Meeting Recap March 2023

 

Michael James Career Highlights

Michael shared his personal story, from growing up in New Bedford, Massachusetts in a mill worker family, to making a living as a studio quilt artist, to moving to Nebraska to join the UNL community, to dealing with his wife's Alzheimer's, and finally to life in retirement, looking back on his life.  All along the way, he made quilts that reflected his journey.

Bedloe's Island Pavement Quilt, 1975

Rhythm/Color: Spanish Dance, 1985

 

Earthly Pleasures, 1995

 Interference Effect: (Betrayed) Lover's Knot 2, 2005

       (not shown at the meeting)

 

Aubade (ascent), 2014

 

Mesa View (No. 12), 2021

 This work is one of a series of precisionist geometric constructions reconsidering formal and spatial counterforces. The execution process is focused, intimate and contemplative. The digital interfaces that I employ (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Fresco, Procreate and digital textile printers) result in unique patterned fabrics that combine with a hundreds-year-old patchwork technique to coalesce as integrated and tension-filled compositions.

Untitled (No. 4), 2021

 

Collage 1, "Chevron", 2022

 

Collage #8, "State of Affairs", 2022

Collage #11, "Gridlock", 2023

 

Sheila Green showed us two quilts that she made with Michael James designed fabric.

  

Upcoming Meetings

April 25th: Modern Quilting Today and Quilt Con Recap, Sheila Green
May 30th: EQ8 Design, Nancy Goff
June 27th: Audrey Esary, Cotton and Bourbon, Finding My Voice in Modern Quilting. At home or at IQM Zoom
July 8th: Workshop, Mobius Radial
July 25th: Chatanooga Ls, Sheila Green
Aug 29: Maria Shell, Improv for Everyone
Sep 26th: Applique 3 techniques Elisa Salas and Sara Maseth
October 24th: English Paper Piecing, Sarah Maseth 

Upcoming Events

Spring Retreat 2023, Friday, May 5 – Sunday, May 7, 2023
Carol Joy Holling Center – Hazel Dillon Lodge
Limit 36 people.
Cost - $160 LMQG members; $170 for non-LMQG members
Sign up!

Challenge quilt: Improv Processes, April 25th1. Purchased patterns or designs
    2. No Plan: Create shapes and odd sized pieces, strips etc…
    3. With intent
    4.Inspired by something in nature, photograph or emotion
Make a quilt at least 80 inches perimeter. 
Choose one of the 4 improv processes above