Pin It Weekly #298 Joan Mitchell Center, New Orleans, LA

Welcome from the Open Studios at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans! Well, I actually went yesterday with BRMQG sisters from Baton Rouge. There were six of us, Lori, Crissy, Alice, Marquita, Smittie and myself. 

The main house serves as offices for the Foundation

Ah! What a lovely, beautiful, wonderful place. I want to go and stay a while. Seriously, please recommend me. Okay, okay, back to reality. First to BR to meet everyone, then to NO directly to the Joan Mitchell Center where we met with those artists-in-residence who were holding open studios. 

The kitchen and dining and patio area of the main house

I spoke with each of the artists, though I did not have time for pictures in every studio. I did, however, chance delaying the team with a longer pause when visiting the fiber artists.

Studios!

Studios are all in one building and are large, with high walls and lots of natural light. Artists bring their own supplies and I was impressed with how little each one had. I suppose that hauling your own studio on a flight might be difficult.

Residences

The campus is inviting and invigorating. It's no small wonder that artists are inspired here. A reason for such a setup I had not considered before is that the residents are inspired by each other. 

Residences

After the open studios, we trekked off to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA).  

Quilters' Guild Acadienne Show

Logo from Guilters' Guild Acadienne

I have been running around this month doing all manner of quilting and quilt-like things. All manner of fun quilty things. Let's see, there was the retreat at the beginning of the month. I wrote two additional posts about it here and here. 

Known by Ange Riehl 

Fiddle Stix by Elle Caillouet

Then Richard and I went to the CFAL exhibit at the State Archives. There were so many quilts it took a second post. We beat it to the Quilters' Guild Acadienne show in Lafayette on the same day. 

Granddaddy's Quilt by Betty Lowry

Finally I attended the GSQA meeting with Lori last weekend. Yes indeed! July has been good--too hot, extremely wet (25 inches of rain so far) and QUILTY. Can you guess which has been my favorite?

Tree in the Mist by Joan Schroeder

The Swamp Tree by Joan Schroeder

All of the quilts on this post are from the Lafayette show. It's being held in the Acadiana Center for the Arts, which is near the library. 

Carlie's Campfire by Carlie Duhon Bumgardner

Summer Days by Kelly Broussard

All of the quilts on this post is from the Acadiana Guild's show. 

Tree of Life by Barbara Wells

Star Gazing by Gerry LeBlanc

North Star by Shelly McCoy

Tulips Around the Cabin by Phyllis Tabbert

What quilty fun have you been up to this month? 

Swimming Blue by Nadine Cain 

A Quilty Jaunt -- more of CFAL in Baton Rouge

Lucy Landry -- Life's Journey-Marathon

Since I didn't get to process all of my pictures for the first post of the Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana (CFAL) exhibit at the Louisiana State Archives building, I thought I'd get to work and try to show you the rest. None are in any particular order. I started out trying to systematically take pictures, but well, I'm more ADD than systematic. 

Yvonne Bayham -- Here Kitty Kitty

This one really tickled Richard! He kept going back to it to look for the 3D effects and to giggle at the pure joy of it.

Vicky Thompson -- Flight of Fancy

Bebe Tulley -- Walking Home from School, Uganda

Sally Gordon -- Bird on a Wire

Lisa Ducote -- Guardian of the Forgotten

Melanie Borne -- Jerusalem

Donna LaFleur -- Lightness

Did you notice the little feather in the bottom right corner? Not me! I saw it while working on the pictures.

Vicki Thompson -- A Light in the Woods

Suzi Stone --
Spirit-- Through the Stars to Mars

Suzi Stone --  Gorden's Musical Journey

Melanie Borne -- Losing Ground

Melanie Borne -- Leaves

BeBe Tulley -- St. Mark's Church Door, Philadelpha, PA

I can't say I have a favorite, but Susan Broussard's Sigh (below) certainly makes my heart happy. It's just so realistic-looking yet has a sense of mystery to it. I couldn't help but to take a closer look. Even with a close-up, there's no way a photograph can do it justice.

Susan Broussard -- Sigh

Of course, it isn't just this last one that deserves to be seen in person! Is it just me or aren't they amazing?  Fiber artists for certain. Which one really speaks to you? Or has you thinking of home? (That's what Sigh does for me. That cypress could be in my back yard.)

A Quilty Jaunt -- CFAL exhibit in Baton Rouge

Photo from Secretary of State website

On Thursday Richard and I took a little jaunt to see some quilts. We were off to see the Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana (CFAL) exhibit at the Louisiana State Archives building. 

Having the exhibit here is a brilliant idea since the

state archives' job "is mandated to identify, to collect, to preserve, to maintain and to make available those records and artifacts that enhance our endeavors to understand the dynamics and nuances of our state's remarkable history." 

The Archives building has its own collection of artwork, which was a wonderful surprise. I'll show those pieces in another post later. 

Lucy Landry -- Life's Journey-Sprint

This post is about the CFAL exhibit, but these are only about half of the photos that I took. It's going to take a few days at home to finish. 

Nancy Hinds -- Winding Roads

Lucy Landry -- Stingray City Sandbox

Melanie Borne -- Into the Unknown

Lucy Landry

Tracy Gallagher --
The Pathway of the Little Blue Hummer

 Kathleen Callaghan --
Journey of a POW--from War to a Prison Camp to Home 

Suzi Stone -- Journey to the Sea

Lisa Ducote -- Memos

Richard and I had the luxury of time and solitude while we were there. Imagine being able to wander through, go back, take pictures. Go back again, look closely. No, closer. Go back and take a few more pictures. 

Donna LaFleur -- Provence in Bloom

Wendy Starn -- Into the Woods

Wendy Starn -- Fatsia Fantasy

Nancy Hinds -- Found Objects

Before closing I want to point out this last piece from my friend Glen. I've mentioned her a few times in other posts. She's the blogger behind Quilts and Dogs, and I admire her work more than she could know. 

Glen Parks -- One Road Through Town