crunch. The quilt is machine pieced and will be machine quilted. The triangles were constructed using a half-square triangle paper and there are 244 half-square triangles in all.
Fifty years is a long time to spend quilting and sewing. Marcia Gilliland, of Hillsboro, stopped quilting when her children were small since she needed to sew most of their clothes. Her inspiration for quilting has been her mother's ancestors and her mother-in-law's relatives. Her biggest challenge in quilting is matching corners, yet this craft is her passion because she can be creative and make something nice for someone else.
Her quilt, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, used redwork for the designs and she pieced different blocks of various sizes for the borders.“I used whites and reds from my stash, so I didn't have to buy any fabric!”
Let it Snow also has redwork, crazy quilt patching, and herringbone stitches to make everything go together. “It was made to hang in my family room at Christmas,” she says.
The opening artists' reception will be Saturday, Jan. 23, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Join our artists for a look at their work and a chance to enjoy our beatuiful new gallery in 2010.
