A few weeks ago, I attended the El Anatsui’s exhibit, “When I Last Wrote to You about Africa”, at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Mar. 30-Jun. 29, 2011.  Now, I must admit, I never heard of El Anatsui prior to this, and I hadn’t attended this museum before.  On both accounts, I was… staggered.

As a quilt artist, I tended to limit my inspirations and participations to only fiber-related events.  By expanding my horizons, I was treated to one of the most inspiring and impressive exhibits I have ever attended.

For those who do not know, El Anatsui, born 1944, is a Ghanaian sculptor whose medium are things that we would have called, “trash”.  He uses bottle caps, pieces of aluminum, wood, and ceramics; materials that he found in his environment.  The exhibit consisted of a retrospective of his work for the past 40 years.

His pieces were huge, colorful, and inspiring.  His piece, “Plot a Plan III”, (73 x 97 in., made from aluminum and copper wiring) was draped on the wall, resembling kente fabric. It was magnetic to look at, up close and from across the room.  His recent structures are called installations, because they are made to collapse or be reshaped to whatever the space allows.

Even though I’m not a sculptor, his “installation” pieces were very reminiscent of fabric.  Since this exhibit is presently over, but you can still see his work at Sterling and Francine Clarke Art Institute, Williamstown MA, Jun. 12, 2011- Oct. 16, 2011.  To learn more about El Anatsui, go to www.octobergallery.co.uk/artists/anatsui/index.shtml or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Anatsui.

This blogging, I hope will become a regular part of my quilting life.  I just came off of a 9-month project.  It consisted of:

1. Creating a body of work.  We, Sisters in Fiber, decided that 7 new pieces would be a good start for the future.  That means, thinking up the idea, drafting it, finding the fabrics, cutting, sewing, layering, quilting, and finishing a quilt seven times.  So I started in June and completed the 7 by September.  In my mind, I thought small but I don’t think a single quilt was smaller than 20” on one side.
2. Next, I wanted to be part of Roxbury’s Open Studios, in October.  A great adventure.  Something I said that I’d do when I retired from teaching public school.  Well, since I retired in June, there wasn’t any excuse to not participate.  So, I tried!  Boy, was that a lot of work and expensive.
3. November, I had to get the quilts ready for submission to SAQA MA-RI “No Holds Barred” Exhibit (Studio Art Quilt Associates Massachusetts and Rhode Island).  It had to be new work.  Well, how that happened is another story to be explained later.  I was… disappointed that none of the pieces were accepted into that show, BUT it did give me the opportunity to do a one-man show at the NEQM (New England Quilt Museum).  I was told that it takes at least 10 rejections before you get 1 acceptance!  Can my ego take such punishment?  I’ll have to think about that.
4. Then came the holidays, and my getting sick.  My dream was to give all the kids (my adult kids) their last “free” quilt from me.  I especially wanted to get Nicole, my daughter-in-law and Aaron, my son-in-law (actually my nephew-in-law) a quilt from me.  I felt it was about time that they felt included in my “love circle”.  Well, 2 quilts turned into 7 quilts with 2 more to go.  All were a minimum of a queen-size (Traseé’s quilt) with most of them being a king-sized quilt.  Say “Overachieving!”
5. Well, December, I was denied the SAQA MA-RI show (did I say I was disappointed?) but I was prepared for the RCC (Roxbury Community College Library) and Haley House Bakery and Café shows.  Two other stories to tell.  I also had to line up artist instructors for the events portion of “No Holds Barred”.  Getting artists who know how to teach in front of a crowd is… no joke.  Being a teacher, I constantly heard the joke, “…  those who can’t teach!”  But you want to know the truth… MANY, MANY, MANY people CAN NOT TEACH!!!  We, teachers, we, veteran teachers, truly have a gift that the regular population don’t have.  We can teach, and we can recognize good teachers!  Being a “lead teacher”, (a teacher who trains teachers) is one of my gifts!  Am I digressing?
6. January began, and now I needed to put on my SAQA events coordinator hat and help the artists bring their shows into the NEQM No Holds Barred Exhibit.  I also had to hang the Haley House and the RCC shows.
7. February, I get sicker still (severe sinusitis that antibiotics won’t kill) and my one-man show at NEQM.  Aren’t there a lot of acronyms in the quilting world?  Or is that the price for technology?
8. Now, it’s March and I’m coming to the end of this adventure, and I think again… “How come it was all squished together?”

When I started out, I actually sat down with my calendar and planned it all out. It sounded and felt good, but then LIFE intervened and threw my planning out the window.  In the middle of all this, I have to accept that my body/ health is betraying me.  It just won’t cooperate.  When did I start becoming old and sick? My head says I’m still in my mid-30s. I say mid-30s because the 20s were hard emotionally and the 40s were hard physically.  I don’t want to think about the 50s.  That’s when parts of the body started taking on old shapes and dragging on the floor.  Turning over in bed became a chore!

Did I say I have a hard time writing?  Well, like I said when I started this, I’m going to try to keep it up regularly.

Good talking to ya.

No fighting and no biting.

Celeste