I was updating my tierneycreates News page (the latest information on my art quilting adventures) with this information and I thought I would also share it as a quick blog post.

I recently discovered that my quilt Langston Hughes: Pioneer Poet is one of the quilts featured on the California Museum’s Upcoming Exhibits page.

Below are screenshots from the web on a computer and then on a mobile app:

So honored to have my quilt featured again in the advertising for this venue for the touring exhibit Black Pioneers; Legacy in the American West.

The exhibit at the California Museum runs June 17^th – October 1^st 2023.

Shows and Exhibits

Langston Hughes Quilt at Booth Museum

March 11, 2023March 21, 2023 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

My art quilt, Langston Hughes: Pioneer Poet now exhibiting at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia (outside of Atlanta, GA) as part of the WCQN show Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West

The show opened on January 28, 2023 and runs through May 21, 2023, and curated by Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) founder Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi. I was not able to attend the show opening due to my broken ankle and subsequent surgery. (I did attend the show’s first opening at The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, FL in January 2022 – Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part I )

On the Booth Museum’s website they have a 3D Tour of the exhibit:

Here are some screenshots which include my quilt:

I appreciated being able to virtually see the show/exhibit since I could not attend the show opening.

This is the second venue for this exhibit/show, there are two more venues to go:

California Museum – June 17^th – October 1^st 2023
Stark Museum of Art – March 2^nd – June 23^rd 2024

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part III

September 30, 2022September 30, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here is the final installment in my series of posts about opening weekend of the Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) show Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West at the James Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida where my quilt Langston Hughes, Pioneer Poet was showing.

If you are just joining us, here are the two previous related posts:

Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part I

Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part II

Before I share more about the show’s opening weekend, here is a little about my time in St. Petersburg, Florida.

WANDERING AROUND ST. PETERSBURG

I’ve been to several cities in Florida in the past, but I do not remember ever visiting St. Petersburg, so let’s call it my first visit to St. Petersburg, FL. The James Museum is located in downtown St. Petersburg and although my partner John and I had a rental car, we primarily explored the downtown area where our hotel was also located.

One day between opening weekend events, we walked down to the pier area and ran into some very friendly pelicans hoping for us to feed them (which we didn’t – we listened to the posted sign!)

One of the pelicans was following me around and after a while appeared annoyed that I hadn’t fed her/him yet!

There was all sorts of interesting birds wandering around downtown St. Petersburg, here are some curious birds we ran into at a public park:

They were sort of flamingo like but I am not sure if they are in the same family. If you know what they are, let me know!

And of course I had to take some Black & White photos while wandering downtown St. Petersburg, here is my favorite of the photos I took (the rest were “nothing to write home about” so I will spare you a B&W photo essay of downtown St. Petersburg):

John and I had lunch one day and a fun restaurant, Oak and Stone, that featured a self-sampling craft beer area where you got a wrist band that you scanned and selected whatever sampler craft beers you wanted (though they did have a limit of how many samples you could buy during one visit!). Each tap had information about the craft brew selection.

We had a lot of fun sampling beers!

John and I discovered that St. Petersburg has an unusually large number of museums for its size of city – 31! We joked that since there is a lot of wealth in St. Petersburg, “everyone and their brother” wanted to have their own museum!

And now we’ll return to the show’s opening weekend.

BLACK PIONEERS SHOW OPENING WEEKEND CONTINUED

On Sunday September 11, 2022 the museum held a brunch for the artists and the show’s sponsors. After the brunch there was a panel presentation with the show’s curator Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi and 6 of the artists discussing the topic “In Search of Freedom: The Black Presence in the West”.

Each artist discussed their piece in depth and responded to Dr. Mazloomi’s discussion questions about the topic. It was an amazing panel presentation by amazing women. The women in the panel are educators, college professors, a civil rights attorney, historians, and professional artists. Dr. Mazloomi is a retired aerospace engineer and she was not the only PhD level educated artist in the room.

Some of the members of the WCQN have art quilts permanently installed at the Smithsonian Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

I cannot begin to put in to words how it felt to interact with this entire group of talented and brilliant women that are part of WCQN during the Black Pioneers show’s opening weekend. Here is the group photo I shared in the previous post about the show opening:

image credit: James Museum facebook page

How lucky I felt to stand among this group of women! I had so many engaging conversations with the other artists during the show’s opening weekend and there are rumors that in the future we might have WCQN artist retreats and I cannot wait to be in their presence again!

If you’d like to read about how I first got involved with the WCQN, this post tells the story – Creative Inspiration: Stories My Father Told Me (re-post). Thank you Universe for letting me run across that magazine that led me to reaching out to Dr. Mazloomi while browsing at Barnes & Nobles in 2016!

I will close this series of posts with this recent interview of Dr. Mazloomi, a National Heritage Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts (highest award given in the U.S. to an artist), that played on a loop on one of the museum’s walls during the exhibit. I think it is worth a listen.

We as African Americans have participated in the making of this country since we stepped off the boat. African Americans have been explorers, they’ve been business people, they were cowboys, they’ve been part of the fabric of every facet of this country and people will see that the quilts…Quilts have jumped off the bed onto the wall and they are now seen as works of art…these are not the quilts that your grandmother made, they are truly seen as works of art…with the use of cloth we tell the stories not only of our cultures but the making of America…
Carolyn Mazloomi

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part II

September 25, 2022November 11, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

When I finally sit down in front of my laptop and open my blog (after a hiatus) the decision is: do I catch up on my blogging buddies posts first or do I write a new post. I am just going to go ahead and write a new post otherwise I will get distracted again (smile).

Here goes Part II, continuing the story I started in the post Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part I, about the opening weekend of the Women of Color Quilting Network show Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West at the James Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida where my quilt Langston Hughes, Pioneer Poet was showing.

Friday September 9th was the opening reception, and on Saturday September 10 there was a “Meet the Artists” event allowing show attendees to chat with and ask the artists questions.

For the “Meet the Artist” event, the museum lined up chairs by each piece so the artist could take a break and sit down during the 2+ hours talking to the public and signing books.

I talked to a lot of people about my quilt. I was especially touched by a mother and daughter duo who told me that my piece was the reason why they came to the show. As I shared in the post Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West (upcoming exhibit)., my piece was used in the advertisement for the show. See more about the advertisement for the show at the end of this post.

I also had a wonderful conversation with young lady who asked me about how I became an artist. I think she was a preteen. I could tell she was a budding artist and in addition to answering her questions, I had her share her own artist journey to date. She had me sign her book and then brought her sisters by to have me sign their books also.

In addition to chatting with show attendees, I had fun chatting with my fellow artists in our little “pod” in the corner of the exhibit. Here they are hanging out or signing books for show attendees (we signed a lot of books!):

Wow there was some tremendous talent at the show. Here are some of my favorite pieces that I viewed at the show.

Artist: Carolyn Crump

I always “fan girl out” when I see Carolyn’s work. It is otherworldly!

Artist: Dorothy Burge

Dorothy Burge spoke at the Artist Panel during the Artist Brunch on Sunday and shared in detail the story of the amazing woman featured in her piece. I love how the quilt is only the figure of Mary Fields with no additional background.

Artist: Viola Burley Leak

The above 5 quilts were breathtaking in person, the photos do not them justice. The Watts Riot piece was huge and the colors were so vivid and powerful in person, a real masterpiece! I got to chat with the artist and she shared some of the daunting challenges of creating this piece.

Here is a little gallery below of more amazing art quilts at the show depicting the lives of Black Pioneers in the American West:

If you’d like to see all the quilts and read their full Artist Statement, the exhibit catalogue is available for Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West by contacting the gift shop at the James Museum at (727) 892-4200.

It was such an amazing show. Here is a photo taken by the James Museum’s photographer and posted on the museum’s facebook page of the entire group of artists that attended:

Postscript

I mentioned earlier in this post that my quilt Langston Hughes, Pioneer Poet was used as advertisement for the show originally (eventually they added other quilts to the advertisement or replaced my quilt).

As a result my quilt was featured in press/media about the show. Below are a couple examples:

The Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) Exhibitions webpage:

The Visit St. Pete (St. Petersburg)/Clearwater visitor website:

image credit – visit st pete clearwater website

WUSF Public Media (St. Petersburg area NPR station):

Local Today/Oklahoma News:

The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter:

I accidentally found most of these when I was googling the show; and my friend Wendy sent me the SAQA one.

Here is a local television news story about the exhibit before the show officially opened:

You get a brief glimpse of my quilt for a moment. I saw this clip before I attended the show opening and got to see my quilt had a freestanding wall all to itself!

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part I

September 14, 2022September 25, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Last Friday, John and I headed to St. Petersburg Florida for the opening weekend of the show Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art.

The museum is really gorgeous inside (the Executive Director told us it cost 65 million to build and 5 million a year to maintain…) and filled with some amazing Western themed art, especially a lot of Native American themed art:

When we first arrived to the opening night reception on Friday, our first stop was the museum gift shop to pick up extra copies of the exhibit catalogue (they gave each artist a complimentary copy):

And we plopped ourselves down at the museum’s cafe/bar area with our complimentary adult beverage and thumbed through the catalogue to find my piece!

Yes, I won’t lie, it was pretty exciting!

After getting snacks at the cocktail reception, before we headed upstairs to the exhibit I stopped to pose with the exhibit poster sign:

Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, the show’s curator and the founder of the Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) spoke at in the main hall stage at the museum during the reception and had all the artists come up on stage with her after her presentation:

Then it was time to go upstairs and see the exhibit! You’ll never guess what I did first – yes, find my piece on the wall and start taking photos:

Note: The museum placard for my piece is an abbreviated version of my full artist statement. If you’d like to read the entire artist statement, see the post Update on the Langston Hughes, Pioneer Poet Quilt.

I also had Dr. Mazloomi sign my exhibit catalogue and took a photo with her:

I am so honored that she responded to my inquiry years ago about WCQN. I am so proud to be a member! So far I’ve been in two other shows: Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium (see post Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part IV), and Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young (see post Secret Quilt Revealed, Part II: Yours for Race and Country).

This is the second show opening I attended, I did not attend the one for Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young as my husband had recently died and although I was so honored to be in the show I was not emotionally ready to attend events like that. I am so happy I got to attend the opening for Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West, and it was awesome to have my partner John there with me (and he acted as my photographer when I was in group shots or busy talking to show visitors.

I am going to close Part I of this series of posts about the show with a less than a minute walk through video of the show on Instagram and a longer version (over 3 minutes) on YouTube that John took. More to come in future posts in this series to include some close up images of several of the amazing quilts in the show!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by tierneycreates (@tierneycreates)

I accidentally deleted the minute long video I took landscape perspective after I loaded it to Instagram (and I even figured out how to set it to music), so darn it I could not load it on to YouTube!

Guest Blogger, Shows and Exhibits

Guest Blog Post: Craft and Vendor Show Beginner’s Survival Kit

February 28, 2022February 28, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

So I began February 2022 with the plan of daily blogging and I kept it up until 02/17/22 where I promptly “fell off the wagon”, ha! Life has been kind of busy and I recently returned from a nearly week long quilting retreat at the Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, MO (oh yes there will be posts about that adventure in the future!).

I have a lot of catch up reading on my blogging buddies blogs; and today I am going to share a guest blog post written by Carrie Spencer of The Spencer Adventures (see the bottom of this post for more info on Carrie). I have this fantasy that someday I will sell my handmade creations at a craft fair so this article is perfect for my daydreaming!

Craft and Vendor Show Beginner’s Survival Kit

by Carrie Spencer, The Spencers Adventures

Turning any crafting hobby into a true business takes a lot of work. If you have been honing your craft, you may wonder whether you’re ready for fairs and vendor shows. If you have a fair amount of inventory and an established brand, a craft or vendor show could be a great next step, but bear in mind that it requires more than setting up a table and taking money.

To make sure your first foray into a market goes well, here is a quick beginner’s survival guide for the show circuit.

Forming a Business

Having a side hustle is one thing, but relying on your craft as a main income requires a different approach. You need to consider taxes and liability. Some shows even require that you have a tax identification number for your application. If you haven’t formed a business yet and plan to do this full-time, this is your first step.

There are a variety of formation options, but you might consider the advantage of LLCs. Limited liability companies can protect your personal assets in case of a lawsuit or other legal situation. They also offer tax benefits and less paperwork than other formations. You can even use a formation service if you are unsure about what is needed to start an LLC in your state and don’t want to deal with the paperwork details.

Creating a Display

With a formed business and accepted show applications, you can next focus on your booth display. A standard booth size is about 10 feet by 10 feet, and you need to make every inch count. Tangleweeds notes that your display is vital to drawing in potential customers and getting your products recognized.

image from post Sewing & Stitchery Expo, tierneycreates 03/05/2018

For these reasons, you need to be strategic about your setup. Make sure there is enough space for customers to walk around and see your offerings. Use attractive signage to stand out from surrounding vendors. When customers do come in, try to engage them personally. Make your booth and brand memorable.

You can make your brand more noticeable by designing a memorable and appealing logo. Fortunately, you can create a logo for free when you use an online logo design tool. This tool allows you to browse logo templates and then customize them by adding your own images, font, and text.

Prepping Products

According to AmeriCommerce, one of the best strategies you can use at a craft show or fair is to research your competition. Knowing who the other vendors are and what they provide can help ensure you offer a unique, high-quality and competitively priced product.

You also want to make sure that you bring enough products to sell so that you can earn back your vendor fees and meet your sales goal. It’s wise to bring enough product to sell two or three times what your goal is. So, if you plan on selling $300 of your product, bring enough to actually sell $600 or $900 of your product.

Processing Payments

The types of payments you accept can determine which customers make a purchase and which walk away empty-handed. For professional appearances, you should have a cash box on hand to accept cash payments. With the accessibility of Wi-FI, however, you should also prepare for mobile purchases.

You can use a card reader or cash app to accept payments. Make sure your customers know if you accept payment methods other than cash. If using an app, have a sign with your business’ QR code ready to scan and any relevant information. If you charge extra for credit card purchases, make sure your customers know about this in advance as well.

While their preparation can take a lot of effort, craft shows and markets can be successful for sellers and customers alike. With a little bit of prep work, you’ll not only survive but thrive in your first craft market experience.

About the guest blogger author:

Carrie Spencer created The Spencers Adventures to share her family’s homesteading adventures. On the site, she shares tips on living self-sufficiently, fruit and vegetable gardening, parenting, conservation, and more. She and her wife have 3 kids, 2 dogs, 4 cats, 3 goats, 32 chickens, and a whole bunch of bees. Their goal is to live as self-sufficiently and environmentally-consciously as possible.

Carrie has guest blogged on the tierneycreates blog in the past – see the post Fun and Educational Activities to Drive the Indoor Blues Away (Guest Blogger Post).

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West (upcoming exhibit)

November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In my post from late September 2021, Secret Quilt and Design Wall Struggle, I mentioned that I had completed an art quilt for a Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) show opening in 2022, but I could not yet share images of the quilt.

I was recently contacted by The James Museum who asked for me to sign an image copyright release for my quilt. They said it was to use images of the quilt for promotional purposes. I immediately signed the release but I was not sure what would happen next.

To my ecstatic surprise the museum contacted me a day or so later with the link to their listing of Special Exhibitions > Upcoming shows and my quilt was featured for the upcoming exhibit: Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West!

thejamesmuseum.org/special-exhibitions/

If you scroll down to “Upcoming”…

You will see the quilt I made plus and overview about the future show!

I am sharing this with you as it is on a public facing website. I’ll wait until the show opens next year to share photos of the quilt and my creation of the quilt; as well as my Artist Statement. I don’t want to give anything away from the show’s opening in September 2022 (no longer April 2022, now September).

I can tell you that I was inspired by Langston Hughes’ amazing poem – Let America Be America Again. You can read the entire poem at this website:

poets.org/poem/let-america-be-america-again

This poem was written in the 1930s but to me feels relevant still today.

Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, the show’s curator and head of the WCQN, will likely publish a book about the exhibit like she has done on other amazing WCQN exhibits. Here is her amazon page – Carolyn Mazloomi.

I feel very fortunate to have an art quilt in one of those books – Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’s Conscience (2019), and I look forward to having my quilt in the book about this new exhibit (if she publishes a book).

Featured image credit – The James Museum

Shows and Exhibits, tierneycreates, WCQN, What's on the Design Wall

Secret Quilt and Design Wall Struggle

September 27, 2021September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Lately my blog has primarily focused on my recent travels and I’ve joked I should change the name from “tierneycreates” to “tierneytravels”. Well over the past 6 months I’ve been tierney-creating a lot (when not traveling!) working on a “secret quilt” for a Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) show that opens next year.

The name of the show is Black Pioneers: Legacy of the America West and it opens next spring at the The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida. After a stint at The James Museum it will tour nationally (museums across the U.S. have already contacted the curator and head of the WCQN, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi to request that the exhibit show at their museum).

Recently I put the final touches on my quilt for the show and sent it off to the curator to be professionally photographed for the book, etc.

We were provided with a list of Black Pioneers that contributed to the growth of the American West and my quilt is about one of those pioneers.

You’ll have to wait until Spring 2022 to find out more as the museum asked for no social media images of our quilts prior to the opening.

I am pretty excited about participating in this show; and this will be my third WCQN exhibit (see posts Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part I and “Giant Among the Sequoias” Returns Home). I’ve had the opportunity to participate in several other WCQN exhibits since Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young (“Giant Among the Sequoias”) but I’ve had artist block when it comes to art quilts for a show over the past several years since my husband Terry died in December 2018.

I finally figured out what it was (beyond part of grieving) – I used to, in my previous home I shared with Terry for 14 years, work on art quilts in the giant design wall that spanned our small hallway of our home:

Working on “Giant Among the Sequoias” in Spring 2018

I loved creating textile art in that hallway and I would always have Terry down the hall watching TV, playing a computer game, or reading a book while I worked. Occasionally he would walk by on his way to the bathroom and give me an approving nod.

In my current home in the Denver metro area, I have a large design wall inside my lovely studio that my partner John put together but for me creating art quilts was about being in that hallway.

So I had to overcome that, and it was more difficult than I thought, to be able to work on the quilt for this show. I knew I did not want to pass up on any more WCQN exhibit opportunities (nor did I want to give up making art quilts) so I had to overcome this hurdle to my creativity.

All I can say is widowhood is a long road filled with potholes (some you think will kill you or at least break both your legs) and pits of muck getting you stuck.

But then ever so often the road smooths out and you can travel peacefully for a while. You can also learn to avoid some of the potholes and pull yourself quickly out of the muck when you slip in.

You keep learning that you are stronger than you think you are.

Glad I got unstuck from the muck to create this quilt. I will update you in the future on the creation of the quilt, the finished quilt, and more information about the show.

Feature image credit: Photo by Eric Murray on Unsplash

Shows and Exhibits, tierneycreates

Seattle, CoCA Scream Gala Auction, and More

September 18, 2020September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is where I originally learned to quilt and it continues to be connected to my quilting journey (and not just because the awesome person, Judy D., who got me into quilting still lives there). I lived in Seattle, Washington from 1997 to 2005 before moving to Bend, Oregon in 2005 and then to Colorado (Denver Metro area) in 2019.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you might remember that the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture invited me to have my first solo show in 2019 (see post Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower (re-post) ), and ended up purchasing 3 pieces of the 12 pieces in my solo show for their permanent collection (see section on City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection later in this post).

Depending on how long you’ve followed my blog, you might also remember that the City of Seattle first purchased one of my works, Abandoned Water Structure, in 2016 and exhibited it in 2017, for their Portable Works Collection (see post “Your Body of Water” Exhibit, Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery).

Abandoned Water Structure (2015), photo by Deborah Paine, Curator of show at the City of Seattle’s Municipal Tower Gallery

Surprisingly opportunities like the above keep happening for me tied to Seattle, WA. This year several amazing things have happened tied to Seattle and my (art) quilting journey and I am going to share them in the rest of this post.

Scream: 2020 CoCA Gala and Auction

A couple of months ago I was contacted by the Curator for the Center on Contemporary Art in downtown/Pioneer Square Seattle, and invited to submit work to be juried into an invitation participate in their annual Gala and Art Auction. I was juried into the show that opens Saturday September 19, 2020 and three of my pieces (Random Not So Random, Archaeological Dig – The Vessel, and The Loud Color Shift) are part of the event, which this year due to the pandemic, is being held virtually – SCREAM: COCA’S ANNUAL GALA & AUCTION).

Here are some images from the social media promotion of the show which is the annual fundraiser for the gallery (note the artist and gallery split the auction proceeds on the artist’s piece that sells in case you are curious):

So Saturday I will find out if my pieces get purchased in the auction and if so if they fetch a decent price (smile). If we were not in the midst of a pandemic, the event would have been live in person and I would have been invited to attend the Gala in person (and play dress up!) while visiting my friends in Seattle.

The crazy thing about this is that 1) I did not seek out this opportunity, it came to me; and 2) back when I lived in Seattle (and before I ever dreamed of “art quilting”) I used to visit this gallery during the First Thursday Gallery Walk in downtown/Pioneer Square. I never imagined I would make art that would be part of a show associated with this gallery!

If you’d like to see images of and read my Artist Statement on any of the art quilts mentioned above check out my page – Art Quilt Stories.

Request from Seattle Art Teacher

In December 2019 I received a request from Deborah Kapoor an artist and art teacher in Seattle, WA to use an image of my piece Random Not So Random as inspiration for her art students.

She wrote:

Hi Tierney, I teach painting and drawing at South Seattle College, and wanted to share your beautiful work with students. If you are open to the idea, I would just need a high res image sent to me, and I plan to print on 11 x 17 inch paper and laminate, sort of like a mini-poster, for the art room. I think it would really inspire the students! The piece I am interested in is Color Story III: Random, Not so Random

I sent her a high resolution image which she printed into a poster and put on her “wall of fame” in her classroom.

Color Study 3: Random not so Random (2012) — *Random Not So Random*

Here is a partial image she sent me of that wall (other artists work edited out of image) in early 2020:

She said her students are inspired by my piece!

City of Seattle’s Ethnic Artist Roster

In November 2017 I was juried into the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s Ethnic Artist Roster (see post Ethnic Artist Roster). The Office of Arts & Culture updated their Ethnic Artist Roster website and now each artist has their own page.

Tierney Davis Hogan

Capitol Hill Mural, Seattle, WA

I was contacted in July 2020 by artist @salmakingstuff (Sally Lavengod) who was asked to create a mural in Capitol Hill, Seattle supporting the Black Lives Matters (BLM) movement. She asked if she could list my @tierneycreates Instagram handle in the part of the mural listing inspirational Artists of Color. I was honored and said yes.

She created a 4 sided mural of Colin Kaepernick, Fred Hampton, Malcom X, and Afeni Shakur on the corner of 12th and Spring in Capitol Hill in response to the BLM movement. To the mural she added Instagram handles of Black Artists who inspired her to include mine – @tierneycreates:

City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection

According to the Seattle.gov, the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection is a rotating collection of over 3,200 artworks in all media, representing hundreds of artists collected by the city since 1973. The collection includes sculpture, painting, mixed media, prints, photography and textiles.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, 4 of my pieces are now part of the City of Seattle’s Portable Works collection. Recently I discovered the updated listing of my pieces on the Portable Works website.

I am so honored that several of my art quilts circulate around City of Seattle offices (of course during the pandemic they might be hanging out alone in offices with no one to view them right now!)

Although I haven’t lived in Seattle for 15 years but I continue to be connected to this city through my art quilting. It’s mysterious and magical to me.

Postscript

I am learning how to use the new WordPress Editor and it is not intuitive (it is actually downright painful…). I think I am going to have to find a tutorial.

Next post I will update you on my Granny Square crochet block obsession that I first mentioned in the post Making My Own Granny Square Afghan.

I’ve crocheted 46 blocks so far after using YouTube videos to learn how to crochet again.

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

“Giant Among the Sequoias” Returns Home

June 22, 2020June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

A couple days ago my art quilt Giant Among the Sequoias (2018) arrived in the mail. It was touring in an exhibit: “Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young”, curated by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, head of the Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN).

2020-06-18_14-17-58_084 — Giant Among the Sequoias (2018) by Tierney Davis Hogan

You can read about this quilt in these two posts:

Secret Quilt Revealed, Part I

Secret Quilt Revealed, Part II: Yours for Race and Country

The quilt is included in the book for exhibition:

It was bittersweet having this quilt returned to me.

This quilt was the last “art quilt” I created before my husband Terry (Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH)) suddenly died in December 2018. I remember having the quilt up in the design wall in the hallway in my former home in Central Oregon and soliciting his feedback as the quilt organically evolved.

I’ve continued quilting and making little craft projects since he died, but for the past year and a half I’ve lost my art quilt muse. I can make improvisational quilts like Seattle Scrappy (see post Seattle Scrappy (What’s on the Design Wall)) but I’ve struggled with wanting to create storied/pictorial quilt like Giant Among the Sequoias. I even passed up an amazing invitational only opportunity in the spring of 2019 which would have led to my first quilt showing at the Houston International Quilt Show.

I am so happy I had all the quilts already made when I had my first solo show at the Seattle Municipal Center in April 2019 (see post Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower (re-post)) as I could not have made new art quilt pieces for that show.

I did not attend the opening for the exhibit “Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young” which opened March 16, 2019 in Wilberforce, Ohio. I had planned to attend it before Terry died and my sweet brother wanted me to meet him in Ohio and attend the show with me.

I just was not up to it and in retrospect I regret not attending the show and also missing on an opportunity to spend time with my wonderful brother Raoul.

Alas grief is a strange beast and now a year and a half into widowhood I have learned to tame that beast a bit, or at least live somewhat peacefully with it.

One day I did stumble upon, during my googling about the show, a nice comment by Dr. Mazloomi the curator on this website Dayton.com – Military luminary Col. Charles Young subject of show at the National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center:

The narrative quilts are a history lesson captured in fabric.

“Giant Among the Sequoias,” a quilt created by Oregon artist Tierney Davis Hogan, is a re-creation of a forest scene made from recycled batik fabric scraps. In the center, an image of Young is stitched into the largest tree, keeping watch over the park.

“I love that because it’s quite a twist,” Mazloomi said. “It’s not necessarily a narrative quilt but it is a modern quilt in geometric form and it goes on to tell a story about his work in Sequoia Park.”

I am so honored!

My muse has slowly returned and I am going to create a storied/pictorial art quilt for an important show, which I hope to get juried into. Even if my piece is not accepted, it will be my next piece (I only have one so far) in my series Stories My Father Told Me (see series of posts Stories My Father Told Me).

I did hang up the quilt in the hallway headed downstairs to the daylight basement as there is other wall art related to national parks and the outdoors in that area.

Shows and Exhibits, tierneycreates, tierneytravels

Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower (re-post)

April 16, 2020September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Today’s post is a re-post of my post from April 26, 2019 about my first solo show, which was a very big moment in my imaginary artistic career (smile).

April 19th is my one year anniversary of moving to the Denver area and I want to celebrate that anniversary this week by re-sharing this big moment as well as a couple new posts about the beauty of Colorado later this week.

I cannot believe the trajectory of my life over the past 16 months.

As many of you know in December 2018 I suddenly lost my husband (Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH)) and my whole life radically changed. I’d been with Terry since I was 20 years old and did not know adult life without him. He was definitely the protector type and now I had to learn to protect myself and function in the world without him.

I was blessed with an incredible support network and blessed with the strange decision I made to sell my home in Central Oregon and move to the Denver Colorado greater metropolitan area (see series of posts Colorado Bound). This move gave me something to focus on besides my all consuming and completely overwhelming grief (I do not recommend this widow thing as a hobby, it sucks).

In addition to planning the move to Colorado and visiting friends in the Pacific NW, a shining light during my early days of widowhood was a surprise invitation in January 2019 from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture, to have a solo show at their downtown Seattle Municipal Tower.

I still cannot believe the timing on this amazing opportunity, that is happened when I really needed it and was at the lowest point in my entire life. Preparing for the show gave me something additional (and exciting) to focus on. The Universe is magical that way sometimes, eh?

I get blue some days during these COVID-times (and I really appreciate when my blogging buddies share their struggles on their blogs) but I remind myself: “Hey, you made it through losing your life partner that you were with for more than 1/2 your life; and you moved to Colorado and started a new life – you can do this, you can make it through these times.”

(And if you are having a particular blue day during the COVID-times, perhaps reminding yourself of hard times you’ve already made it through might help. You can do this!)

Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part III

I am getting settled in my new Colorado apartment after relocating from Central Oregon to the Greater Denver Metro area.

Finally, here is the final post in my series of posts about my first solo show at the Seattle Municipal Tower’s Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery located at 700 5th Ave in downtown Seattle, Washington. The show is curated by the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture.

For more background on my invitation to my first solo show, please see the previous posts in the series – Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part I and Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part II.

Before the Show

I stayed with friends in West Seattle and as parking in downtown Seattle is crazy, even though they offered to loan me one of their cars, I took the bus to the event. I arrived early and had time to wander around the amazing downtown Seattle library (I will share photos from that wander in another post).

After wandering around the library with my tierneycreates Beastie (who loves libraries also – see posts Beastie Colorado Adventure Begins and Beastie Outing: Trip to the Library) it was time to head into the Seattle Municipal Tower for the show opening, but not without first taking some photos of the entry and this downtown Seattle skyscraper:

As you can see in my above selfie, I was pretty darn excited.

Show Opening: The Wardrobe Meets the Wall

The show (The Wardrobe Meets the Wall: Art Quilts Created from Recycled Clothing and Garment Manufacturing Samples) opened with a presentation by board members the the Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery board on background and mission of the gallery, and then an introduction about me and my work.

Next, after providing an overview of my work, I did a presentation on the story behind the show and working with recycled materials. Then did a walk through tour and presentation on all 12 pieces I have in the show, sharing the story behind each piece.

Here are photos from the show which is on display until 07/15/2019. The gallery did a wonderful job of creating large placards for each piece that provided my full artist statement so that visitors could read the full story behind each piece.

A nice crowd attended the opening which included board members of the Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery board, downtown Seattle workers, my work colleagues in the Seattle office of my employer, and longtime friends who live in Seattle. I enjoyed walking the crowd through the 12 pieces and telling the story behind each piece (and no one appeared to fall asleep).

The Gallery also provided an area for flyers and my business cards if anyone was interested. I had generic business card created for the show as these cards are accessible by the public who has access to the gallery.

Additionally here are some photos taken the day before the show opening right after the pieces were hung, by my friend Loren who works at the Seattle Municipal Tower:

The whole experience was exciting but a little exhausting. I’ve been in several art shows in the past and have attended openings but it is a different experience when you are the only artist and it is your show!

When the show closes 07/15/2019, a Seattle based friend is going to collect the pieces from the gallery and deliver them to me when she visits me in the Denver area in late July. I do have two buyers interested in several of the pieces so I might have a couple art quilt sales in the near future.

After the Show

After the show I met up with a large group of Seattle friends at a lovely Dim Sum restaurant in the University Village area – Din Tai Fung.

We sat for hours visiting and having wonderful conversations while dining on delicious Taiwanese cuisine such as these wonderful vegetable dumplings below:

Postscript

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am settling into my new Colorado apartment. It has been an interesting transition from living in a house most of my life to now living in an apartment but so far, so good.

I wrote this blog post from my kitchen table this morning while eating breakfast and sipping on tea.

Mike my miniature schnauzer is getting used to all these people and dogs living in “his house” (he thinks the whole inside the apartment complex is his home but for some reason he and I only live in one section of it – ha!)

Shows and Exhibits

The “Dad Quilt” Has Come Home

October 19, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am working on this post from 40,000 feet, at least I think that is what the pilot said over the intercom a little while ago. I thought I would treat myself and pay for the flight WiFi service as I travel from Denver to El Paso Texas to visit old friends.

Unfortunately the in flight WiFi appears not have the bandwidth to handle adding images to this post, so I will have to return to the post when I land and add in images.

Speaking of traveling, my quilt The Lesson & The Equation which toured in the traveling exhibit Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’ Conscience, has been returned to me as the show has completed its schedule tour.

The show’s curator, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, did an excellent job of packaging up the quilt for return to me and I learned a lot about how a quilt should actually be packaged for mailing. Thinking about mailing quilts, reminds me of a post I did early in my blogging adventures (September 2014) in which I share a near disaster the first time I mailed a quilt into a show –True Tale of Shipping Terror (and Packaging Obsessions).

I so appreciate my friend and the amazing art quilter Wendy Hill (Instagram – @wendyquilter) who mentored me on mailing quilts to shows.

The “Dad Quilt” Comes Home

I nicknamed the art quilt I made for the show Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’ Conscience – The Dad Quilt. The quilt was inspired by the lessons I learned from my father Raoul A. Davis, Sr.

If you are new to this blog, the links below can catch you up to speed on creation of this quilt and the amazing show it got to be in if you check out this series of posts: Stories My Father Told Me.

Here are the series of posts about the Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’ Conscience show opening:

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part I August 26, 2018′
Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part II August 29, 2018
Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part III August 30, 2018
Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part IV September 1, 2018

And here is the post from April 2016 that inspired the journey of this quilt: Creative Inspiration: Stories My Father Told Me

Now the quilt is back with me and I hung it in what used to be sort of a formal living room or parlor in the house I now live in. I “Tierney-fied” the room.

I turned it into a reading room where my partner and I now like to sit and read.

The room is perfect for sitting with a pot of tea and a book, or snuggling with a miniature schnauzer (Mike the Miniature Schnauzer is awaiting his snuggles):

2019-08-13_08-19-07_832 — Why are you taking photos? Why are you not snuggling with me? – Mike

The quilt is featured in the book from the exhibit, which is available on amazon.com:

I repurposed a cookbook stand to feature the book in the room near the quilt:

Sometimes I talk to the quilt and say hello to my father. I sort of feel like the quilt watches over me!

Postscript

You’ve likely figured it out that I’ve now landed as there are images now in this post. Not only have I landed but it is actually the next day and I am sitting in the hotel lobby finishing this post.

I am staying in a lovely hotel in downtown El Paso and guess what images they have on the wall of the hotel rooms:

It was awesome to sleep under antique sewing machines!

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium – Book is Released!

April 30, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Run, don’t walk, to your nearest online bookstore (Barnes & Noble, Powells, Amazon, etc.) and buy the recently released book for the WCQN exhibit Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’s Conscience by Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi.

My piece “The Lesson & The Equation” is on pages 18 and 19; in addition to many mind blowing and powerful pieces.

This book and nationally touring exhibit celebrates the 70th anniversary of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Can you tell my excitement? You know of course this advertisement is tongue-in-cheek but if you are interested you can find this book on several online bookstores.

If you are new to this blog, the story behind this exhibit, my piece, and samples of other amazing pieces in this national traveling show can be found on these posts:

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part I

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part II

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part III

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part IV

Currently the exhibit is at Texas Folklife in Austin, Texas (see post The Lesson & The Equation at Texas Folklife):

53392959_2299124413460812_8246432247356325888_n — Photo courtesy of Jas Mardis

Shows and Exhibits, tierneytravels

Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part III

April 26, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am getting settled in my new Colorado apartment after relocating from Central Oregon to the Greater Denver Metro area.

For more background on my invitation to my first solo show, please see the previous posts in the series – Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part I and Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part II.

Before the Show

As you can see in my above selfie, I was pretty darn excited.

Show Opening: The Wardrobe Meets the Wall

Additionally here are some photos taken the day before the show opening right after the pieces were hung, by my friend Loren who works at the Seattle Municipal Tower:

After the Show

After the show I met up with a large group of Seattle friends at a lovely Dim Sum restaurant in the University Village area – Din Tai Fung.

We sat for hours visiting and having wonderful conversations while dining on delicious Taiwanese cuisine such as these wonderful vegetable dumplings below:

Postscript

I wrote this blog post from my kitchen table this morning while eating breakfast and sipping on tea.

Life in B&W, Shows and Exhibits, tierneytravels

Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part II

March 18, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here is a follow up to my 03/01/19 post Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part I.

Last week I was in Seattle, Washington for a work meeting and while I was in Seattle I dropped of my 12 art quilts that will be in my solo show at the Seattle Municipal Tower in Downtown Seattle opening 04/18/19 and running through 07/16/19.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Patricia S. the Coordinator for the City of Seattle’s Ethnic Heritage Gallery and Blake H. the Curator and Collections Manager for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. They seemed pleased with the art quilts I had selected for the show.

I got to tour the gallery space in the Seattle Municipal Tower in downtown Seattle.

Here is some of the gallery space (I took photos quickly as I had to get to a work meeting in another section of downtown Seattle):

Here is the reception area where the opening reception will be held:

And here is the draft flyer for the show which is titled “The Wardrobe Meets the Wall: Art Quilts Created from Recycled Clothing & Garment Manufacturing Samples”.

The show’s curator said he loved the title, the concept and thought the art quilts were beautiful (I had a “trunk show” in the lower lobby/gallery area for the Coordinator and Curator).

The show opens at 12 noon on 04/18/19 at 700 5th Avenue, Seattle Washington. See you there if you are in the area! (My head is still reeling that the City of Seattle invited me to have a solo show…)

Postscript

Downtown Seattle in B&W

I could not refuse the opportunity to take photos of downtown Seattle Washington in black & white while I walked from my meeting with the City of Seattle on the show, to my employer’s office.

I guess you could consider this postscript a continuation of my series of posts – Life in B&W.

And then there was the magnificent Downtown Seattle Public Library which I used to browse when I lived in Seattle 15 years ago:

Shows and Exhibits, tierneytravels

Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part I

March 1, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a member of the City of Seattle’s Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery (EHAG) and invited to participate in what I thought was an art show featuring myself and other artists at the Seattle Municipal Tower in downtown Seattle, Washington. This show was to run from April to July 2019.

In August 2016, the City of Seattle purchased one of my art quilts made from recycled silk and linen couture fabrics, Abandoned Water Structure (see the post Seattle Public Utilities’ Portable Works Collection).

This piece was part of the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture exhibit “Your Body of Water, Part II” at the Seattle Municipal Tower gallery from April to July 2017 (see post “Your Body of Water” Exhibit, Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery).

Then in November 2017, the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture juried me into their Ethnic Artist Roster (see post Ethnic Artist Roster).

I thought I was invited to participate in the April – July 2019 show at the Seattle Municipal Tower because I was a member of this roster and they were doing a show featuring artists on this roster.

Last week, however, I discovered that I misunderstood. I was not invited to be part of a show, I was invited to have my own SOLO show!

I also discovered I was invited to have a solo show because a member of the Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery worked in a building in which my piece Abandoned Water Structure was hung and looked at it every day for a year. She wanted to work with me and give me an opportunity to have a show featuring more of my work because of what Abandoned Water Structure meant to her!

The show (name of show pending) featuring my work opens at noon on 04/18/19 and run through 07/15/19. I will be attending the show opening in Seattle.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be focusing on:

Preparing my existing pieces from my catalogue for the show (tentatively I have 8 – 10 art quilts for the show);
Providing the information to the coordinator on the name of the show (I have an idea in mind that I am working through);
Finalizing the display/placard information for each piece; and
Working with the gallery on the flyer to promote/advertise the show!!!

I will hand deliver the quilts to the gallery for storage prior to the show during an upcoming business trip to Seattle before the show.

More to come, I just wanted to share this exciting news with you that the municipality of the largest city in the Pacific Northwest Region of North America has invited me to have this glorious opportunity.

felipe-galvan-734668-unsplash — Photo by Felipe Galvan on Unsplash

Postscript

In addition to being very excited to have my first solo show, I am also excited to have a reason to have a reunion with my Seattle friends (I lived in Seattle for 8 years before moving to Central Oregon in 2005) before I move to Colorado this Spring.

April is beginning to look very busy but it will be a “good busy”!

Feature photo credit: seattlemunicipaltower.com

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

The Lesson & The Equation at Texas Folklife

February 23, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The traveling WCQN exhibit “Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’s Conscience” is currently showing at Texas Folklife in Austin, Texas (see post Visioning Human Rights Show Opens in Austin, Texas on 02/21/2019).

This is a quick post to share a photo of my piece, The Lesson & The Equation” hung at the show, courtesy of one of the other artists in the show, the very talented Jas Mardis:

My piece in the large one hanging on the left side of the image above.

The brilliant pieces to the right of it are by the very talented Carolyn Crump (who even has a quilt hanging in the Smithsonian Museum!). How lucky I am to have a piece in this traveling exhibit with some really amazing artists.

If you are new to my blog, here are the previous posts related to this traveling show which celebrates the 70th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi is the show’s curator.

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part I

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part II

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part III

Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part IV

Alas, I could not attend the show opening in Austin, Texas but I so appreciate the photos I seen so far on my fellow artist facebook pages!

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN, What's on the Design Wall

Secret Quilt Revealed, Part II: Yours for Race and Country

February 22, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post is a follow up to my 12/9/18 post: Secret Quilt Revealed, Part I.

In this post I announced the exhibit for which I was working on a secret quilt (the curator ask us not to post photos of our quilts until the show was announced) from April to August 2018.

“Working” is a term I am using loosely as I was procrastinating on completing the quilt during that time. I was given over one+ year (maybe 1.5 years) to complete the quilt from the invitation to be part of the Women of Color Quilting Network show, but alas, I was burning the midnight oil to get it done in time for the October deadline!

The show is called “Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young”. It opens on March 16, 2019 and the exhibit will run from through August 17, 2019 at the National Afro-American Museum in historic Wilberforce, Ohio.

50491079_10219044222000135_268514595067396096_o — Image courtesy of Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi

Please check out the “Part I” post of this series for more details on Colonel Charles Young.

So now it’s time to reveal the quilt I made for the show.

Honoring His Service at Sequoia National Park

As I discussed in the previous post, the show’s curator provided us with options of what part of Colonel Young’s life could inspire out quilt. I selected his time as Superintendent of Sequoia National Park.

I read a book about his life and accomplishments (Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment: The Military Career of Charles Young by Brian G. Shellum) and studied images I found online of Sequoia National Park to inspire my piece.

After sketching out numerous ideas (in my journal, see post Creative Inspiration: Peek Inside My Journals) I knew that I wanted to make Colonel Young part of the beauty of Sequoia National Park since his role, as the first African American Superintendent of a National Park, was to preserve its beauty.

Also I decided I wanted to use only recycled materials to create the piece which would also honor his conservation efforts. I decided to only use cotton Batik fabric scraps.

Here is the forest as it developed on the large design wall in my hallway (I added this post of my series What’s on the Design Wall, as it was secretly on my design wall!):

I wanted to incorporate Colonel Young and his accomplishments into the trees. So first I worked on a tree with his image as part of the bark:

I also wanted to honor the National Park Service, so I created a fabric version of a U.S. Parks Service sign and edited the image to be the name of the quilt – Giant Among the Sequoia.

I had so much fun making this “monument marker”!

And here is the full quilt which measures 40″ x 40″:

Here is the Artist Statement:

Giant Among the Sequoias (2018)

Tierney Davis Hogan

40” x 40”

Recycled cotton batik fabric scraps, batik cotton fabric, recycled cotton and polyester batting, ink

Inspired by Brian G. Shellum’s biography, Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment: The Military Career of Charles Young (Bison Books, 2010), this piece honors the legacy of Colonel Charles Young, the first African-American Superintendent of a national park.

Floating among the trees in a mythical scene inspired by an image of a section of Sequoia National Park and by Brain G. Shellum’s book, are phrases describing the work that this groundbreaking leader accomplished during his time as Superintendent of General Grant (now Kings Canyon) and Sequoia National Parks:

Overseeing Operations, Park Superintendent, Clearing Trails, Providing Leadership, Stopping Livestock Grazers, Park Patrolling, Protecting Against Poachers, Road Building, Respected by the Community; and Inspiring Youth

In the center of the piece, a giant Sequoia tree with Colonel Charles Young’s image surveys and protects the park. Adding a bit of whimsy to the piece, an image of a real U.S. Forest Service sign in Sequoia National Forest was creatively edited.

This piece also honors the precious natural environment of our national parks and is made primarily from recycled materials (batik fabric scraps) that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.

I’ve add this piece to my Nature Stories Series of my Art Quilt Stories.

Postscript

By the way, if you’ve been following my blog for a while and remember this post – Creative Inspiration: Tree Bark – now you know why I was studying tree bark this past summer!

Shows and Exhibits, tierneycreates

“Soulful” Show Opening

February 13, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Just a quick follow up to the January 21, 2019 post Soulful: A National Exhibition of African American Artists.

My piece Color Study I: Flying Triangles, the first official recycled textiles art quilt I made was juried into this show which opened on February 7, 2019 in Norfolk, Virginia.

Color Study 1: Reflections of Flying Triangles (2012) — Color Study I: Flying Triangles. Photographed by Jeremy Koons.

As it is deep Winter in the Northwestern part of the U.S. where I live it was a bit much to fly to the other side of the country for the opening.

I did however discover photos from the opening on the d’Art Center facebook page and here are a several of those photos:

51745061_10157153309327384_49060157291757568_o — d’Art Center facebook page

51966812_10157155603837384_6482088372541063168_o — d’Art Center facebook page

I appreciate the unknown person who took these photos who gave me an opportunity to see how my piece was displayed. Whoever hung the pieces did a nice job “color coordinating” the pieces on display!

Shows and Exhibits, tierneycreates

Soulful: A National Exhibition of African American Artists

January 21, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

A couple of days ago I got some cool news.

One of my early recycled silk art quilts was juried into the national Art (yes “art” not quilting, ha!) Show – “Soulful: A National Exhibition of African American Artists”. It opens February 7th and runs through February 28th at the d’Art Center in Norfolk, VA.

My piece that will appear in the show is called Color Story I: Flying Triangles. It was the first recycled silk art quilt I made when I began to experiment with using recycled materials. Below is the piece and the updated Artist Statement I did for the show.

COLOR STORY I: FLYING TRIANGLES

45 ” W x 44.5″ L, silk & linen garment scraps pieced on muslin foundation

ARTIST STATEMENT:

The Color Stories series of art quilts are vibrant colored compositions, created from recycled textiles including silks, wools and linens. Many of the recycled silks and linens are from samples and remnants from NYC Fashion District couture fabrics from the 1990’s European textile houses of Ratti, Braghenti, Castellini and D’Este.

Instead of ending up in a landfill, these couture fabric samples with their complex colors, patterns and textures inspire my textile art.

This is piece is from my first art quilt series: Color Stories. If you’d like to see the other art quilts in this series, check out my page Art Quilt Stories.

Postscript

Next post I will share where I am moving or some of my plans for my next adventure in life. If you would like to take a guess, it is one of the states in the image of AAA travel books below (if you know already don’t ruin the surprise for any other readers, thanks!)

Featured image credit: d’Art Center (d-artcenter.org)

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Visioning Human Rights Show Opens in Austin, Texas on 02/21/2019

January 20, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

For those of you who’ve followed my blog for a while you know that my piece, The Lesson and The Equation is part of the traveling show Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’s Conscience.

You can read about my piece and the show in the following posts – Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part I , Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part II, Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part III , Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part IV , and International Exposure for The Lesson and The Equation.

This show, curated by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi of the Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) celebrates the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and features a collection of art quilts based on the 30 Articles of this declaration.

The show continues to travel and is opening on Thursday February 21, 2019 at Texas Folklife in Austin, Texas.

Screen Shot 2019-01-20 at 10.05.00 PM.png — Image credit: Texas Folklife

You can more about this show at this link: Gallery Exhibit: Quilting The World’s Conscience.

I am sharing this in case any of my blogging buddies in Texas might be interested in attending.

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Secret Quilt Revealed, Part I

December 9, 2018September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you might remember that Spring to Summer 2018 I was working on a secret quilt for an unannounced exhibit.

Well the curator, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, has recently announced the show and now I can share my secret quilt with you; and I will share the story behind it in a series of posts.

Yours for Race and Country

The Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) exhibit, curated by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, is called Yours For Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young. The exhibit will run from March 16, 2019 through August 17, 2019 at the National Afro-American Museum in historic Wilberforce, Ohio.

Colonel Charles Young was the first African-American to reach the rank of Colonel is the United States Army (the first African American officer to command a Regular Army regiment, and the highest-ranking black officer in the Regular Army until his death). He was also the first African-American Superintendent of a U.S. National Park – Sequoia National Park.

Here is a wonderful overview of some of his accomplishment I found on The Trust for Public Land website (tpl.org):

To read more about Colonel Charles Young and his historic accomplishments, check out the Arlington National Cemetery website – Charles Young, Colonel, United States Army.

The Art Quilt Assignment

I was extremely honored and excited to be invited to participate in this art quilt exhibit.

For the exhibit, Dr. Mazloomi gave us options to select from of pivotal moments and accomplishments in Colonel Young’s life as inspiration for a 40″ x 40″ quilt.

I selected his time as Superintendent of Sequoia National Park.

Then it was history time! I wanted to learn more about Colonel Young’s life than was available online, so I ordered this book and read it – Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment: The Military Career of Charles Young by Brian G. Shellum:

41SQcR+IffL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg — image credit: amazon.com

After reading the book and studying images I found online of Sequoia National Park, I was ready to get to work on my quilt.

In the next post in the series, I will share the evolution of the quilt and my challenges to create something I felt honored the legacy of Colonel Young (oh the pressure!).

Postscript

Here are more details on the exhibit, as posted on facebook by the show’s curator, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi:

My latest curated exhibition opens March 16, 2019 at the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in historic Wilberforce, Ohio. The exhibition, Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young, is a visual history of the life of Charles Young. Young’s life is triumph over tragedy. Charles Young was born in 1864 to former slaves, but went on to attend and graduate West Point. He mastered several languages, played and composed music for piano, violin and guitar, wrote poetry, was a master cartographer, military strategist, the first African American Colonel in the U.S. Army and first superintendent of Sequoia National Park. Young’s home in Wilberforce was designated by President Barack Obama as a National Monument of the United States Parks Service. The Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument is a testament to Young’s perseverance.

The international exhibition visually explores, using the medium of quilts, the life of Col. Charles Young from his birth, life at West Point, military career, experiences in Foreign Service and his time as a Superintendent for the National Park Service.The opening reception is March 16th from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Copies of the catalogue will be made available to the public at that time.

ColChasYoung1919-2 — National Park Service website, courtesy of Library of Congress

In case you are wondering, I would like to attend the opening of the exhibit, I am just looking into if I can make it work with traveling in Winter and my job commitments. There is also going to be a private tour for the artists in the show of Colonel Young’s home in Wilberforce, OH. That would be a wonderful added bonus to getting to attend.

I will know more in 2019.

Feature photo credit – Change.org

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

Visioning Human Rights Exhibit Book Update

November 25, 2018September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I posted this in my Textiles Adventures page (which highlights the latest news on my adventures in the textile arts) The book for the WCQN show, Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’s Conscience will be released on February 28, 2019.

Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 2.11.21 PM — image credit: amazon.com

My quilt, The Lesson & The Equation, inspired by Article 1 of United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will be one of the quilts featured in this book from the exhibit.

For more information about the show and my quilt, check out the post Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part I or the related series of posts on WCQN.

To say that I am excited to get a copy of the book when it is released is an understatement!

Shows and Exhibits, tierneycreates

“Seeds” and My Secret Dream

October 18, 2018September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

First I want to clarify – this is not a political post but a post about a secret dream of mine being realized – to have a piece of my art shown in New York City.

The art piece, Seeds (2017), inspired by a Mexican proverb, could be considered political as it is a banner from the Women’s March. But let’s put all this aside and let me share this moment with my blogging community, no matter what your political views.

Seeds is showing as part of the exhibit Still They Persist from the FemFour at the LMAKgallery on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City from October 17, 2018 – November 3, 2018.

I’ve briefly discussed this piece two other posts: The Library Stack and a Little Craftivism and Seeds.

The exhibit called S till They Persist: Protest Art of the 2017 Women’s Marches has been traveling nationally and my piece has made its way around the country. My piece is also featured in a book about the exhibit by the same title.

What I did not realize until today, when I discovered it on social media, is that the exhibit had opened in New York City!

I am originally from New York and for me as a native New Yorker (well semi-native, I was actually born in Pittsburgh, PA) it seems that one of the ultimate achievement as an artist would be to show a piece in a major city such as New York City (or Paris, or London, or Tokyo, or Melbourne, etc.).

Although my piece of art is a banner I made for a protest march, I am going to embrace this moment as a realization of a secret dream!

Below is my piece in the center in a promotional photo of the exhibit on the LMAKgallery’s facebook page.

Image credit – LMAKgallery facebook page

Thanks for sharing this moment with me!

Postscript

This is a quick follow-up to the 10/12/18 post Impromptu Quilt Gifting. My colleague’s daughter received the quilt earlier this week and she sent me a picture of her daughter snuggled under the quilt.

The best thing is my colleague stated “The quilt is amazing, she has been sleeping with it since it arrived!” I cannot put into words how happy I am that a quilt I made will keep a child warm and cozy during her ongoing hospitalizations.

Featured Image – Photo by Deviyahya on Unsplash

Shows and Exhibits, WCQN

International Exposure for The Lesson and The Equation

September 24, 2018September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

While attending a quilt retreat this weekend, I got the most fabulous news from Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, the curator of Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium: Quilting the World’s Conscience – My piece, The Lesson and The Equation is featured on the website of the Brussels, Belgium based organization Human Rights 70.

Screen Shot 2018-09-24 at 8.42.12 AM.png — Image credit: humanright70.eu

(If you are just joining us on my blog, you can read background on my piece and the exhibit in these series of posts: WCQN )

This organization’s mission, according to their website:

is to contribute to promote the knowledge and application from individual up to supranational level, of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and in doing so contribute to the better living of all beings in the world

This Brussels based organization also has offices in Madrid, Paris, Geneva, Vienna, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Bogota, and Mexico DF.

Here is a screen shot of the overview of the exhibit on the Human Rights 70 website:

To say I am excited and overwhelmed is an understatement (smile)!

Perhaps The Lesson and The Equation, inspired by Article 1 of United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will get to tour internationally someday…

2018-08-17_16-21-11_389 — The Lesson and The Equation at the show opening at Fitton Center for Creative Arts 08/17/18

For a high resolution image of the piece and to read the Artist Statement, see my page Art Quilt Stories.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. – Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Feature Photo by Calvin Hanson on Unsplash

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Craft and Vendor Show Beginner’s Survival Kit

Forming a Business

Creating a Display

Prepping Products

Processing Payments

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Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part III

Before the Show

Show Opening: The Wardrobe Meets the Wall

After the Show

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The “Dad Quilt” Comes Home

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Before the Show

Show Opening: The Wardrobe Meets the Wall

After the Show

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Downtown Seattle in B&W

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Honoring His Service at Sequoia National Park

Giant Among the Sequoias (2018)

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COLOR STORY I: FLYING TRIANGLES

ARTIST STATEMENT:

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Yours for Race and Country

The Art Quilt Assignment

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