Author: Mary Vaneecke

Yes, I have been Mending II (A Little Travesty)

Posted on April 25, 2017May 2, 2023 by Mary Vaneecke

Hazel Hall’s poem ‘Mending’ reveals mending as a subversive act, an act of defiance, ‘a little travesty.’ Those who disagree with the current administration must put aside our shock and grief at the loss for what we thought America was, and fight for American ideals, to mend what is broken in this country.

Those who work in textiles have a long history of political activism. Like Betsy Ross. Or Madame Defarge. Watch Threads of Resistance for many political art quilts, or little travesties.

Yes, I have been Mending II, 32 x 33.5” 2017

The full text of the poem is here:

Mending

Hazel Hall

Here are old things:
Fraying edges,
Ravelling threads;
And here are scraps of new goods,
Needles and thread,
An expectant thimble,
A pair of silver-toothed scissors.
Thimble on a finger,
New thread through an eye;
Needle, do not linger,
Hurry as you ply.
If you ever would be through
Hurry, scurry, fly!
Here are patches,
Felled edges,
Darned threads,
Strengthening old utility,
Pending the coming of the new.
Yes, I have been mending …
But also,
I have been enacting
A little travesty on life.

No Censorship at THIS quilt show!

Posted on February 27, 2017September 21, 2020 by Mary Vaneecke

The Tucson Quilters Guild Quilt Fiesta! 2017 is all over, but this one was even more interesting that usual for me. One of the show co-chairs confided in me that my entry Abuela Reads the Headlines caused some controversy at the quilt show. Apparently at least two people asked that it be removed from the show show. Here is a pic of the piece:

quilt by Mary Vaneecke — Abuela Reads the Headlines, 55” x 84”

I believe the controversial part is the 2015 headlines from mainstream media that appear on the quilt. They are:

U.S. looks to detain more mother, child migrants, sometimes for months

Judge blasts ICE, says immigrant children, parents in detention centers should be released

Border detention of children shames America

And, what is for me, the kicker:

Cribs replace bunks at new immigrant detention center

But my quilt was not the only one to cause a stir. My friend Sandy Lambert had an incredible piece called ‘Lest We Forget.’ It is entirely hand quilted and embroidered with quotations by Republican presidential candidates, along with tombstones with the various dates of their campaigns’ demise.

quilt by Sandy Lambert — Lest We Forget, by Sandy Lambert.

Lest We Forget, by Sandy Lambert, detail.

Several people confronted the show co-chair, Reilly Zoda and asked (perhaps demanded?) that the quilts be removed from the show due to their political content. She said that there was a Quilt of Valor at the show (and that was a political quilt), and a patriotic Baltimore Album quilt, and that was political, and if the show was going to censor political quilts, they would have to take them all down. What a brilliant response.

I am so proud that the show chairs refused to remove the ‘offending’ quilts. They were courageous in refusing to censor free expression at the show. We all know women have long expressed their hopes, dreams, and political beliefs in quilts, and the Tucson Quilters’ Guild honored that part of our tradition this weekend. The actions of the TQG stand in stark contrast the actions of the AQS over a quilt by Kathy Nida. (If you are unfamiliar with the case, google it, or click here, here, and here.)

Our foremothers would be proud!

I am holding my breath, however. I fear that this will be a hot topic at the next board meeting, and there may be a new policy in place for next year…. I will keep you posted.

I know from experience that the guild will hear 10 negative comments for each positive one. If you agree with their decision to allow ‘political’ quilts in the show, please let them know!

Subversive Stitching is Alive and Well in San Jose

Posted on January 27, 2017June 4, 2017 by Mary Vaneecke

I just had to tell you all about my all-to-brief trip to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. I was invited to give my artist talk, Confessions of a Subversive Stitcher, on the closing weekend of Art Cloth Network’s Anything Goes show. My fellow ACN member Connie Tiegel picked me up at the airport–and brought cake for the reception! I had never been to the museum, and I was so eager to see how it compares to some of the other quilt museums I have been to.

The first thing I noticed was the space. The galleries are incredible! There are multiple large galleries with great lighting, and tall, tall ceilings. They highlighted another show, THE CALIFORNIA ART QUILT REVOLUTION: FROM THE SUMMER OF LOVE TO THE NEW MILLENNIUM. That show included work from Kathleen Sharp, who currently resides in my hometown, Tucson. The show was an eye opener for me. Did you know, for instance, that subversive stitchers were quilting with dryer lint back in the 70s and 80s? I did not know that!

I was able to tag along on a tour the Curator of Collections Nancy Bavor gave of the ‘back room.’ We saw lots of acid-free boxes neatly labeled with accession numbers and such and learned the rare circumstances under which a piece can be de-accessioned. There was an area where all incoming textiles were quarantined for 2 weeks before being unpacked. Why? Bugs! Nancy looks for any evidence of insects that could infest the rest of the collection before they can do any damage. Who knew? Nancy is also a quilt historian, and was kind enough to compliment me on my knowledge of quilt history. It’s an important part of my talk, so I was relieved to hear it.

Curator of Collections Nancy Bavor and I chat at the closing reception of Anything goes at the SJMQT.

The Executive Director, Joan Phillips, is delightful. She is so enthusiastic about the museum’s greater focus on art quilts, including political works. The museum has big plans and is growing, it now has its second artist-in-residence, Cristina Velazquez. I met her was able to see some of her knitted work. Check her out on Instragram here.

Anything Goes looked fabulous in person. The next best thing is to click on the link and see the show digitally. Its next stop is the Kirkland Arts Center in Clinton, NY. Be there, or be square!

Yes, I Have Been Mending

Posted on October 11, 2016September 3, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

My latest art quilt, Yes, I Have Been Mending was inspired by 2 ideas. One is Hazel Hall’s poem, Mending. I recently discovered her poetry through Poets.org’s Poem-a-Day program. It is great to have a poem delivered to my in-box every day. I don’t always read it, but it is there! Hall used stitch imagery in several of her poems, so I was delighted to read her work.

The second idea that inspired me was the visible mending trend. It’s a lot like it sounds, but check out the link or Pinterest for some examples. ‘Yes, I Have Been Mending’ uses several gorgeous layers of hand-dyed silks, which I layered with eco-felt. And then I took an Exacto knife and sand paper to it to create holes. A bit of a travesty, but that is part of the poem! I then patched the red quilt with green thread and some more hand-dyed silks.

My favorite line in Mending is the last. The complete text of the poem is below:

Mending

Hazel Hall

'Yes, I Have Been Mending,' detail — ‘Yes, I Have Been Mending,’ detail

Haiku II

Posted on September 1, 2016May 2, 2023 by Mary Vaneecke

Haiku II is a visual interpretation of its namesake Japanese literary artform . Translucent silk fabrics were dyed using the Japanese shibori technique itajime, then layered with synthetic fabrics and machine stitched. Photography by Jack Kulawik.

But I could hardly name an art quilt Haiku and not write a poem for it, now could I? So here goes:

Haiku II

Take two images.

Separate and relate them.

It’s not so simple.

Winner of an Honorable Mention at the Studio Art Quilt Associates – Arizona Chapter 2017 exhibition, Exposures.

Haiku II, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke. 54.5'' x 41'' — Haiku II, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke. 54.5” x 41”

Haiku III

Posted on August 31, 2016May 2, 2023 by Mary Vaneecke

Haiku III

The silk remembers

The loom, the folds, the needle,

The thread, and the flame.

Shibori is a Japanese word for creating pattern on fabric. In the shibori process, many items can be used–folds, clamps, string, needle and thread. Haiku III is a visual interpretation of the poetic literary art form. Translucent silk fabrics were dyed using the itajime and machine-stitched Katano shibori. They were layered and machine stitched with burned raw edges. While the four complexly dyed fabrics relate to one another, each is beautiful in its own right. Photo by Jack Kulawik.

Haiku III, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke, 38'' x 46'' — Haiku III, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke, 38” x 46”

Haiku I

Posted on August 30, 2016September 3, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

Haiku I became a study of sorts for a larger work (Haiku II) and launches a new series. Both feature hand-dyed sheer silk fabrics over-layed with synthetic sheers, and machine stitched. This allows for a fascinating interplay between colors, values, and repeating shapes. Haiku I is more intense, and reminds me of a Rorschach test, if you had double vision. The namesake poetry, and the dyeing technique, shibori, are both Japanese.

Of course, I had to write a haiku to celebrate this new series.

Haiku I

Two colors: red, black

Layered to affect the mood–

Simple yet complex.

Frozen in Time II

Posted on August 29, 2016September 3, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

Frozen in Time II is a translucent art quilt that incorporates many hand-worked and underappreciated vintage crochet pieces layered between hand-dyed sheer fabrics. It hangs away from the wall to allow for shadow play behind the piece. Rust-dyed and machine stitched. This was included in the Visions Art Museum show, Iterpretations: Conversations exhibition. Photo by Jack Kulawik.

Frozen in Time II is perhaps an elegy for lost arts and loved ones.

Frozen in Time II, 50'' x 34'' by Mary Vaneecke — Frozen in Time II, 50” x 34” by Mary Vaneecke

Frozen in Time I

Posted on August 27, 2016August 28, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

Frozen in Time I, with detail. (Photo by Jack Kulawik). This new art quilt combines new hand-dyed silk fabrics with vintage handworked crochet (makers unknown). Rust dyed, layered and stitched on eco-felt.

This piece continues a new series utilizing under-appreciated handwork of unknown makers.

Frozen in Time I by Mary Vaneecke. 43.5'' x 34.5'' 2016. — *Frozen in Time I* by Mary Vaneecke. 43.5” x 34.5” 2016.

Frozen in Time I by Mary Vaneecke detail — Frozen in Time I, detail. By Mary Vaneecke

Frozen in Time III

Posted on August 23, 2016September 3, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

This art quilt, Frozen in Time III, is hand-dyed, rust-dyed silk fabrics, layered with vintage hand-worked textiles and stitched. 24” x 33”

Northern Lights

Posted on August 23, 2016September 3, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

Northern Lights, a vintage linen napkin (maker unknown), has been painstakingly folded, stitched, and hand-dyed in a mandala-type design.

Northern Lights, by Mary Vaneecke. 18'' x 18'' Hand-dyed vintage linen napkin, layered and stitched. Stretched on a frame. — Northern Lights, by Mary Vaneecke. 18” x 18” Hand-dyed vintage linen napkin, layered and stitched. Stretched on a frame.

Revisions at Tohono Chul

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

The Revisions/Outside Looking In show runs August 25 – November 9, 2016 at Tohono Chul Park (near Ina and Oracle).

Opening Reception is Thursday, August 25, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Free and open to the public.

E-vite

I will have 2 works in the show.

Reflections and the Golden Hour for SAQA

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

Reflections and the Golden Hour

So the Studio Art Quilts Associates is working with Andover Fabrics to create designs for their second fabric line, to be juried by Luana Rubin. The line will be titled The Golden Hour, that hour of dusk or dawn when the interplay between warm light and cool shadows is most fascinating for artists. SAQA members may create any patterns using any means for submission. ‘They’ get to choose the color ways, so the designer is really just putting forth patterns for consideration. It is free to enter, and so I took some time to develop some samples.

I was inspired by the thought of sunlight glinting off water. SAQA and Andover want designs that will work well as textures, blenders, and backgrounds. Think complementary colors. I also was inspired by a recent class with Cas Holmes, where we crumpled paper before painting it (I didn’t even have to dye fabric!). The textural effect reminded me a lot of light reflecting off water.

Some Sample “Reflections”

I called my submissions Reflections I, II, and III. Carson McCullers, a favorite southern gothic author of mine, wrote a novel called Reflections in a Golden Eye. No relation. Here are some of the samples I worked up:

A low contrast version with lights and darks on a medium value background.

saqa golden hour 001 — Light, mediums, and darks on a white background.

Light and dark paints on white ground, in a larger scale.

Light and dark paint on a background that goes from light to medium to dark.

Light on dark, with a larger scale, more random pattern.

I did some more samples, but I could only submit three for consideration, so I won’t post my least favorites here. Which ones do you like? Can you see them as fabric in your stash in your favorite colorway? Wouldn’t it be cool to say you had designed a fabric line? Keep your fingers crossed for me!

A Mind of Winter

Posted on May 17, 2016October 11, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

A Mind of Winter

This small art quilt (12” x 12”) is my submission for the Studio Art Quilt Associates auction, which starts online in September. All proceeds go to SAQA, which works to promote the art quilt. SAQA supports what I do, so I like to reciprocate!

The small work is made of layered, sheer fabrics, including hand-dyed silk organzas and lace scraps from a wedding dress, layered on felt and commercial cotton fabric and machine stitched. The title comes from a Wallace Stevens poem, The Snowman. I think about the opening line of the poem–One must have a mind of winter–often as temperatures get into the 100s here at home. I grew up in Michigan, where winters are long, and I wonder about the Nothing that is not there, and the nothing that is. Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it?

I am considering making a larger version, so perhaps I will call this Mind of Winter I.

A Mind of Winter small art quilt — “A Mind of Winter” 12” x 12” 2016.

Below is the complete text of the poem.

The Snowman

One must have a mind of winter

To regard the frost and the boughs

Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time

To behold the junipers shagged with ice,

The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think

Of any misery in the sound of the wind,

In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land

Full of the same wind

That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,

And, nothing himself, beholds

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

When Your Quilt Travels to Australia without You

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

When Your Quilt Travels to Australia without You….

So my quilt Chopsticks and Edamame has been travelling the world without me since it was accepted into Studio Art Quilt Associates Food for Thought show. It was in Dublin and the UK last fall, and is spending the spring at 3 venues in Australia. This morning my email inbox contained some photos of a spectacular venue, the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne (yeah, I didn’t know there was such a thing, either).

But look at the natural light coming through the windows here:

The 2016 Australasian Quiilt Festival venue for SAQA's Food for Thought exhibition. — The 2016 Australasian Quilt Festival venue for SAQA’s Food for Thought exhibition.

My quilt is in the center of the top photo below. Unfortunately, the black background didn’t do much for it, I am afraid.

food for thought in Australia food for thought Australia 3

Chopsticks and Edamame will be in Michigan at the Gerald Ford Presidential Library this summer, and I am excited to be able to check it out there. I will have my posse with me. It is not often that my parents get to see my work, so that will be cool.

Dining Destinations: Chopsticks and Edamame, 2014, 45'' x 35'' — Chopsticks and Edamame, 2014, 45” x 35”

Another good day to dye…

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

So I have been in the dye studio for a few days and have some pieces to share. These are all various forms of shibori, the Japanese word for putting pattern on fabric by applying pressure with dye. Most of these are silk fabrics, procion dyes are used on each.

Itajime circles under a chevron. — Itajime shibori circles under a chevron pattern.

This sekka shibori with blueberry and raspberry dye is making me hungry!

More itajime, this time with zig zag stripes and navy and red dyes. This fabric was dyed, discharged and over-dyed. This method brings out a lot of subtle complexity in the final product.

Admittedly, this chevron piece is kinda ugly. But I have learned that this is merely an opportunity to throw it into another dye bath or discharge it to get something spectacular. Stay tuned.

Now comes one of my favorite parts of the art-making process: auditioning fabrics to put them all together….

Poisoning Flint

Posted on April 9, 2016March 6, 2017 by Mary Vaneecke

Cas Holmes Tea Party

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

Cas Holmes Tea Party

So this weekend I spent a delightful couple of days with mixed media artist Cas Holmes and seven other artists to learn her techniques altering the surfaces of paper and fabric with color, collage, and stitch.

Cas invited us to submit at small piece (mine was about 5” by 3”) for her Tea Flora Tales installation at Visions Gallery in San Diego this spring. Tea Flora Tales is comprised of many of these small works suspended from the ceiling. Click here for a short video of the installation at the 20th European Patchwork Meeting.

Cas is fearless in her use of found papers and materials. Used tea bags, old magazine papers, and flour sacks are just a few of the ephemera that can be found in her work. I am sure to incorporate some of these techniques into future work.

If you are going to San Diego, look for my submission :

Celebrating Tucson at the Cas Holmes Tea Flora Party. Made from Joss paper, tulle, lace and stitch.

Join Me and my Fiber Artists of Southern Arizona Friends

Posted on March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

TMA_SpringArtisansMarket_mailer_front Fiber Artists of Southern Arizona will have our first-ever booth at the Tucson Museum of Art’s Spring Artisans Market on Friday-Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19-20. We will have lots of new fine fiber art and crafts available, including note cards, rugs, oven mits, hand-dyed clothing, as well as fine fiber art! Be sure to stop at Booth 109 to say ‘hello.’

FASA is: Barbara Hall, Patricia Hasting-Sargent, Joanne Krawchuk, Sharon Nemirov, Ruth Sharpe, Aimee Smythe, Peggie Thomas, Mary Vaneecke, Kathryn Wild, and Janet Windsor. Hope to see you there!

Elegy for the Beautiful Son

Posted on March 9, 2016May 14, 2017 by Mary Vaneecke

The Beautiful Son, hand-dyed, hand-worked liturgical linen (maker unknown), layered and quilted with the names of African American boys and men killed at the hands of police, and burned. — Elegy for the Beautiful Son, hand-dyed, hand-worked liturgical linen (maker unknown), layered and quilted with the names of African American boys and men killed at the hands of police, then burned. 36” x 33”. It is part of the Sacred Threads 2017 exhibition.

Elegy for the Beautiful Son by Mary Vaneecke. — Elegy for the Beautiful Son by Mary Vaneecke, detail.

Ready for the Quilt Show!

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Mary Vaneecke

Yay! It’s finally quilt show time! The Tucson Quilters’ Guild Quilt Fiesta will be held this weekend, Friday February 19-Sunday February 21. I will have lots of new goodies in my booth (with Trish Hastings-Sargent), including my latest 3-D work, Dark Desert Skies.

Dark Desert Skies, 2016, 30.5'' x 41'' Bleached, overdyed shot cotton with paint and 3-D elements, layered and stitched. — Dark Desert Skies, 2016, 30.5” x 41” Bleached, overdyed shot cotton with paint and 3-D elements, layered and stitched.

I will also be selling fabric and embellishment kits for projects from my book, Wild and Wonderful 3-D Quilts.

I will be selling my book, along with the great jungle fabric used to make a leafy 3-D quilt.

Aaaand, last but not least, some hand-dyed vintage table linens I have been having lots of fun with….

44'' hand-dyed Karimatsu round tablecloth. — 44” hand-dyed Karimatsu round tablecloth.

Stop by booth #22 and see what’s new!

Dark Desert Skies

Posted on February 16, 2016July 10, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

Abuela Reads the Headlines

Posted on November 5, 2015July 10, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

Abuela Reads the Headlines , 2015

Abuela is Spanish for grandmother. I imagine her in her barrio (neighborhood) garden in my hometown, Tucson, surrounded by an ocotillo (a living, cactus-type) fence. She has her handwork and the blessed Virgin of Guadalupe nearby, with a grandchild at her knee. Abuela scans the headlines about America’s current immigration policy, and weeps.

Materials: vintage handworked textiles (makers unknown), felted wool, embellishing (480 jewelry spikes), cotton and cotton-silk fabric, dyeing, discharging, silk sari ‘yarn,’ window screen, acrylic felt, embellishments (milagros and crystal rosary), synthetic organza.

Techniques: dyeing, heat and chemical burning, wet felting, hand stitching, couching, machine stitch, discharging, devore, dyeing, cutting.

Abuela Reads the Headlines, 55''h x 84'' — Abuela Reads the Headlines, 55”h x 84”

We Came to America

Posted on November 4, 2015October 11, 2018 by Mary Vaneecke

We Came to America

My paternal grandparents, Firmin and Lucie VanEecke, lived the great American Dream. I have long let a quilt in their honor ‘percolate’ in the back of my mind. They met and married in Belgium between the World Wars and came here in 1923 by ship, as millions of immigrants have done throughout our history. World War I decimated Belgium, and they sought a better life here while feeling the separation and loss of loved ones left behind, most of whom they never saw again. Lucie and Firmin flourished in the US, had five children, nine grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren. This work features hand-dyed vintage lace textiles, copies of their last letters home (in Flemish), and their wedding portrait. The piece is quilted with the phrase We Came to America in the languages of many other immigrants who came to America. In a private collection.