I was quite honored, to say the least, to have my piece "From a Seed" juried into Quilt National 2013. My husband Matt and I traveled to Athens Ohio to experience the opening weekend festivities. It was cool to actually be able to photograph the quilts. 

"From a Seed" ©Sheila Frampton-Cooper 2012  55" x 41"  Whole cloth painted with thickened fiber reactive dyes. I used paintsticks for additional details.

I wanted to create the feeling of rain falling with my quilting.

This is the original watercolor piece that inspired it. When I paint these, I use a very tiny brush and it's a "very precious" process for me. The other two paintings I've brought into quilt form were done with that same "exacting hand", but for this one, I wanted to let it fly out and be free and loose. 

This is an iconic place, so of course, I had to take the shot that everyone takes!

Here's a snapshot of the dynamic artwork on display.  I wanted to share a lot of work, but I ran out of steam. I'll be adding more to this gallery little by little. 

With Linda Teufel, owner of Dragon Threads Publishing.

This sweet little lady was making the rounds to get her book signed... 

I was thrilled to meet two artists that I greatly admire - Elizabeth Barton and Pamela Allen.

We took a little time off to check out the town... 

We met a few students from Saudi...  

A double dose of "ticket magnet" rental cars. And yes, we did get a ticket, but I wasn't driving! 

Athens is quite tranquil, and very green.

There is a lot of land surrounding the Dairy Barn. It's a really lovely venue!

I was totally blown away! What an honor...  

Libby Lehman chose my quilt, I'm truly humbled. 

For me, one of the highlights of this show has been spending time at the Tentmakers of Cairo Exhibit. I'll be coming home with THREE pieces! I can hardly contain myself! Once again I get to spend time with the amazing Jenny Bowker!  :)

Many more pics to follow...

My experience at Asilomar, while having the honor of being "Artist in Residence" at Empty Spools Seminars, was amazing. Words cannot express the sense of peace I feel when I'm there. 

The beach is very unusual and beautiful. The eco system is very fragile...

I got lost and found this great path.

This is the view outside of the building I was in, Merrill Hall. 

This was the first time I actually saw all of my quilts up at the same time. It was a really nice feeling to be able to share my work and talk about my process. 

Sue Benner sharing her beautiful painted silk. Those are also my quilts on the stage.

My "radiant" friend, Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry. (A newlywed!)

I really enjoyed spending time with Jenny Bowker. What a warm and generous woman! She is sharing work by the Egyptian Tentmakers. She is the driving force exposing their amazing work to the quilting community and beyond. I look forward to seeing the exhibit in Paducah next month! 

And here she is with her breathtaking quilt Arabesque.

Another lady I got to know is the lovely Susan Carlson. I'm very happy to say that I've added one of her small pieces to my collection. It's a beautiful, colorful fish, and I'm so happy to have it! 

This is view from my patio. It is so quiet and serene...

And it's always nice to walk in and find one of these sitting peacefully outside your door. 

This year I had the opportunity to visit the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. Wow.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE UNCROPPED PHOTO SLIDESHOW

What a great time I had experiencing the "behind the scenes" world of setting up a major quilt show. It's a lot of work! Carolyn Reese, Matt Reese and the rest of the team were very supportive, and I certainly appreciated the opportunity and the experience. 

This was my first time curating an exhibit, and of course, I wanted to make sure I was with the quilts at all times. I was there for the set up, take down, and shipping.

The response was great and I was so grateful to have amazing artists and amazing works in this exhibit. It was very well recieved. 

Here is the description: 

"This exhibit will showcase quilts that are inspired by maps, aerial views and topography of actual or imaginary places. It may be somewhere the artist visited or would like to, or a vision from a dream. Imagine yourself in a spacecraft flying over an undiscovered planet, or take a trip into the vastness of an underwater world. We invite you to join us on a fantastic journey of discovery."

The Artists:

Frieda  Anderson, ELGIN, Illinois   Title: Hidden World

Hollis Chatelain, Hillsborough, NC   Quilt #1: Denim Flow  Quilt #2: From Stone

Karen Cunagin, Fallbrook, CA   Title: BLUEPRINT: My Life to Scale

Eileen Doughty, Vienna, VA   Title: Rhapsody Watershed

Lisa  Ellis, Fairfax, VA   Title: Going Green: View From Space

Barbara E Friedman, San Diego, CA Title: The Visit

Valerie S Goodwin, Tallahassee, FL  Quilt #1: African Burial Ground III  Quilt #2: Scattered Archaeologies II

Sherry Davis  Kleinman, Pacific Palisades, CA,   Title: Bird's Eye View:  New York Avenue, Beach Haven, Long Beach Island

Paulette  Landers, Camp Nelson, California   Quilt #1: Between Mars and Galaxia  Quilt #2:Mars: Penstemons Also Grow Here

Cat Larrea and Mark McDermott, Anchorage, AL   Title: Chignik Lagoon

Sandra E. Lauterbach, Los Angeles, CA   Title: Out of the Box

Rodi S Ludlum, Oak Park, CA   Title: Climbing to Higher Ground

Linda  McDonough, Beaver Island, MI   Title: Beaver Island Waterscape

Diana K. Shore, Bell Canyon, CA   Title: Cowpath In The Tundra

Gerri J Spilka and Delia Dungan, Philadelphia, PA   Quilt #1: City Edge #1  Quilt #2: City Edge #2

K. Velis Turan, Earlton, NY   Quilt #1: MidTown A  Quilt #2: Midtown B

Click on the photo to check out an article that was written about the exhibit.

"Off The Wall Fridays"