September 20, 2010

During these hard economic times, how can one be expected to support the arts in any capacity. The job market is tenuous at best, people are losing family homes, and more and more people are depending on government assistance to make ends meet. A piece of art alone cannot keep the electric company from turning off your power, feed your kids or pay your mortgage....or can it?

Much like gems and gold, art has an intrinsic value. Paint a mural in a downtown and watch the surrounding shops embellish their storefronts. Art can also bring in tourist dollars. State College's Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts annually brings together artists of many disciplines, attracting out-of-town as well as local visitors. The revenue from the Arts Festival helps artists, musicians, dancers, local business, restaurants, hotels, etc. The impact of the festival on the local economy is quite impressive. All done with art.

The Pa Quilt Trails, a combination of traditional crafts and arts. It has the potential to attract eco-tourism dollars, spruce up the community, and bring beauty in everyday lives. Every dollar donated helps make the PA Quilt Trails a reality, one that will benefit its community for years to come.

September 15, 2010

If I ever doubted the power of art with its ability to draw people's attention inward, that doubt is gone after spending the better part of the past week in Bisbee, Arizona. If you've never traveled to this art-filled town, you should immediately amend your bucket list. Everywhere you look, especially in the most unexpected places art pieces, both decorative as well as political permeated the town. As a result Bisbee is one of the most visited places in southeast Arizona outside of Tombstone (can anyone really resist Elvis impersonators hobnobbing with cowboys down a dusty Arizona road?

Like Bisbee, the purpose of the PA Quilt Trails is to draw people's attention inward by using quilt squares to draw attention to some of central Pennsylvania's special places. Followers of our trail will get to slow down, get off the fast lane and experience the beauty of central Pennsylvania by following the beautiful colors and patterns of a quilt square. These painted jewels combine the tradition of a centuries-old craft, color and form to create works of art. If you were on the fence about supporting the PA Quilt Trails,now is a critical time in getting this project fully on it's way of becoming a known attractor in the region. Sponsor an entire quilt square ($250)or donate a lesser amount (even $5 helps!) there's a Paypal donation button on the top right hand side of this page. Just click and you can easily make a donation with a credit card or Paypal account.

September 7, 2010

With quilt square number one practically finished and housed in Lewistown at Community Partnerships RC&D for the the week. Focus is now on the next quilt square to be painted and installed. Thanks to the generous donation from the Juniata Quilters' guild, we have the finances to create a second painted quilt square. A group vote will be held at the guild's next meeting, as far as location. My recommendation for the next quilt square site is at the Ranger Station at the Tuscarora State Forest. It is a lovely site, open to the public and one that would encourage quilt trail followers to get out of their vehicles, take a hike, have a picnic or even avail themselves of state forest camping

August 30, 2010

The sticky humid days of August are keeping the first quilt square from drying quickly. Nevertheless I wrestled the two 4' x 8' pieces of 3/4" exterior plywood pieces and brought them to be publicly viewed at the Pennsylvania Canal Day Celebration in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania. This was the Community Partnerships RC&D first public showing of the PA Quilt Trails and the reception was quite positive.

Contact was made with a local grange who will now be part of the PA Quilt Trails with their quilt Square (The PA Granges have their own Quilt trails "Heritage Quilt Trail") and I had the opportunity to discuss the potential of another quilt square soon to be announced.

August 23, 2010

Short and sweet weekly blog.

Cats have avoided the quilt square pieces which are now occupying a large part of my living room. I've discovered that red needs four coats of paint as opposed to the green yellow color which was fine at two coats. Pennsylvania humidity is keeping things from drying as fast as I would like. Even with paint tape there will be a need for some touch-up at adjoining lines.

My deadline goal for painting this quilt square-Saturday for Pennsylvania Canal Day celebration at the Lewistown Narrows Canal Park in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.


Will my goal be met?

Next week the answer to that burning question.

August 17, 2010

PA Quilt Trails' first quilt square is in two sections in my living room and on my porch. Sponsored by the generous and gracious people of Hunters Valley Winery, the quilt pattern "diamond in the square" is in the midst of being painted and assembled this week and part of next.

I thought for this blog installation I could describe the process of the actual construction of a quilt square, at least up to installation, which I will document and share in next week's blog. To make an 8' x 8' quilt square, two 4' x 8' 3/4" exterior plywood pieces are needed. With a set of racket straps I secured the two pieces on the roof of my Volvo x-country, loaded up six pieces of 2" x 4" x 8' boards inside the car besides my dog, Sophie, one gallon of primer, four gallons of paint, two paint brushes and headed home. It wasn't until I was alone with the 4' x 8' plywood pieces and needed to bring then off the roof into the house that I actually got a sense of the size of these quilt squares. With the tenacity of a rabid coyote I brought everything inside (yes by my lonesome!!!) and feeling very butch I set up shop to paint. On the faceside there are two coats of primer and one coat of primer on the backside.

Pennsylvania's humidity and rain is hampering drying a bit-guess optimally this should be done in the fall when central Pa's humidity and rainfall is at its lowest.

Today I will follow the 8" x 8" model I made and draw out the lines and paint the first, lightest color (pale yellow with a tint of green) after taping the lines.

So what have I learned from the first QS? Cover the floor well. Thankfully my living room floor is not finished yet and the white primer splashes only add to the "workshop look" of my floor, get help to remove pieces off the car, have good music on your ipod while painting, avoid painting these pieces in buildings with cats. (I purposefully painted them on their side as my cats will lay on any flat surface not anticipating that Malicia would like to climb up the plywood on its side!)

August 6, 2010

One of the most enjoyable aspects of coordinating the PA Quilt Trails is discovering central Pennsylvania. As a resident of Central PA for a little more than 22 years, I felt I knew my home turf quite well. I have been delightfully surprised to find that this is not at all the case. Example: Last week I needed to go to Hunters Valley Winery to work out some design details for their soon to be hung quilt square. I decided to not bring my usual packed lunch and search out the Spruce Hill Cafe near Port Royal, what I believe is to be the only vegetarian restaurant in the area, the next nearest in either New York City or Philadelphia (please correct me here if I am wrong). Spruce Hill Cafe is located amidst Amish and Mennonite communities in the Tuscarora Valley, some of Pennsylvania's most remote areas. The cafe is tastefully decorated retaining the original early 1900s look and feel from when this eatery was first constructed. The food was simple and tasty and my vegan sloppy Joe sandwich and bean salad filled me up enough that I had to forgo the vegan blueberry pie that was offered to me. As I sat at the vintage Formica table near the open window I could listen to birds and inhale the summer scent in the wind. As I left Spruce Hill and drove a bit down the road I was blessed with the vision of acres and acres of sunflowers, always a treat.