QuiltCon in depth

activism, Exhibits, joining events

“It takes courage to use, for the first time, an overseas flight”, recognized Irene Roderick @hixsonir, during the breakfast where she kindly invited me, in Raleigh (US), together with other quilters, in a nicely informal eat-together occasion. I was so happy to meet her in person, after the having attended her workshops only from remote. During that discussion, I was explaining that visiting US has not been in my plans ever: I was afraid to go, from my 7.500 miles distant hometown in Italy.

I was convinced to take the plane by the opportunity of attending the QuiltCon 2024 opening lecture by @davidowenhastings and Teresa Duryea Wong @third_floor_quilts who celebrated 20 modern quilts from around the world. Argentina, Guatemala, New Zealand, Korea, Switzerland, France and Italy were represented: you can find the featured quiltmakers on David’s web site here. I am so honored to have been part of the mentioned quilters during this session, attending in presence together with Cecilia Koppmann @ceciliakoppmann, and in the good company of the other mentioned Italian @fabiadelise, whose work I admire so much. I discovered, among others, deeply impressive Korean artists, who give meaning to their quilts with profound care and detail, such as Sung Hye Byun @konnimi who celebrates hometown architectures in a fascinating way, a subject that I love too.

I am grateful to David for having been a “good influence”, inspiring me to visit QuiltCon, and I’m especially happy that he has mentioned that part of me who is an “activist”. My featured work Heat Map is one of my quilts that tell stories of civil action, as I explained on my blog here. I have made other works combined with civil initiatives, such as the one for the petition to save the last savage river in Europe Tagliamento.

“Let’s transform passion into call for action” is a feeling which I shared with Lorraine Woodruff-Long @quiltinginthefog, who I had the pleasure to talk with. How to select striking messages? I started to wonder if my messages remain too hidden, when confined to the artist statements. For her messages, on the contrary, she uses phrases and images so powerful that I could not smile at the photo taken aside her quilt “The Number of Holes”, due to the severity of the addressed subject, but sure I was smiling and happy during our selfie together! Thanks Lorrain for the time spent talking of experiences we both have had, in connecting art and science dissemination, as she did for the Art x Climate Project at the US Global Change Research Program (I’m so proud that quilts can help raising awareness on such topics, as Lorrain’s quilt powerfully did) and I did 20 years ago for the science communication project “Nanoworld” (you can find it mentioned in my bio). I didn’t expect that the visit to QuiltCon could bring to surface my deep past!

Heat map

activism, collaborations, Exhibits

The first episode of the series “The secret lives of quilts” of this Summer is out on Patchworkvictim blog, on its YouTube channel, and here above! This episode talks about the quilt “Heat map” and the fabric I’ve used to make it.

Most of my quilts refer to happiness, beauty, and the delight of nature.
But last Summer, for the first time, I had very strong and opposite feelings. Anger, and pride. My quilting practice could not avoid embedding some of it. These days, while I was making a quilt aimed for the SAQA challenge “Color in context: Red”, I marched in the biggest parade experienced by my city in years: 15.000 persons joined from so many different communities. The tv showed for days videos including my position in the front line of the parade, while I was waving the flag of my labour union; its color was red.

Thanks to SAQA Exhibitions Committee and to juror @judykirpich: I’m honored that my quilt “Heat map” created in that period, has been selected for the SAQA global exhibit “Color in context: Red”!  For this quilt I tried for the first time the longarm service by Giulia Molon @quiltlovestudio: thank you Giulia for finding the perfect thread solution to match with my work.

In this detail picture below, it can be gained a sense of the different red fabrics I’ve used. It was the first time for me to piece red on red, and I discovered that I have some preferred and favorite red among others. Do you have a favorite red too?

Birthday party drawing gallery: April 15th

activism, Exhibits

Did you know that my quilting practice influenced my drawing habits? That my bigger love for spirals during free motion quilting turned into my favorite ink and pen color transition mark?

If you are curious to see my most recent works, where I transform the photos taken while strolling in my hometown by using all sorts of ink on paper, feel free to join my birthday drawing gallery titled “Dreamscapes”: Friday April 15th, exhibit inauguration at 17.30 in “SpazioTrieste” room of via Donizetti 5/A in Trieste. I will bring you through my dreamy visions that appear in my mind during daily walk in the ancient streets. It will follow a party drink, confirmation of your presence is appreciated for booking arrangements.

No birthday gifts needed, but if you really wish to do something, in the gallery room you will find a free offer box, aimed to fundraising for Ukraine refugees by Médecins Sans Frontières, also directly possible through the donation details at this link.

Looking forward to see you at the party: a selection of postcards based on my drawings will be available. And if you are too distant to attend, but you wish to feel the party atmosphere anyway, write me your postal address and I will send a signed postcard to you!

Patchwork and painting group gallery announcement

activism, Exhibits

I’m pleased to announce that a group gallery event is coming soon in Trieste (Italy), dedicated to the two techniques of patchwork and painting, at Atelier dell’arte in Raffineria street 4/c, opening on October 23rd until November 13th.

It is an occasion where multiple streams will be collected: stories of connections from a distance, in a period when people could not meet in person but still wanted to be creative together; the sense of a widening perspective that can be achieved on a canvas when a painter wants to feel in open air while being in stay-at-home mode; the solidarity that can be materialized thanks to the effort of tens of quilters, such as the sewing marathon resulting in a donation to GOAP rescue centre preventing violence against women.

In this venue we had the opportunity to host some examples of the works realized during the challenges launched by Quilt Improv Studio. It is the first opportunity to put together Quilt Improv Studio games participants from the surrounding of the venue site in Trieste, wishing that this be repeated also in the future with a wider participation and related logistics arrangements!

All these happenings will be presented in the gallery “The tales of the needle and the brush”: flyer here below!

The purpose of a charity quilt

activism, collaborations

It’s now time to unveil the destination of the blue and white quilt, result of the beautiful patchwork marathon of previous months, with more than 50 sewing contributors. As promised since the beginning, purpose of the project is to aid the center for protection of women from violence, G.O.A.P. Trieste, which helps women in need since 30 years ago, offering them protection, support, a shelter home.

Thus, we invite you to make donations to G.O.A.P. through their PayPal account: goap.info@gmail.com. The first 90 donations, having value of 20 euro or more, delivered to G.O.A.P. since today with PayPal, will be associated to a number from 1 to 90, chronologically assigned as per order of donation arrival. As soon as all 90 numbers will be assigned, a list with donor name and associated number will be published at the following link of Patchworkvictim blog.

The blue and white quilt will be delivered to the person whose name is associated to the number that will become the first drawn by “Lotto Venice” lottery wheel on April 6th. It is possible to follow, on G.O.A.P. and Patchworkvictim social channels, the moment when the number of 90 donations will be reached, but we hope that this charity quilt project  becomes also an occasion to sensitize people on the importance of supporting structures that help women in need, beyond the possibility to win the quilt.

For clarity purposes, the name and surname of donor (or, as an alternative, the name and surname of another person to whom a donor wishes to dedicate and to assign a possible win) has to be specified in the moment of PayPal donation submission; numbers will be assigned only to donations submitted through PayPal channel. Patchworkvictim will take care of quilt delivery expenses in case the destination address is located within Italy.

Be generous! Reinforcing the activities that help women, done by groups such as G.O.A.P., it is of utmost importance in this complex period of history, and your generosity may be rewarded with a wonderful quilt!

The experience of a community quilt

activism, collaborations

Today, March 8th 2021, it’s the International Women’s Day. And I’m so happy to celebrate it in good company of a wide quilting community!

The social sewing initiative, launched by local quilt shop Patchworkvictim, aimed to create a charity quilt dedicated to the women in need, has just reached its milestone: a wonderful king size quilt has been completed, thanks to the hands of many volunteering participants, and it is full of beauty!

I’m honored to have handled almost two hundred pieces, combining them into a wide improv composition, together with Francesca. It was an occasion to learn more about several people. Francesca’s precious common sense, bringing me again to practicality when I was flying too strange; Tiziana professional ability, which transformed raw material into real thing overnight. And I felt the personality of each participant. The fantasy of so many different improv small creations expressed it well. And also tiny details revealed a lot of the hidden beauty of so much work.

Behind each white and blue square, looking at the back of each work (which I was lucky to access while assembling it all), I could see, like in a movie, the different choices of each participant. Sewing margin linear, or wavy? Pieced curves, with small cuts to let the margin be adapted? Open seams? Closed seams? Margin turned towards the dark fabric side? 

All these contributions found their place, in a double-face king size quilt: it was great to understand how every input, similar or odd from the others, could find a perfect fit in some point of the map! And it was a good gymnastic exercise, for Francesca and myself, to go tens of times up and down the stair, to position all the squares on a gigantic design wall! I admit, it took three appointments in different dates, to decide the final combination, but it was a wonderful dive into fabric waves of light and blue! When I finally took the photo of the completed work, a more than 100 inches tall blue wall, I felt like a queen in front of a tapestry of majestic preciousness.

The charity recipient, local center for protection of women from violence, G.O.A.P., will be involved in the next phase. This combination of secret and explicit beauty will soon find its way: stay tuned to hear more!

To conclude, thanks to the generous partners of the initiative, Aurifil and Cooperativa Torrenuvola.

Quilting marathon colored as a blue sky

activism, collaborations, improv process

I’m happy to announce the start of a social sewing initiative, launched by local quilt shop Patchworkvictim, dedicated to the women and aimed to create a king size charity quilt.

We’ve been talking in the background of this project for several months, and now it’s ready to start. Quite on purpose, the initiative connects two dates, as the start and the finish of a quilting marathon, that are: November 25th 2020, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and March 8th 2021, International Women’s Day. Since my experience of some years ago, when I worked in my city council as a member of gender diversity and equal opportunities committee, I care that not just a single day is used as a celebration for such important themes, but a continuous practice is adopted, together, collaboratively. The charity recipient of this initiative will be a very effective working group: the local centre for protection of women from violence, G.O.A.P., a team well equipped to act both on the cultural change and on the practical needs.

So, here we are! The initiative calls for quilters that contribute by sewing one (or more) squares having 10 inch size each, up to a total of 132 squares. All those pieces shall be made using the technique I love most: improv piecing! I’m so happy to contribute to this project with local discussions on improv, and in the final sewing phase of more than one hundred pieces into a unique quilt top!

Improv can be defined in several ways, but in this occasion its main feature will be: composition! Indeed, participants are invited to experiment with minimalist composition improvisationally done, within own 10” square block. Isn’t it a nice challenge? To try graphic effects with the smallest possible number of elements? Minimalist composition can be both difficult and very simple: how to find elegance with tiny piecing and a wide negative space? There is a lot of room of expression with abstract mark making!

The rules to keep a uniform approach within the overall quilt are simple: use solid background, and choose light blue and white colours. Our quilting marathon looks forward to an arrival into the fresh air of new year Spring, and our community quilt can talk the language of clear white clouds running in a light blue sky!

If you wish to participate, all that is needed is to book your participation writing to info@patchworkvictim.it ; on Patchworkvictim blog all the details of the initiative are presented, including address for block shipment, key dates and initiative contributors.
I’ve already started to make a few improv blocks… come and sew with me!

Tagliamento king of rivers: exhibit vernissage

activism, Exhibits

The virtual gallery, Tagliamento king of rivers, lands on the real world!
The exhibit vernissage will take place in Trieste (Italy), on Saturday September 26th, hosted by Atelier dell’arte, with video live-stream at 18.00 CEST on Facebook page MostraTagliamento (discussion will take place in Italian language).

You will find photo prints on aluminium and acrylic for an immersive experience, quilt wall panels talking of water and sand, all hosted in an elegant Liberty style building, with large rooms that allow distancing; the attendance requires booking.

I’m so glad to host discussion on how to provide statutory protection to Tagliamento river and ecosystem, thanks to event guest Massimo Moretuzzo, regional councilor and primary promoter of the change.org petition aimed to enlist Tagliamento into Unesco Natural World Heritage. A few days have passed since the moment I subscribed the petition on-line, and already some more thousands of supporters have been added. Join us!

It’s not me who entitled Tagliamento as a king. The European relevance of the main alpine river ecosystem is established in scientific literature by German and Swiss researchers, creating the definition “den König der Alpenflüsse“. After reading the article by Tockner et al., “The Tagliamento River: a model ecosystem of European importance“, I understood why the most beautiful photos I took along Tagliamento streams were from the zone between Amaro and Cornino towns: because that area is recognized as the one with highest biodiversity!

Come to see it: you’re invited.

Quilts for a river

activism

Why we quilt? So many are the approaches to expression mediums, that this is the title of a book collecting diverse replies from re-known quilters speaking of the power of art, activism and community. The instances of creativity obviously include political quilts.
Time has come for some of my work to take this role!

May a quilt save a river?
If not one quilt, let’s try with three of them.

As soon as I heard on the media that our beloved main river of the region, Tagliamento, is endangered, all the stories in my memory, and all the material I composed, thanks to my long relationship with the river, joined forces.

I already created three quilts dedicated to Tagliamento river: the first was “King”.

“King” is inspired by the colors of river Tagliamento, said to be king of rivers of the Alps. It’s been, up to now, one of the few rivers in Europe having unaltered stream during all its route, from spring to sea. Recently approved highway construction plan threatens its course!

Tagliamento river water occasionally submerges under the rocks, and re-emerges after a while, a fascinating mechanism due to varying permeability of its riverbed: thus, lower part of composition is blending to white as the colors of river stones.

On “Tumbleweed” quilt, my log cabin piecing looked like the plants that break away from their roots and are driven around by the wind as a light rolling mass. Tagliamento riverbed hosts migrant plants; its natural territory has been subject of important scientific studies.

My most recent quilt is titled “Dam”: this name refers to a moment of play of my son with his friends, on the upper zone of Tagliamento river, accumulating stones in fancy shapes along the water. It was slightly raining but we could not stop staying there. While I climbed the stream towards the spring, I recalled my ancient love for this wonderful river.

Looking for my earlier work which represents my feelings for Tagliamento, was like reconnecting with my inner self: and I found plenty of material.

I wrote a travel diary of riverbed explorations: it is now available at this link, in e-book format.

I dedicated many years to photography: my favorite shots of Tagliamento river are now collected in a virtual gallery.

May this inspire you to act?

Invitation is here: sign the petition on change.org to give Tagliamento statutory protection, by its enlistment as Unesco World Heritage.