For those interested in textiles and the intersection of fiber and art, mark your calendar for the newest art show entitled Vivid: Expressions in Cloth at Eastport’s Breakwater Gallery beginning Friday, August 17th. The show opens with a reception from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. with Gail McGlamery on hand to introduce her art quilts, meet attendees, and answer questions about her work.
Gail began in traditional quilting, picking it up from her mother, but quickly moved toward more non-traditional and contemporary designs and fabric choices. “I do still enjoy making the typical quilt, but if I sit down to do so, I tend to favor scrap quilts and patchwork that allow for a wide variety of color and pattern. However, I find art quilting exhilarating because there is freedom to have an idea or feeling, begin to choose fabrics from my stash, and let the creative process flow,” she explains.
Her art quilts are rarely the product of a singular and unchanging concept from beginning to end. Rather, they evolve from a sketch, an observation, a combination of fabrics, and/or an emotion or idea needing expression. “Sometimes, I feel I’m making most of the choices and using the fabric as a medium, much like paint. Other times, it is more about what the fabric is telling me to do with it. Designs can take a while to take form depending on if the right energy and conversation, if you will, are occurring.” She adds jokingly, “I have a lot of partially finished projects.”
Gail almost exclusively creates abstract pieces, employing a calculated use of color, contrast, line, and shape to create impact, emotion, and movement. True to the exhibit’s title, the art quilts for this show feature saturated colors, in complimentary and analogous arrangements, that energize as well as calm. The unique feature of art quilts is to add an additional layer of design, communicating something more, with the style of quilting stitches and color of thread, making it more than simply holding the pieces together.
The show’s opening reception coincides with August’s Art Walk, a recurring event in Eastport scheduled on the 3rd Friday of the months of June through September. During the Art Walks, restaurants, shops and galleries along Water Street stay open later. The event affords the public a chance to stroll along the historic waterfront and enjoy seeing, and maybe buying, the work of local artisans.
OPENING NIGHT IMAGES
[nggallery id=4]
