First Night 2012 Nomination; Akron Art Museum Talk on Aug. 4

June 2, 2011

I've been riding a whirlwind the past year, not the least of which is finding my new home, a glorious studio, at Summit Artspace.

(Summit Artspace is an artists' pomegranate. Break it open and you will find a juicy labyrinth of artists groups and independent studio artists deliciously housed inside. Please click here to find out more about this amazing AAAA/Summit County creation.)

Meanwhile, improved visibility has wrought blessings upon me, a  nomination as First Night 2012 button artist and an invitation to talk about my work at the Akron Art Museum.  The date for that talk, entitled That's no Potholder, Buster: How Contemporary Artists are Changing the Way People Think About Quilts, is set for Aug. 4 at 7 p.m.

My characteristically irreverent talk will be about 25 minutes with slides, during the band break at Downtown at Dusk, the summertime AAM amalgam of  sizzling food, art and music. It is also during the Paula Nadelstern Kaleidoscope Quilts exhibition. Click here for more information on that.  

I am honored to be nominated as button artist and am no stranger to the charms of First Night. A lifelong Akronite and veteran journalist for the ABJ, I hit the streets more than a few times to write about the colorful celebration and its many surprises.

I pulled together a paper portfolio  just in time to submit for review by the 15 previous First Night button artists. I also sent some art quilts. The committee meets Wednesday. 

The category of fiber or quilt art is a daunting one for many people who envision potholders, tissue box covers and traditional bed quilts. There's a lot of that out there, to be sure. But what I do is transcendent and unrelated to any of that. I trust  the committee will see that.

I would revel in the opportunity to represent this art form to the city at large.