Lemonade Day 26: Pursuing the Art Cloth Dream - Quilt Festival

We're making Community Lemonade in Long Beach.  Come and make lemonade with us!

!  I'm on a 100-day odyssey for community and creativity in Long Beach.  We've got such an amazing city, and I'm a huge fan.  I'm seeking out the creatives and the facilitators of creativity, the art and the locations that inspire art.

I call it .

To my friends who have followed this from the beginning... You will know I planned a break after Lemonade days 25, 50, 75.  However, I am having so much fun, and the train is moving very fast.  I have decided to continue on without breaks.

Today was Day 26 of Making Lemonade.  I visited the International Quilt Festival and met some makers, learned about their cool products and saw some absolutely amazing art quilts.

Only in Long Beach - walking from my free parking spot a bit away from the Long Beach Convention Center (LBCC), I was stopped as there was an ad for a 2013 Nissan car being filmed at 1st and Elm. Taking photos of the car, I noticed a sign for summer camps in clay.  Cool, I thought.  The store was open so I wandered in.  Looking left, I saw... some familiar faces from Lowell Elementary School!  Hello guys!

Then back on track to the International Quilt Show.

I was excited to attend the show, because I've been dreaming of a makerspace dedicated to making Art Cloth.  What is that?  It's the embellishment of fabric with paints, dyes, inks, stencils, stamps (preferrably home made and using upcycled or natural objects).  It can include dimensionalizing of the fabric with more fabric and other materials.  Plastics, zippers, foams.  Shared use silkscreening equipment, die cutters for paper.  I've got some old Japanese stencils used for making kimono designs (and a friend who has TONS more) and an Indonesian wood block.  Any technique used anywhere for fabric patterning would be fair game.  It doesn't have to be practical.

But first, I need some techniques.  I've been getting copies of the magazine Quilting Arts, and have purchased some of the books recommended.  Still, it's sort of like cleaning fleece or carding wool.  You know what you're supposed to do, but until you actually do it, it's a bit intimidating.

Now, I had no idea what to expect when I attended the show.  I quilt, so I'm going to the International Quilt Festival.  But you don't really have to quilt or even sew to appreciate the many art quilt pieces displayed on the gallery side of the showroom.

Art Show

Guilds from all over the country have gathered with exhibits of their members' work.  Themed displays, three dimensional quilt pieces, a really adorable display of 3-D houses, each by a different artist, made of fabric.  Absolutely beautiful examples of art cloth in all different sizes, mixing colors and patterns in cohesive, interesting ways.  Perhaps you read my January post on .

My favorite part, by far, was the 3D sculptural Artist Village.  The village consists of homes, each one done by a different fabric artist.  The video does a walkaround of the village.

The Quilts on the Wall guild of Fiber Artists put together one of the many galleries.  The theme was "Black and White with a twist".  Scenes, close-ups, patterns, words, all starkly done in black and white.  The guild meets in Seal Beach once every other month.

The Studio Art Quilt Associates, an international network of over 3000 quilt artists, curators, teachers, collectors, galleries also presented a large numer of art quilt pieces.  I met founder Yvonne Porcella (Modesto) and member Sandy Henkins (Murietta).

Art Fabric Techniques

For techniques, you can choose to take a class from a well known fabric artist, participate in the 1 hour workshops on the showroom floor, or find a product vendor that wants to show you how to use their cool product. 

For this first day, I chose to find what I could on the showroom floor while deciding what classes I might poke my head in on tomorrow.  There are two that I think are interesting on the "Create on the Spot" series - all classes are $10.00 - Fee includes materials. Easy Metal Embossing with Pam Damour (3:00-4:00 pm, $10.00) and Design your Own Fabric with Embellishment Village (4:15-5:15 pm).

Patti, owner of Long Beach store, Two Hearts too Kind chats about her store.

Christina of Tessler Stamp (West Covina), did a nice demo with the Cuttlebug paper die cutter.

Susan Herman, quilt designer at Jaybird Quilts (San Diego) talks about her new book.

Esterita Austin (fiber artist & instructor) and Maker Iris (New York), who together invented Mistyfuse discussed the product.  Mistyfuse is a never tacky, ultra light yet sewable fusible for quilting, transfers and more (made in the USA).

The Gonzalez who created product Retro Clean and Retro Wash, for making age-old linens and sweat-stained shirts look new.

Tidbits, Things, Trails

• I got a nice butterfly cutout from Christina of Tessler Stamp.
• I'm so tempted to shop!  But... I can't it's against the rules of .  What would I buy? A 10 yd package of Mistyfuse, some fabric inks from Tessler Stamps, a die cutter and some dies.  Love those fingertip paint sponges!

Next up? 

Lots going on today:  The Long Beach Steel Drum School is open at 2232 Atlantic from 11:00 until the band gets tired of playing.

Heading up to the GLASG meeting to pick up a loaner drum carder (got lots of wool to card, now that I know how).

And... Last, but definitely not least...

The International Quilt Festival continues Saturday and Sunday.  There are some great classes that started yesterday, and will continue on through Sunday.  Saturday classes, Sunday classes, Monday tour.

July 28: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.  July 29: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.  Ticket prices: $10 daily adult, $8 seniors & students, Children 10 and under free.

Want more lemonade? 

Need to contact me?  info@handmadepenguin.com

Note: Videos of MistyFuse demonstrations were removed at the request of the company.

Trish Tsoiasue writes as herself about creative and maker topics for the Belmont Shore Patch and as Handmade Penguin for the Handmade Penguin Blog.