Amazing Art and Artists

Who would have thought that tripping on an uneven sidewalk in lower town Paducah would lead me to meet 3 very talented artists? But it did. As I walked past a building on Madison Street I tripped and Diana Fox, who was sitting in the shade at the side of the building, asked if I was ok. Then she asked if I was a quilter ~ and invited me in 😊. She told me she was an “Artist in Residence” at A.I.R. Studio Paducah. We entered the gallery space of the studio and I was stopped in my tracks. Just look at this wonderful work of fiber art.

Diana calls this piece “Tree Rings”, and you can read all about her art and life by clicking here! She lives in Colorado and does workshops and trunk shows. She is also friendly and fun to talk with. She led me to the studio area where I met Donalee. Donalee used her creative talents as a jeweler in her pre-retirement life, but now she creates beautiful abstract fiber art, and she teaches too. Click here to visit her website.

As we were all talking and laughing, Beth Shillig entered the studio. I have been intrigued by her work for years, but never knew anything about her. Beth’s interlocking ovals and fascinating quilting designs really speak to me. She owned a Bernina dealership in her previous life, but now she’s a full time artist. It was wonderful to meet her too ~ and buy a pair of her hand dyed bamboo socks. I love bamboo socks and hers are so pretty! Click here for her website.

What a joy to meet all three of these friendly, delightful and talented quilters. I know you’ll enjoy visiting their sites!

Then…

Over the past few years at the AQS show I’ve been captivated by the work of an artist from the Ukraine. Natalia Lashko has a fascinating style of quilt making, and I’ve posted photos of her work numerous times. This year was even more interesting because AQS had an exhibit of quilts from the Ukraine and there were many of Natalia’s quilts there. Here are two of my favorites: “Snow Apples. Where Does Childhood Go?”

Milky Way. Heavenly Guides. Chumaks:

My photo of the story card from this quilt was of poor quality, so here’s what Natalia has to say about it:

“In the old days, Chumaks (Ukrainian merchants) went to Crimea for stuff and, at night, they navigated along the light stripe in the sky, which is why the most popular name for our galaxy in Ukraine appeared – the Chumaksky Way (literally). Traditionally the Chumaks delivered salt, fish, and various goods to Podolia (the area where my family lives) and sold them in a nearby city. In hot weather, warm air often moves in the evenings or at night, as if touching us. In calm silence, we dream, looking at the night starry sky. And it seems to me that it is at this time that the souls of the Chumaks descend to earth, like angels from the Milky Way, touch us with a warm touch of air, gently hug and continue their hard work, caring for our well-being.”

And here’s a close-up of the pieced 3-D stars in the sky, the “straws”, and prairie points too:

Lori commented in my last post with a question about the straw technique of the Ukrainian exhibit, so I did a bit of investigating and found some information that causes me to love these quilts even more. Natalia started out doing straw embroidery with real straw, and she has a website that explains it beautifully. It is a traditional technique that has become a lost art in the Ukraine, and I know you will find her work as amazing as I do. This first one I chose from her site is called “Noel”:

I love what she said about her work on “Noel”:

“There was difficulty with portraits, because they have to be graceful and beautiful. I had a lot of experimenting. Imagine the face of Jesus just two millimeters and centimeters, in which I must depict the eyes, nose, lips, and that it was a child, with plump cheeks that he was beautiful. From all that I have embroidered, and this many characters, Jesus was for me a pleasure.” Amazing!

She’s done straw work on garments too:

And isn’t her straw embroidery on fabric stunning?!?

Click here to visit her site and read all about this fascinating form of art ~ and her amazing skill in doing it.

Next I decided to search for information about how she’s adapted her straw technique to make quilts. I found an episode of the Quilt Show in which Ricky Tims interviews Natalia after she’d won her first award in the USA at the IQA show in Houston. To watch the entire interview (and I recommend watching it all) click here!

Natalia creates her straw tubes and stitches her quilts completely by hand. She is truly an amazing, improvisational artist. There are so many talented artists with work on display in Paducah, and I hope you’ve enjoyed “meeting” a few of them.

As I completed this week’s post I realized I have more about our Quilt Week adventure that I want to share. So please stay tuned for next week’s conclusion, and enjoy a closing photo I took along the river.