COME FLY WITH ME 2021 39H x 39W

ARTIST STATEMENT—As a quilt teacher I travel a lot. Once in a while I get bumped to first class on Alaska Airlines. The upholstery that covers the wall between the hostess station and the first row of seats has always intrigued me. This quilt is a combination of the palette and graphic design of that upholstery, and the traditional quilt star block called the Sun Ray Star.

GROUNDED
“Do not try to save the world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently, until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it. Only then, will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.” Martha Postlewaite

In the summer, I want to spend as much time as I possibly can in McCarthy, Alaska. McCarthy is located in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park which happens to be the biggest and youngest national park in the USA. Its borders touch Canada, and the landscape features some of the tallest peaks in North America along with volcanoes and glaciers. Breathtaking beauty is just on the other side of our cabin’s front door. I consider myself very fortunate to have had my life shaped by this wilderness.

Everything slows down while I am here. Mostly this is about being off the grid and the wiley weather of a northern climate. My daily trajectory is always at the whim of the weather. Sunshine means plenty of solar for the iron to stay on all day. Clouds mean conservation, and rain means mud among other not so pleasant things.

Things that we take for granted in the city come to fruition only through tedious labor in this backwoods mountain community. I ride my bike to get mail and I take a shower in a bucket in the back of our woodshed. I stay warm by building a fire or putting on another layer. I wear my headlamp as I venture outside at 3AM to use the loo.

ALL power is self generated. Locals must get with it and do the work, or find themselves stuck in a chilly layer of muck. I love the—“Howdy Neighbor” community of McCarthy, the challenging landscape, and the complete necessity to generate your own power. Power as in solar. Power as in determination and desire. Need to move a building? Figure it out.

Okay, as a big aside, I should clearly mention that my ability to stay out here is largely because I have a most excellent husband who is willing to emPOWER me to do so. I may gather kindling, but he cleans the chimney. 

As much as I love it out here, I somehow, in the middle of the winter always decide to say yes to some engagement that leads me outside on a plane instead of down the McCarthy Road to our cabin, and this summer was no exception.

Still, I got my dose. I finished a quilt. I started a new weird morning routine where I roll out of bed and out the door for a morning walk without stopping to brush my teeth, make my bed, or drink coffee. Hopper, the dog who hates coffee and dislikes domestic tasks, loves this.

What I am always hoping for during my weeks in McCarthy is to find my ground. To feel centered and moving on my right path. To let the stress go. To fly away even further into the wilderness. This year I was lucky enough to overnight at the Wrangell Plateau! 

It was hard this year. Mostly because while I was hiding out building fires and biking through the woods, deadlines loomed large. Since I cracked my head in January, I have been feeling a bodily need to slow down. To make what I do in McCarthy be what I do all the time. 

What the heck does that look like? I don’t know, but I am on a mental walkabout to figure it out.

NEWS AND EVENTS

ROUND & ROUND—Improv Medallion Quilts—STARTS ON MONDAY!!!!

Monday September 23 & 30 and October 7 & 28, 2024
6PM—9PM East Coast Time

This workshop is all about playing with concepts of radial symmetry within the classic medallion quilt structure. Students will learn about medallion quilts, how to piece improv units so that they are approximately the same size and will fit together to form a border, how to do intuitive math, and how to create asymmetrical symmetry, while stitching a super satisfying medallion masterpiece.

CIRCLE AND CURVE SAMPLER WEEKEND INTENSIVE

Saturday & Sunday, September 28 & 29
1PM-5PM Eastern Time

A complete discussion of all the ways you can improvisationally PIECE circles and curves. From braided curves to log cabin circles, students will be led through a series of demos about non-linear improvisational piecing techniques and ideas for taking these techniques and creating original quilts. During the class, students create a collection of circle and curve quilt blocks–great for a sampler, such as the Round & Round class.

ART QUILT TAHOE

November 3-8, 2024
PATTERN IN THE WILD

In this workshop, students will explore simple and complex pieced pattern. We will investigate the use of pattern across cultures, while also educating ourselves on how to create our own individualized pieced pattern work, and incorporate that work into authentic quilt compositions. It is recommended that students are familiar with the book Improv Patchwork—Dynamic Quilts Made with Line & Shape by Maria Shell or have taken a previous workshop with Maria Shell.

NOTE—AQT is a personal favorite when it comes to quilting retreats—the people, the landscape, the environment—it is all so very, very AWESOME!

STUDIO SNAPSHOT

I finished a quilt which means I have a whole new pile of leftovers to work with. This is a double edged situation.  

FLASHBACK PHOTO

Ten years ago in September I arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina for a two month residency at the McColl Center for Art and Innovation! My hope is to share many more photos of this incredible experience, but we will start with this one. I spent a lot of time digging through fabric at this cool upcycled upholstery store. If you know the name of this place, please let me know. 

May you fly high and ground safely with your luggage waiting for you at the carousel. 

Maria