A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, CO and highlighted some of the antique quilts from their permanent collection that were on display. In this blog I will feature six quilts from the special exhibit, Evolutions: Third biennial quilt challenge. These quilts were juried by Dr. Sandra Sider and the challenge was sponsored in part by eQuilter.com and a grant from the International Quilt Association. The evolution theme could be interpreted in any way, however it inspired the quilt makers.

At the molecular level I was drawn to both of these quilts. Living Fossils, on the left was made by Charlotte Bird of San Diego, CA. “Time, process and change are persistent themes in my work. The patterns of the natural world, particularly lichens, mosses and ferns interest me.” On the right is Purkinje by Betty Busby from Albuquerque, NM. “Purkinje fibers surround the heart and help it beat properly. I’ve used non woven material and mesh to form the shapes of the fibers, combined with a hand quilted and painted hemp background.”

Seascape by Carol Ann Waugh of Denver, CO is part of a series in which she used couching, decorative machine stitching and hand embroidery to create texture on her hand-dyed cotton fabrics. From a distance it looks like a painting. Amani, by Barbara Yates Beasley of Boulder, CO also looks like a painting until you get up close. Barbara says, “I have a love affair with animals. They have been the inspiration for my quilting over the last few years. I am always fascinated by the expressions on the faces and especially the life in their eyes.”

I liked these two tree quilts. In both, there is a wonderful perception of depth. On the left, Velvet Shadows, by Marianne Williamson from Miami, FL. “Quilts have evolved to the point that they now can be paintings made from cloth, paint and thread. I dyed, discharged, and painted silk, velvet, and cotton for texture so that the shadows on the rocky hill would come alive.” Fall Colors, by Linda Jean Strand from Aurora, CO resonated with me because these yellows were all around when I was there. Most of the aspens had already dropped their leaves, but I saw a few like this in sheltered places in the mountains and the cottonwoods were in full golden glory. Linda says, “The seasons allow nature to evolve on an annual basis. This quilt was inspired by a trip over Rabbit Ears Pass in September, when the atmosphere seemed to glow. This piece was the first in my journey to evolve as an artist, moving from using all digital images to a combination of digital and artist-created fabrics.”