Quilts in Color: part 2

This is the second segment in a series about the quilt exhibit at the Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha WI.

January 29-March 25, 2012

6501 Third Ave.

Kenosha, WI  53143

262-653-0481

hours 1-4:00 Tuesday through Sunday

Marcia Stein's work is my subject today.  Marcia is a San Francisco textile artist whose award-winning work has been shown in a number of juried exhibitions at galleries, museums, and quilt shows throughout the country and is included in several public and private collections.  

I have always found large blocks of color in quilts to be most appealing to me.  They make bold statements that make you step back and study and enjoy the work.  As you will see Marcia likes color too. She is the author of a book from C and T called Picture This!  The image on the cover is included in the show.

Quilt by Marcia Stein,  Sidewalk Cafe

The quilt is stunning.  The black and white stripes are of course very graphic, and are machine pieced.  Also umbrellas are always dramatic, even though Marcia's are not opened up.

She says, “While I still enjoy using the geometric shapes of traditional quilt making and the more free-form techniques of contemporary quilt art, my current work focuses on storytelling through appliqué, and for this I call upon my interest in photography.”

“I enjoy seeking out photographic subjects with an eye toward their successful translation into fabric. I like to portray a scene in a representational way yet with a whimsical quality that makes the work smile back at me as I recall the moment I caught the image on film."

Quilt by Marcia Stein,  '52 Pickup

Both of my son's liked this quilt, they used to have a 1995 Dodge pickup. The angle that she used to picture the truck is most interesting. Marcia used a wide variety of fabrics in this one, including some metallic ones. I am sure she had fun creating this quilt.

Quilt by Marcia Stein, French Laundry 

Of all of Marcia's quilts in the exhibit, this one was my favorite.  Laundry isn't my favorite thing to do, but I remember my mother hanging the wash outdoors in the summer when we lived in New Jersey.  My sisters and I would have fun running in and out and around all the sheets and towels.  This setting was inspired by a photo that Marcia took.  You can find it on her website.  The background is just two colors of beige fabric and this creates such a textured and shadowed wall. The laundry hanging on the railing is just wonderful.  The clothing and the shutters behind are hand appliqued. What great detail.

Look at the stitching on the pockets of this pair of pants.

Here is a detail of one of the shutters.

Marcia states, "My current series is based on photographs I took in Santa Fe, Italy, England, and the South of France.”

Ladies in Waiting  and   Gone for a Walk  quilts by Marcia Stein

Gone for a Dip  and   French Laundry  quilts by Marcia Stein

Originally from Chicago, Marcia is a graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She took up quilting in 1992, after a lifelong interest in other needle arts, and has been pursuing her interest in textile art full-time since 1996.

French Shoes by Marcia Stein

 What little girl wouldn't want a pair of shoes like this?  Thank you Marcia for creating such interesting art.

Ann Fahl