This week I am finally attending the Alegre Retreat in Gateway Canyon in Southwest Colorado. This is something I’ve wanted to do for at least 15 years. 20 years ago I took a class with Katie Pasquini Masopust at Art Quilt Tahoe, which is another ‘destination’ art quilt retreat. Katie has hosted her own Alegre art quilt retreat for 29 years now. It used to be in Santa Fe and now it is in this red rock canyon about an hour south of Grand Junction. I am delighted and surprised at how many people I know here, but I am also making new friends who share my passion for making art with textiles.
There is a scholarship for textile artists under 30 who wish to attend an Alegre Retreat. The young man who won last year, is back again this year as a paying participant. I chatted with him today, and he told me his work is on the cover of the new issue of Patchwork Professional (German art quilt magazine) just now coming out. He is a grad student! I would say that attending an art quilt retreat and taking a weeklong workshop can give a big boost to your artwork. We will stock this new issue of Patchwork Professional in the new future. I have written a couple articles for this beautiful magazine, and I urge you to check it out, and use Google Translate in your phone, to translate the articles in German.
If you are interested in attending a similar destination art quilt workshop, there are also annual seminars in Asilomar, Hudson River Valley Art Center and Madeleine Island. And of course there are others as well. These 5 I have mentioned are some of the best known.
We have also just received a shipment of Great Australian Quilts, featuring our friend Pam Holland on the cover. It is so fun to see our wildly creative artist friends receiving this kind of recognition. As far as we know, eQuilter is the only retailer in the US carrying these magazines. Check them out and find out why!
Today the DAR Museum (Wash DC) featured my ‘Stardust Mothers’ quilt on their social media. I am working on a similar, but larger piece here. The faces on this 8 foot wide quilt are also painted with Inktense and Gel medium. It is called ‘The Children of War’ and is about the childhood victims of the many wars happening around the world today. I am planning to enter it in a show this year, so hopefully you will see it in the future. I hope you are also able to work on a meaningful project that stirs your creativity this month.
Sharing your love of fabric…and color…
Luana and Paul
