It’s art week here at Quilts & Creativity, in honor of my upcoming talk at the Ann Litrel gallery in Woodstock. I dropped off the quilts today and got a behind-the-scenes tour from Ann, and her gallery is gorgeous. Her paintings are luscious and color-rich.

I’ll be talking about my color inspiration, how I approach color in my art, and how color in quilts is truly unique from other art forms.  Join us for a fun night out on Friday, July 3 at 7p.m.  Woodstock will be hosting its monthly Friday Night Live, where shops, restaurants and merchants stay open late until 9p.m.  It’s a great family night out for everyone.

I also attended the Big Canoe Fine Art Show and was delighted with the vibrant colors, shapes, and textures contained in the exhibit.  I’ll be sharing photos with you each day, revolving around a theme.  Today is sculpture, Wed. will be glass, Thursday will be wood, and Friday will be quilts, Gee’s Bend quilts to be exact.  Don’t miss a single day!

Here are some of the sculptures by local artist Eric Strauss of Ellijay, GA:

Artful gate.

Gate detail.  The roses look like you could pluck them right off the gate.

Reminiscent of Leonardo’s horse.

Whimsical birds in a fountain.  The gurgling water sounded meditative.

This sculpture greeted us as we drove toward the Art Show home.

Oversized apple and pear, with blown-glass and metal sculptures in background.

This bowl radiated color and light.

Mother and child.

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing glass pieces from the show.  Enjoy – and stop by for a visit if you live in north Georgia.  It’s gorgeous in the mountains right now!

First impressions mean a lot, and I was greeted with a feast of color and a warm welcome as I entered Sew Bee It quilt shop in Ringgold, GA.  Owner Gloria Black gave me a warm hug, introduced me to her fantastic staff, and gave me a tour around her incredible shop.

If I worked at Gloria’s shop, I’d be broke all the time, because every dime of my paycheck would go for the fabric she offers.  Tons of Kaffe Fasset, Amy Butler, Meinke, dupioni silk, beautiful threads and embellishments.  And the samples.  Lots of samples!  And book! I could go on, but you get the idea.  Gorgeous stuff.

We had about 70 quilters attend the lecture on color – a packed house for a small quilt shop!

I will definitely visit again when I have time for some retail therapy.  Until then, next stop:  Sew Much Fun in Columbus, GA!

All we were missing was a glass of iced tea as I gave my Color Mastery on the front porch of Magical Threads in Dahlonega, GA.  Pictured here with me are Betty, LeAnn, Anita, Cheri, and DeLynn.  Anita and LeAnn were just starting out as quilters, having made several baby quilts, while Cheri and DeLynn were art quilters.  And they were all thrilled to learn how they can each use their favorite colors in their own quilts, even though they all like different colors and have unique styles.

I’ll be away from home and the computer as I travel to middle and south Georgia this weekend and early next week, and promise more tour photos and news to come!