September somehow turned out to be art month for me because I went to three different art-themed events and probably spent a few hundred dollars supporting artists and feeding my soul with so many lovely images. I don’t know about you, but with the pandemic still around and all the other depressing news I hear every day on NPR, life can sometimes feel downright depressing. But I felt like all was right with the world when surrounded by all the beauty I saw at the two festivals I attended over Labor Day weekend.
The first festival is just a little annual affair held in downtown Hilliard that I’ve attended on and off since moving here in 2004. Funnily enough I was just skimming the weekly Hilliard newsletter and saw the listing for the Old Hilliardfest. I was contemplating attending when my sister texted me and asked if I was interested in going with her. Decision made then! I met her at her house and we walked over to downtown Hilliard, then spent the next couple of hours or so browsing the various art vendors and local businesses which had set up tables on Main Street.
As per usual I quickly surpassed my sister’s spending with my weakness for jewelry. I especially couldn’t resist the pendants made up of excess layers of paint from the Ford factory in Detroit. I love when my pieces have a provenance, so I scooped up a couple of the more interesting ones and walked away a happy customer.
Probably the best part of the morning consisted of a free lunch and dessert compliments of Ross Realty. Don’t mind if I do! I have definitely seen their signs as a couple of my neighbors are using them to sell their houses, and I think both are in contract, so Ross must be good. I love freebies and my sister and I both accepted free bags, pens, and disc Frisbees, so we snagged some pretty decent swag!
On Labor Day my husband and I attended the only major festival that was still being held (during the Pandemic) down here in central Ohio – that being the annual Upper Arlington Arts Festival. They have over 100 artists spread out all over Northam Park.
Like most years, it was pretty sweaty walking around and I probably should have worn shorts, but it wasn’t that hot when we left (but you definitely warm up after the long walk from wherever you parked on the street to the actual location of the festival). At least my husband had the foresight to bring a bottle of water. We went through at least a couple and could have done with a third.
Also, as per usual, about halfway through I felt like I had visited them all until I looked up and realized we were only about halfway through. It would probably have been better for my wallet if I had quit then, but we always soldier on, and I think we ended up browsing most of the stalls (skipping anything aimed at children or dog lovers I suppose).
Did I mention I love jewelry? I bought an interesting circular necklace (with my husband’s approval) with an iridescent pearl dangling from the center at a booth early on, so that was my token jewelry purchase.
Aside from a few small items (some magnets, a miniature vase and a smallish plant stand), my favorite purchase was from Dexter’s Cat (who also have an Etsy shop) retro cat prints booth. I’m pretty sure I spent at least a half hour looking through the various bins of 11” x 17” prints featuring cats in miscellaneous mid-century modern designs. Anyone who knows me knows how much I luuuuve mid-century modern!
I’m an old soul and probably should have been born a few decades earlier (but I would honestly miss my cell phone, as much as I hate to admit that). It was a painstaking (probably more for my husband than me) effort trying to narrow down my selection to half a dozen. It went up once I learned prints were only $5 a piece). I have yet to actually hang up any of them, but I plan to at some point.
I always leave feeling both a little intimidated and jealous of the caliber of talent the artists in attendance have. I doubt I could produce a single item that would even compare to any of their masterpieces. Still, I always feel inspired and sometimes spend the afternoon making art of some sort (though I didn’t this year since we had vacation planning to do for an upcoming trip out of state).
The most recent art event I attended was an art reception at the Concourse Gallery inside the Upper Arlington Municipal Center held on Thursday. I can’t even remember the last time I attended an art reception. Of course the enticement of free food and drinks is somewhat of a draw as well, but would not be the reason I would turn up to look at mediocre art.
Frauke Palmer’s photo quilts were anything but mediocre. It sells them short to call them amazing, but there’s not enough adequate adjectives to describe her incredible works of art (I did hear at least one other patron call them awesome). I told her I had never seen a photo quilt previously and she said she rarely has, and certainly nothing like hers.
The description of the exhibit says, “Inspired by the mountains and canyons of the Southwest. Frauke Palmer prints her own fabric using personal photographs and transforms them into quilts, creating her own personal world on fabric. Experience Palmer’s combined love of nature and art at this upcoming exhibit.”
The first interesting fact I learned was why she chose to print her photos on fabric, rather than go the traditional route of quilt making by sewing together various scraps of material. This was because of the difficulty she had finding material in the various shades and tones of colors of what was captured in the photos. Necessity may be the mother of invention, and I’m glad it is because I’m not sure her quilts would have been nearly as awe-striking had they been created the other way. I guess that’s part of what makes a great artist is out-of-the-box thinking.
Palmer’s quilts aren’t simply just photos printed and sewn done and dusted, but some have smaller pieces adding a level of detail that is easy to overlook if just walking past, like in Rock Sandwich. At first glance it looks a bit like a stack of bricks, but there are smaller photos sewn in on a few of the rectangular brick-like pieces.
Her intricate stitching shouldn’t be overlooked either. Someone asked whether she had a quilting (sewing) machine with a long arm. She said she didn’t, which one would think might make it a bit more difficult to maneuver the material, but she obviously makes it work for her. Someone complimented how nicely stitched the various shapes are and asked how she manages to get them so perfect. She said it just takes practice (and probably lots of patience along the way).
I also heard some of the visitors discussing their interpretation of what some of the more abstract designs reminded them of. I think there was universal agreement on some, but others a lot less so. Palmer has named them all, but the names don’t always give away the subject matter.
There was one called Grand Ensemble some of us were wondering about as regards the subject matter. I asked Palmer if it was a dissected photo(s) of the Grand Canyon, and it is, indeed. The story behind it is that the photos were taken on a very cold January morning at sunrise (at the south rim). I asked her if they had the place pretty much to themselves being the off-season and all. She said not really because there were also several other photographers there. This proves that she also has the motivation and determination to endure waking up in the dark and then standing out in the cold hoping for the perfect shot, or at least enough good photos to work with. She was obviously successful because her quilt looks amazing with the various layers representing the yellows, oranges and reds as they slowly revealed themselves on that chilly morning.
