When I made this stylised, colour-coded calendar work Timelines#1:Remember the Date! early in 2010, I knew I was in for an exhilarating year. Here are some of the highlights:
BRENDA GAEL SMITH CONTEMPORARY QUILTS
- My contemporary textile works were juried into the AP&Q AQC Challenge – Remember; The New Quilt 2010; PETITE Miniature TEXTILES at Wangaratta exhibitions Gallery, Victoria; One Step Further and Australia Wide Two. I also participated in member exhibitions – the Sydney QUilt Show and Canberra Quilters’ exhibition.;
- I undertook my first art quilt commission – Desire Lines #6: Spark!; and
- Grass was selected for publication in 500 Art Quilts and Dreamlines #1: Magic Carpet and Acacia Bloom featured in 1000 Artisan Textiles.
SERENDIPITY PATCHWORK & QUILTING
- A fresh new logo for my teaching and quilt design business and this blog was launched in February 2010;
- I shared the joy of colour, patchwork and quilting with hundreds of students at workshops and demonstrations at Material Obsession, the Australasian Quilt Convention (April), Be Creative by the Sea (May), Textile Art Festival (June), Quilt Encounter (July) and private groups such Lakeside Quilters, Lyn Rose Quilters and Bay Quilters;and
- my Neapolitan quilt project made the cover of Quilters Companion magazine.
- Created six official contributions for the Twelve by Twelve Colorplay series and umpteen ancillary works along the way;
- toured with the Twelve by Twelve exhibition to the Australasian Quilt Convention (April – Melbourne), Textile Art Festival (June – Brisbane) and the Craft & Quilt Fairs in Hamilton and Christchurch, New Zealand (September) as well as sharing the collection of 144 art quilts with my local community at the Gosford Regional Gallery;
- coordinated international media coverage of our project including this article in the Epoch Times in June – Quilting “Twelve by Twelve“;
- liaised with our publishers Lark Books and currently savouring the new book smell of an advance copy of Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge due to be released in March but available for pre-order now.
QUILTING COMMUNITY
I completed a year back on the committee of The Quilters Guild of NSW Inc as Sponsorship & Publicity Manager and my second year as Secretary of Ozquilt Network Inc. I’ve now stepped down from these roles but continue with website administration for both organisations (including a complete overhaul of the Guild website in December) and on the exhibition subcommittee for the Sydney Quilt Show.
FAMILY & FRIENDS
- Celebrated the start of the new year with David’s family in snowy Pittsburgh;
- joined my five siblings and partners (and my niece Sasha) as we visited our parents in New Zealand for Easter;
- took some time out with David to explore the wine country in South Australia – Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, Victor Harbour, McLaren Vale and Adelaide;
- revelled in the fantastic new storage space that David built me over the winter as my Christmas present;
- utilised the guest room for family and friends often – but not often enough
- made new friends and reacquainted with old friends via www.facebook.com/brendagaelsmith; and
And that’s just a summary. No wonder New Year’s Day 2011 finds me chilling out on the beach!
Suzi says
Brenda: So inspiring…making my first baby quilt this week. Will send you a pic…Zan sends his love!!