Sophie and I have
been attending the Sacred Threads weekend event in Herndon Virginia near Dulles
Airport. In addition to seeing the quilt exhibit, there is a concurrent SAQA
event, and Quilt Alliance activities going on during these few days. We are enjoying
visiting with the artists whose work makes up this very special exhibit, on
display through July 28. (My quilt “Chautauqua Sanctuary” is near the
front, if you take the first left turn.)
Friday we went on the DC Textile Bus Tour, which Sacred Threads has organized
for several years. We started out at the fantastic quilt exhibit at the DAR
Museum, with curator Alden O’Brien giving a lively walking tour through the
gallery. This current show is called “A Piece of Her Mind – Culture &
Technology in American Quilts”. I have been to the DAR many times, in fact
I have a 2014 video tour and interview with Alden on our video page
under the “Festivals and Shows” heading. Look for Parts 1, 2 & 3.
Next we went to the National Museum of Women in the Arts. This gorgeous space
was created from an abandoned Masonic Temple. It houses the collection of
Wilhelmina and Wallace Holladay who spent 20 years buying and studying art by
women. There were artworks from the 16th century, to contemporary 21st century
pieces. We were thrilled to see a Faith Ringgold quilt about Josephine Baker in
the galleries upstairs. We had a lovely lunch on the mezzanine also.
Finally we visited the Renwick Museum, a Smithsonian Museum which is just
kitty-corner to the White House. There are always several temporary artist
exhibits in this beautiful building, originally built for the William Corcoran
collection. The most impressive was the Temple from the Burning Man artist David Best.
Established as a sacred space for reflection and prayer, this installation has
massive, incredibly intricate, wooden cutout panels.
There is always plenty of art to be seen in the Washington DC museums, and I
hope this gives you a few ideas for a future trip here. Sunday we are going to
the National Portrait Museum and the Holocaust Museum. Monday I am presenting
my quilt “Mothers of the World” to the International Peace Tech Lab.
sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul
